Arkansas Baptist Head Football Coach Richard Wilson

and we welcome you back to the 2024 sooner Athletic Conference football virtual media day I'm Jim po assistant commissioner of the sack and we're going to head over to Arkansas and visit with our great friends over at Arkansas Baptist and they head coach Richard Wilson and Coach you know last year three and three and on the year but you finish the year with a couple big wins uh to kind of get that trajectory going in the spring and into your summer workouts talk a little bit about how that has kind of helped turn the tides a little bit to get you guys ready for this year well it's definitely positive because uh Jim when you look at uh the the Genesis of our program we're just happy that the soon Athletic Conference chose us to come in we've only been in since uh officially in 23 but you guys let us come in unofficially what 2122 and so uh we we uh had a little bit different situation than anybody else because we were Junior College foryear school that was playing Joo and so we were kind of a hybrid and so uh all of our junior college kids left us and so they decided hey coach we came there to try to go D1 and so we knew that and so when we started this Venture in 21 we started started it with all freshman and then in in uh 22 we got some freshman sophomores and a couple transfers so last year we were still kind of a smorgus board and uh this will be the first year where we've actually got a a simulan of a senior class but we were very pleased with where we were uh we thought we had a better team than we showed we just had problems at the quarterback position and uh we ended up finishing the year with uh uh two kids who had actually started out as receivers in two days and so for us to end up on like you said at the end of the year on a high night note of getting a couple of Victories yeah we it gave us something to get excited about going into Spring football talk a little bit about this group and you mentioned you know this is this is a group that that's kind of been through everything so to say you know that leadership from them has got to mean a lot to your coaching staff because they you know that they're going to be able to get that locker room in right state of mind you know practices and different things talk about how those seniors that have been with you are are taking control and saying hey it's now time let's get this thing done well I think that you know they're they're excited first of all but I think it's kind of like when I had a chance to play for Coach hulks he used to always tell us that he said you can't learn how to win till you can't live with losing and and I think a lot of the kids that you're talking about Jim that's the point they're at right now they realized that they kind of got their heads bashed in in 21 and then 22 was hopeful and then 23 had high expectations it didn't exactly happen like they wanted to but you know right now they're saying hey we we paid the price uh we've been committed we've been a part of something and so yeah we're looking for bigger and better things right now let's talk about offensively for you guys and you mentioned the end of the year having a couple guys at quarterback uh that that were receivers for you at the beginning of two a days talk a little bit about what you're going to be doing with the quarterback position because I know you've got some kids out on the edge that can make plays for you yes sir well uh I'll start with just a highlight a couple of guys on the offense that I've really been dependent on and have shown like they want to take the range right now uh we've got two tackles that I'm very proud of uh uh they're two big big long uh lengthy type guys uh one of them is 66 about Bradley probably about 275 but his name is Bradley Brown Bradley's a local kid he's from Jacksonville Arkansas been very pleased with him in his maturation process uh he started two years on the line he'll be coming back at the left tackle at the right tackle we got a young man named Delon madrea delon's about six five about 270 and so they really give us two good bookends to start with as far as returners on the offensive line uh Delon is a young man that his previous experience he had played at Savannah State and things didn't work out and I had a friend of mine who knew what I was trying to do here and he suggested that Delon come to this program some things did not work well for him over at Savannah so we got him and we could not be more pleased with him so those guys will kind of be the uh the cornerstones and the foundation of rebuilding that offensive line we lost a heck of a center in uh a young man named stubs from last year he played his last year but he ended up making honorable mention sa and you talking about a heck of a player so he'll be hard to replace uh but we' got some candidates uh what we really feel good outside of that Jim is we've got uh uh two skill guys you mentioned that we've got we've got speed our deal is we've just got to get some things to go with it uh but we've got a young man named octavien Ray uh he's our version of the little guy who used to be at Kansas City and now is down at uh the Mii Dolphins uh but he's a uh exceptional athlete uh nobody can tell him that he's 5'7 he thinks he's 6'2 and and he tries to play like he's 622 20 uh he's really about 5'7 about about 180 pounds but Jim he's a he's a powerlifter so he doesn't just lift weights because the coaches tell him to he actually power lifts and or did it in high school and so a Tavian has been a solid performer for us for the uh last two years that he's played for us he actually played as a freshman and each game each year that he's played in he showed big game potential uh he had uh you know Langston's got pretty good speed and he's taken a kickoff back all the way against Langston he's taken a kickoff back against uh sagu who is now Lincoln I mean uhh Nelson University but he he's an explosive player uh another kid on offense that they were looking for big things from is uh a young man Desmond Wilkins uh uh he transferred in here from another school a young kid though and he's a re he's about 62 about 198 uh good player we just can't wait to get him plugged in he he was one of the reasons there at the last of the year that we were able to push past those last two teams because he had a great uh end of the season uh another running back that we're really fired up about now he is a senior and his name is Chris Witherspoon he's from Memphis Tennessee uh he's one of those guys that gave us a spark because the last couple of games he w went for 200 rush in each game and so we're really looking for him to mature and be that guy out of