Travis Williams stresses the importance of coaches having personal relationships with players

Travis Williams is in his second season as the Arkansas defensive coordinator, hoping for a better sophomore campaign. The motto in Fayetteville has been “Embrace the hog”, started by head coach Sam Pittman at SEC Media Days. While there are many meanings to the saying, one of them is about having a sense of togetherness.

A huge aspect of how Williams coaches is dictated by his relationship with the players. Williams explained the importance during Friday’s episode of Andy Staples On3, wanting to build a bond with every guy out there.

Long gone are the days of coaches yelling instructions because they want to. Making sure players feel comfortable is the first step for Williams while gaining their trust before asking them to overcome a few obstacles.

“I think it’s really important to the kid, student-athlete, knowing that you really care about them,” Williams said. “I just believe in support, then demand. A lot of people try to ask kids to do something things — ‘Do as I say because I said so.’ It just doesn’t work.

“So, you want to support and kid and from there, you can ask him to do hard things. Football is hard. But we like to love on them and support them and make sure their experience is a great experience.”

These types of relationships are not formed the moment players step on campus. They start during the recruiting process. And that’s not just for Williams but any kind of coach out there.

Williams just makes sure to keep the same attitude when getting on the practice field during fall camp. Players seemingly trust the defensive coordinator and in return, can be open to hardnose coaching when necessary.

Hopefully, the relationship building can produce some better results for Arkansas in 2024.

From a pure scoring defense standpoint, Williams’ unit struggled during his first year in charge. Arkansas ranked 80th in the country, allowing 27.9 points per game. If you only include SEC opponents, the number goes up two ticks to 28.1 PPG with an outlier being the Razorbacks giving up just seven to Mississippi State.

For the entire coaching staff, this season will be a big one for the Hogs. Getting wins on the board early and often is a requirement, needing to bounce back from last year’s 4-8. They certainly have a strong enough bond to get the job done. Next up is going out and executing.