Former Razorback reacts to firing of Petrino

LITTLE ROCK, AR - Tuesday night, one Little Rock family that knows Razorback football reacted to the firing of Coach Bobby Petrino.

Three generations of the Bequettes have played for the Hogs. The latest, Jake, is the NFL-bound defensive end who played for Petrino.

Tuesday, FOX16's Kelly Dudzik asked Jake's dad, Jay, an all Southwest Conference center with the Hogs from 1979 to 1982, what he thinks about Petrino and how his firing will impact the players' mental state.

"One of Coach Petrino's strong points was you knew exactly what you were going to be doing from day to day. Very disciplined, very organized, very detail oriented. Players are creatures of habit, and when they don't know what the future holds, when they don't even know who their coach is going to be, you know, the head football coach is such the leader of that whole organization and I just can't imagine what those guys are going through," said Jay Bequette.

Jay Bequette's son, Jake, just finished his senior year with the Hogs. Jay, his brother, and his father also played for the Razorbacks. Jay Bequette expressed his disappointment Tuesday night for the current players and coaching staff.

"It's just, you know, really horrible news and the timing couldn't be worse. We've seen what happened with Ohio State last year, and it's happened to a few other teams where something like this occurs in the off season. It's just really tough, and feel for. Jake has a lot of really close friends and teammates that he played with, and it's really tough on them," said Jay Bequette.

Tough, especially for players who look to the head coach as a leader not only on the field, but off the field as well.

"I heard how emotional Jeff Long got when he talked about the players' reaction and having to tell them. I can understand that, I mean, that's the really tough part because you're affecting 120 kids," said Bequette.