Petrino embraces togetherness of his Razorbacks

Petrino met with the team for the first time as interim coach Monday afternoon as each student-athlete went through with the change receptively.

"We had a lot of one-on-one conversations too, and not just with me," Petrino said. "You know, everybody's trying to get get their players in and visit with them one-on-one. And, the leaders, everybody on the team, really. So I, like I said, I was very impressed at the attitude we took the field with yesterday and the work ethic that we had on the field."

One major detail in the quote above is the "work ethic" his team showed during its first practice without Pittman and the three assistant coaches who were fired. Instead of wallowing in self pity for the time being, the Razorbacks have acknowledged the season is far from over with plenty left to play before moving on.

While it's easy enough for an athlete hop in the portal when things didn't quite go the way they expected ahead of the season, it's important to realize that quitting the year early helps no one.

Like Petrino, this is a seven-game trial for each player and assistant coach to audition for their next job all while not being hurt in the pocketbook.

"We had everybody in the weight room all day yesterday, lifting and everybody out on the practice field," Petrino said. "Everybody attended meetings on time. I think they all understand, and that was one of the things I tried to address with them right off the off the bat. There's actually no benefit to going into the transfer portal right now."

At this juncture only five players from Power Four programs that have fired their coaches have entered the transfer portal. That is a solid number given some college football fans have expressed concern about a mass exodus happening should their respective school agree to part ways with its head man.

Petrino's point of treating it like free agency may actually work in getting the most out of his team moving forward. Instead of treating it like a negative situation by allowing the wheels to fall of the wagon, he wants his team to refocus and gear up for a long stretch of SEC games ahead.

"The only thing that can hurt is financially, and no ability to go in and play right away, and no video on on tape to to make your transition if you're going to transfer somewhere marketable," Petrino said. "So there's really no reason to for anyone to go into the transfer portal. And I think once I laid it out that way for the players, they understood it."

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