all the guys I named I would look for him to be the guy that really has to make everybody chase him because he's got that kind of ability uh uh we've got a red shirt freshman by the name of uh Tavon Rupert uh Tavon played a little bit last year uh at tailback he came back had a great spring so those are a couple of guys that we're looking for to be the core of the leaders on our offensive side of the ball now defense we all know in the sooner you got to have some guys that can play defense especially against some of the high-powered offenses that we have Coach talk a little bit about those guys and I know you've got a couple guys especially up front that you're going to be leaning heavily on to really lead that defense yes now it's amazing that that you brought up about the defense and I've got to be transparent with you uh we living in what do you call it portal times yeah and so even though we're at Nia level we get affected and so we had two of our really good defensive linemen that division two School reached down and got them and so uh we feel like we got some adequate Replacements but we we we thought we were going to really be Stellar on the defensive line uh but a couple of guys who did stick with us and are playing very well uh red Shir freshman Travis luster uh young man from bille Arkansas we're looking for big things from him and uh then a young man who played for us last year who'll be coming back again in defensive line is uh Xander Balwin he's from Atlanta Georgia those are two guys in the defensive line that i' like to you know let people know that I think those guys went through spring perform well perform well in the weight room and we're looking for big things from them uh in the linebacker Corp we had uh we got a couple of young freshman linebackers that we were not able to get into the mix last year but I'm looking for big things from them uh one of them is a tetri misel he's a red shirt freshman from Atlanta Georgia we're looking for big things from him uh another inside linebacker is Kelton Marshall he's from St Martinville Louisiana we're looking for kelon to really take a step for it and then we had one kid who transferred in uh and he he really didn't transfer from another school he's just a guy who decided at this age he wants to play football and so he was ineligible last year but he did not miss a practice and his name is sha gz and he's a good siiz kid Sean's about 61 about 225 and and and the thing about him is I like consistency he hasn't missed anything and so we're looking for big things from him uh I think the secondary is really where we've improved we were able to get some good kids in who uh were able to transfer in in sprank I'm not going to try to go over all of them but I'm G to name two guys to you that we really looking for big things out of uh Antonio Thompson he's one of the seniors who stuck around with us he came over to us from it wom Junior College in Mississippi we're looking for big things from Antonio and then another guy that we've got Antonio a 6-2 guy but another 6-2 type defensive back we got is a young man out of Elder Arkansas named tarian Williams he played a little bit last year as a freshman he's a young man that bought in Spring practice he's one of those guys that if he gets his hands on the ball it has a way of sticking to him he just picks off balls out of nowhere and so I'm hoping that everything I saw in Spring practice he's going to add to it and become that guy that can make that play for us in the secondary but I'm going to be honest with you Jim we're really excited about our secondary we we've got we felt like that's the area as a football team where we really upgraded in Spring no doubt about it now coach you you've been around the block a little bit but you know you also know that that the sooner is one of the top conferences in the nii when you look at when you look at last year three teams tying for first place Louisiana Christian getting the auto bid into the tournament and and you look at just how the bottom part of the conference has really improved um you know and it's really turned into a really a nine deep conference and it's got to be exciting for for you your coaching staff and your kids to be able to play in a conference that that's on the on the upswing you know especially here in the nation oh yeah we're we're excited and we you know we go a step further we try to tell our guys hey we feel like it's a mini SEC and and and I'll be honest with you this is not my job to do this but I'm going to say it I'm hoping that the sooner is thinking about if there's some one or two other teams out there that we've targeted that maybe we could get them because I really Jim would hope for a day where we could go east and west or north and south you know because I just think that we are on the cuss for being a premier the Premier League uh for uh ni if it's something that our league wants to do I think that we're sitting in a fertile recruiting area and if anybody can get it done we could get it done in in the sooner Athletic Conference no doubt about it well coach I know it's a busy time I appreciate you taking a little bit with us I'm excited to uh see you guys in person in October when I make a trip down from St Louis but expecting some great things out of uh you guys this year it's going to be a lot of fun to watch yeah and uh and you may you alluded to it and uh but we actually have uh two signin that came in at quarterback back and I'm going be honest with you they they got a chance to really help us get to that next level and so I'm gonna be kind of tight lipped about them and and just observe them day by day but boy I mean we we we upgraded from how I was crying and poor mouthing about what we ended up with at the end of the year quarterback we G beyond that and so we look to be a lot more competitive at that position no doubt about it well coach enjoy the uh two a practices and all that fun stuff and I know we'll definitely be talking throughout the year but have a lot of fun and good luck this year my friend Jim I appreciate you man and enjoy that weather up there in uh St Louis because when I was there uh a couple weeks ago visiting my daughter I mean I it was it was pretty nice it's hot we'll just put it that way it's hot up here right now so but it it'll be great I can't wait for the fallowing football so coach thanks so much appreciate you man we'll talk throughout the year thank you sir head coach over at Arkansas Baptist joing us Richard Wilson and we'll be back here in a little bit with some more of our great teams our great coaches here in the center Athletic Conference it's a 2024 Center Athletic Conference football virtual media day