Why Arkansas DC Travis Williams loves to throw a curveball on the field and in the locker room

Chris Paul Jr. never knows what music to expect when he walks into the Arkansas football linebacker room.

Gospel. Hip-hop. The options are limitless for first-year defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Travis Williams. For the players, his locker-room antics are a message to enjoy practice and create an up-beat environment, but Williams' music range is also a good indicator for the type of defense fans in Fayetteville will watch this fall.

Aggressive. High-energy. Filled with surprises.

"A lot of times offenses put defense on their heels. They’re giving pace. When you’re getting lined up, they’ll give you unbalanced, they’ll give you formations to the boundary, so a lot of times defenses are kind of reacting," Williams said after Friday's practice.

"It’s always good for the defense to throw a curveball and make the offense panic a little bit."

Sam Pittman told reporters after hiring the new defensive coordinator in December that Williams directed an ultra-aggressive unit at UCF. The Knights played a lot of cover zero, sending blitzes after the quarterback and trusting the secondary to hold up until the pressure gets home.

UCF gave up 33.2 points a game in 2020, prior to Williams arrival. That number dropped to 24.5 in 2021, and 23.6 in 2022. Arkansas hopes for a similar jump this season after yielding 30.6 points a game last year, which ranked 101st in the country.

With the second week of fall camp coming to a close, the Razorbacks aren't revealing too much of their defensive scheme, but there are signs that point to a much improved and more aggressive unit in 2023.

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The 4-2-5 formation, which encourages multiple and disguised coverages, is a good start. Defensive ends Landon Jackson and Trajan Jeffcoat can fly off the edge, with linebackers and members of the secondary applying added heat from different gaps. There will be plenty of differing stunts and pressures from the four-man front.

There's also evidence supporting an aggressive defense in the Hogs' additions through the transfer portal. Antonio Grier led USF in sacks as a linebacker in 2021, and secondary additions like Jaheim Singletary (Georgia), Alfahiym Walcott (Baylor) and Lorando Johnson (Baylor) will allow the Razorbacks to play more man-to-man coverage in the back end.

Still, at the heart of it all is Williams, a former player at Auburn who knows his defense can't be one-dimensional, but doesn't shy away from his core values.

"Don’t blitz just to blitz," Williams said. "But I do like to throw the kitchen sink at an offense and make them work at something they saw the week before."

So far, whether it's locker room music or schemes on the field, Williams has gained the respect of his players.

"Coach T-Will, he’s a high-energy guy. He brings energy to the room," Paul said. "Just working with him, he wants the best out of us and he demands it out of us and that’s what we want to give to him. As a defense, he’s just a great guy overall outside of football."

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas football DC Travis Williams eager to surprise SEC offenses