Pittman: Hogs better prepared in his 2nd year
FAYETTEVILLE — The historical precedent for a major rise in the standings for University of Arkansas football this fall is mighty slim.
The best year-over-year league improvement for Razorback football since joining the SEC was a fivegame rise from 2-6 in 2005 to 7-1 and the SEC West title the next year. Of course that came with the dynamic trio of Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis at running back the year before current league dominator Nick Saban came aboard at Alabama.
The Razorbacks have twice as many last-place finishes in the West (six) as they do top three finishes (three) in the 14 years since then.
Otherwise around the SEC, Auburn went from worst to first in the SEC West in 2013 and won the conference title before losing in the final BCS national championship game to Florida State.
Outside of that, major rebounds have been hard to come by in what is widely considered the toughest division in the most rugged football conference in America.
Regardless, there are signs the arrow for the Arkansas Razorbacks is pointed up in Year 2 of the Sam Pittman regime after a 3-7 finish against an All-SEC slate.
“We’re in much better shape,” Pittman said at the team’s media day Aug. 5. “We had a much better offseason because we had more time.
“I think because of the meetings we were able to have and the continuity with our three coordinators coming back, I think all of those things are going to benefit us. But we feel a lot better about our football team.”
Second-year defensive coordinator Barry Odom pointed to Pittman to explain how the Hogs are better in 2021.
“We’re better because we have a wonderful head coach who lays out a plan for us to go execute,” Odom said. “There’s not any grey area on what it should look like, what it should be. He’s a tremendous leader.
“We’re able to grow and be ourselves in this program. Our kids understand the openness, the honesty and the transparency he has and ultimately what is important to our team. … Our guys have bought into that. They’re hungry to be good, and they’re hungry to have success.”
Pittman — the former three-year Arkansas assistant coach (2013-15) under Bret Bielema who used to conduct interviews barefoot while sitting at a desk in the Smith Football Center — has displayed a loving embrace of the state, the program and the Razorback brand.
Pittman and his staff have conducted in a year and a half — a period that almost corresponds to the uncertainties of the covid-19 pandemic — a gradual upgrade of the roster to where there are higherlevel position battles almost across the board.
Some of that is due to the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA, spawning 11 “super” seniors for Arkansas. Add in a good group of regular seniors, led by Montaric Brown, Joe Foucha, Bumper Pool and Dalton Wagner, and senior graduate transfers such as John Ridgeway, Markell Utsey and Tre Williams, and the Razorbacks have a stuffed senior class that canvasses the depth chart.
Junior running back Trelon Smith recently discussed why he thought so many super seniors decided to return.
“The direction we’re going, man, is going to be a beautiful thing once you guys see it,” Smith said. “We’ve been busting our tail. Those losing days are over. We’re tired of losing.
“This whole team is tired of losing. It’s time to win now. That’s what Coach Pittman has been pounding us on. Just relentless effort. Straining. Physicality. Fast. Playing fast.”
Clever use of the transfer portal and strong recruiting with the addition of some top 25 signing classes also has contributed to a more talented and deeper roster for the Razorbacks.
One of the first steps in Pittman’s plan to restore Arkansas football was convincing the players they could win. The Razorbacks broke a 20-game SEC losing streak with a 21-14 upset of No. 16 Mississippi State last year, then snapped a 12game SEC home losing skid with a 33-21 win over Ole Miss two weeks later.
With all three coordinators — Kendal Briles (offense), Barry Odom (defense) and Scott Fountain (special teams) — returning, the continuity factor should serve the Razorbacks well against what has been judged the toughest schedule in the country by some analysts.
Pittman is high on his Hogs.
“I love them. I love the team,” Pittman said. “I think they’re hungry. We’re a chip on the shoulder, tough, proud team. We love the state of Arkansas.
“That’s not for recruiting, that’s just the truth. I think they’re a confident group. You have to do something to continue to stay confident. You have to have success in whatever way that may be.”
Pittman points to the Razorbacks’ 7-3 halftime lead in last year’s SEC opener vs. Georgia to show the players were bought in and engaged from the jump in 2020.
“I thought going in at halftime against Georgia last year, even though we didn’t win the game, built confidence in this program,” he said. ”Hey, we can do this. The bottom line is if you put two halves together, what may happen?”
The Razorbacks were picked to finish sixth in the SEC West at media days, but there’s an inner confidence throughout the roster that was not in place two years ago.
