Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

I. Becoming a thermostat
UCA Coach Clint Conque wants to see consistency from his team at fall camp. To drive home that point, he has been preaching for his team to become a thermostat, not a thermometer.

“That’s something he’s been saying a lot,” starting quarterback Wynrick Smothers said at the Bears' media day. “He doesn’t want us to be an up-and-down team. He wants us to keep that steady incline and to keep getting better as a team.”

Conque viewed this week of practice as vital to the team becoming more like a thermostat, but “camp injuries,” as he describes them, have caused the team to resemble a thermometer.

“We’ve still got five or six more practices before we break camp and another scrimmage,” he said. “It’s important that we finish strong and get healthy.”

II. Big shoes to fill
Smothers is well aware of the situation he is facing as the Bears’ new starting quarterback, and he is ready for the challenge.

Replacing a first-team all-conference player is never easy, but replacing one who also helped UCA reach the FCS Playoffs for the first time just adds to the pressure.

While Smothers admits he still has a lot to build and improve on in replacing Nathan Dick, the junior redshirt has confidence that he can be the leader his team needs in 2012.

“I’ll try and give Nathan a run for his money,” he said.

III. Dysfunction now could pay dividends later
One of the Bears’ major question marks heading into the season is the offensive line, which loses three starters from last year’s squad.

Injuries in fall camp have also caused some to play at more than one position along the line.

Conque said the experiment has caused dysfunction at the moment, but he hopes and believes it will help the team later in the season.

Preseason All-Southland Conference First Team linemen Dominique Allen and Corey Howard are the only two returning starters from last season, and will be important in the development and progression up front for the Bears.

While many are concerned with replacing Dick at quarterback, Conque believes the development on the offensive line will have a bigger impact on the season.

“You talk about the quarterback play and everybody wants to focus on that," Conque said. "It’s going to be the maturation and the production up front on offense that’s going to determine if we can meet our expectations on offense.”

Speaking Out
“We don’t feel at this point that there was a miss in the bunch in this freshman class and transfers. All of these young men have promising opportunities and futures in our program.”
— Coach Clint Conque on the signing class of 2012.