Chad Morris was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Razorbacks on Thursday. Morris comes to Arkansas after turning around the program at SMU and producing seven wins and a bowl there this season.

Morris arrives with a tall task of getting the Razorbacks back to a winning program. The struggles under Bret Bielema led to the firing of AD Jeff Long and Bielema himself following a 4-8 season. With that being said, Morris looks prepared for the challenge and ready to produce special things with the Razorbacks.

Here are the highlights of his first press conference as head coach of Arkansas where he answered questions of the media:

A lot of opportunities out there, why Arkansas why now?

“All about timing and it’s all about fit. You can’t have a better time than right now. The similarities of what Clemson looked like seven years ago to where the University of Arkansas is right now, the similarity is really scary. The second thing is the ability to recruit. Growing up in Texas, being a fan of college football and being close to Arkansas. The ability to recruit the state of Texas while putting a fence around Arkansas is important.”

You want to hire the best DC in the country, some consider that Clemson’s Brent Venables. Is Venables in mind, and who do you have in mind?

“I’m sure coach (Dabo) Swinney wouldn’t like that, but without disclosing any names, I’ve got a short list. Some I’ve had to play against, be around, and watch from afar.”

Can you go into a little bit more description of your offense?

“Obviously we’re a two-back, run-oriented, play-action football team that does that in many different window dressings. We’ll do a lot of different formations and do it very fast. One-back to two-back, lot of changing of the structures to find the right personnel to create mismatches.”

Why is your identity as a high school coach important?

“High school coaches get it, you have to adjust and adapt and do it quickly. They don’t have the luxury of recruiting, so they have to adjust and adapt their style to what they have. To be able to communicate and relate to them is important.”

How do you feel like you have to adapt to the SEC and what challenges does the league present?

“Having been at Clemson and having played against several SEC opponents, we are very familiar with it. Developing our scheme and hiring quality coaches that have experience in this league, experience defending in this league. Offensively, we’re going to put some of the best offensive coaches in the country out there. You’ve gotta stop the run, be multiple defensively, and likewise on offense. There’s many ways to do those things. At the end of the day, it comes down to recruiting and retaining.”