 Bret Bielema updates Arkansas' Belk Bowl preparation and more in his weekly press conference.

Bret Bielema

— Unique time now with the semester being over. Can focus on just football now.

— Dre Greenlaw looks good. "We'll make a decision on him later this week."

— Cody Hollister broke his foot and won't play in the game.

— Kody Walker will have another X-ray today on his foot. "There's a very good chance of that happening."

— Jared Cornelius hasn't returned to practice yet, but should play.

— The two WRs from Gulf Coast have been on Hogs' radar for two years. "We were over there every time the NCAA would let us." Thinks Jonathan Nance is an extremely gifted athlete who compares to Cornelius. Brandon Martin is big, powerful and fast, kind of similar to Keon Hatcher. "Jeremy Patton was a guy who jumped off the film for us." Lot of Pac 12 tried to come in on him late because he's the best JUCO TE in the country.

— Can't comment on financial aid freshmen until they practice.

— Thinks there will be a minimum of nine and maximum of 11 mid-term guys who are here in January. Thinks there's three or four who'll go through bowl practices.

— Jen Bielema is expecting in the middle of July, during SEC media days.

— Found out on a Thursday night. They'd revamped the house and Jen showed him a piece of art while wearing a GoPro. "You've got to act like you love it." Then he turned around and she had balloons. "It was a pretty special night."

— Thinks there's a niche market for WRs like Drew Morgan in the NFL. Thinks there'll be a half-dozen interested.

— On Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffery skipping bowl games: If it's an injury thing you can't blame them. Obviously they have bright futures. You have to let go of the moment and look at the big picture. Not only the next six months but the next 40 years of their lives and their children's lives.

— Devwah Whaley is healthy after missing the latter stages of the Missouri game after he was stepped on. Rawleigh Williams was a bit winded without Whaley late in the game.

— T.J. Hammonds' production numbers when he touched the ball were very good. "We automatically asked why we don't get him more." Would like him to get 6-10 touches. He could have value as a WR or RB moving forward.

— Hayden Johnson is a very valuable player who could maybe help as an H-Back like Jeremy Sprinkle was used his junior year.

— Bowl practices provide enough time to give Arkansas a chance to potentially use a 3-4. "Anything that involves different looks than they've seen have been beneficial."

— On not having run fake punts or field goals: "You don't run fakes just to run them." There has to be something there. It's more based on if the opportunity is there. Thinks opponents are wary of fakes.

— Morgan is always coming into the coaches' offices with ideas based on different stuff he's seen on film. Understands leverage really well and takes advantage of it with how he runs his routes.

— Last year, gave the team Christmas Eve and Christmas off, but the Belk Bowl wants teams there the 24th or 25th.

— Spent five minutes discussing Santa Claus at the staff meeting.

— Never had a stretch like this year where his team's alternated wins and losses. "I told our guys I'm tired of 50-50 ball." Had conversations with coaches and seniors about why that's come about. Has come up with some new stuff that they'll start to implement in January.

— Hasn't been a lot of movement in college football so far, but thinks there'll be a lot of transition after the New Years. In his position, he's learned to just react to it.

— Today will be a long practice and tomorrow will be lighter before the players get two days off.

— Playing Virginia Tech is motivating for the seniors and whole team. Lot of guys watched the ACC title game.

— Virginia Tech's offense plays at a 4 tempo on a scale where 5 is the fastest.

— Brooks Ellis has accomplished more on and off the field than any other player he's coached. Gone to Belize, is a pre-med student, was a finalist for the most prestigious academic award. He can play all three linebacker spots. They've had to use him at MLB, but think he might be better at SLB and WLB.

— Jerod Evans gets more impressive the more you watch him on film.

— Have looked at adjusting personnel and scheme to be more productive in the red zone. The inability to run the ball has been frustrating.

— Wasn't able to pick up Einstein's for his wife the other day: "Panera's got a hell of a blueberry bagel for those that want to know."