“We … don’t worry about where people pick us to be,” junior wideout Treylon Burks said. “People picked us not to win at all last year. Who cares? We go out and play for us and the Arkansas nation. I think that’s all that matters to us.”
Said sophomore safety Jalen Catalon, “It’s in our control what we can do. We’re just going to show people what we’re about this year. I’m not into the whole social media, what other writers write about the Arkansas Razorbacks.
“At the end of the day, I know we’ve got our offense, I know we’ve got our defense, I know we’ve got a head coach that’s damn proud to be our head coach. We’re going to show that this year.”
If there’s one area the Razorbacks want fans to understand they’re better it’s in the physicality department.
“I just love how tough and physical our team is,” linebacker Hayden Henry said. “This is definitely the toughest, most physical team I’ve ever played on. I think just to have success in this league, that’s the No. 1 thing you have to have, bottom line, zero doubts about it.”
Said the offensive tackle Wagner, “As corny as it sounds, we took that bluecollar chip to the next level. … Coach Pittman talks about it every single day, about that blue-collar chip. How much we want to out-work our opponents and our violence, physicality, effort, execution, toughness, all that is going to help us win this year a lot. … Last year it was getting that blue-collar chip. This year it’s progressing the chip.”
Senior linebacker Grant Morgan’s connection with the Razorbacks dates to his childhood, and he’s seen the makeup of Arkansas teams that have succeeded.
“Arkansas football is supposed to be the hard working, the tough, the physical [team],” Morgan said. “You go look at any good Arkansas football team, like Darren McFadden was fast, yeah, but he would run people over still.
“You look at Arkansas … in its prime, you go look at smash-mouth football, and that’s what we want to be. We want to be a team that hits hard. We want to be a team that’s not afraid of anybody.”
The lengthy roster of super seniors can be seen as a testament to Pittman and his staff’s ability to relate to players.
“Coach Pittman is just a wonderful coach,” Brown said. “Everybody that came back wanted to play for Coach Pittman. He’s a great guy. He’s had success in his career, so I feel like we just wanted to play for him.”
Morgan said Henry would never have returned for his bonus senior year for a coach who didn’t inspire belief.
“It just shows you how well this organization is being run by Pittman and the coaching staff,” Morgan said. “He wouldn’t have come back and played for anybody else.”
Arkansas assistant coaches have spoken during camp about how Pittman’s second year should see improvement.
“In Year One, everything’s new to everybody, everybody’s trying to figure it out, from the players to the coaches to the strength staff, to the campus with everything going on,” running backs coach Jimmy Smith said. “I think once you get a little settled you’ll feel a lot better. Hopefully that’s the situation with us.”
Receivers coach Kenny Guiton said Pittman keeping receipts is critical.
“I love how Coach Pittman holds everyone accountable,” he said. “He holds everyone accountable and holds everyone to a certain standard.
“We’re all Arkansas. … We’re big-time Arkansas. There’s no other way to think of it. So, if we’re going to be big-time Arkansas, let’s hold everyone in this building and everyone in this program … to a certain standard.”
The longest-tenured Razorbacks on the team, the sixth-year seniors, are the last touchstones to a winning season. The 2016 team went 7-6, blowing a 24-0 halftime lead in the Belk Bowl in a 35-24 loss to Virginia Tech, the unofficial start to one of the longest struggles in the program’s history.
Now, a roster loaded with seniors is hoping to break out of that slump.
“The work ethic on the team has definitely gone up with Coach Pittman,” Clary said. “I think it’s more than just work ethic. You can work hard and not do things right, but it’s working hard the right way, from the weight room to the field.”
Said cornerback Hudson Clark, “We’re definitely taking the right steps. He’s brought in a lot of guys, a lot of coaches to push us in that right direction. I think just the work ethic, the scheme, everything about it, I think it’s a really big step for us.”
The unity of the coaching staff is big for senior linebacker Bumper Pool.
“Coach Pittman does a fantastic job of not only getting us prepared but getting our coaches exactly in line with what he wants,” Pool said. “I think there’s no conflict among our coaching staff.
“We have a bunch of great coaches who mesh well, and ultimately, they have the same vision. I think that just comes from Coach Pittman being such a great person. They want to coach hard for him, and he wants to be a great head coach for all his assistant coaches. It kind of just trickles down throughout the whole team.”
Burks and Catalon noted the successful 202021 academic year, which resulted in eight SEC championships and an eighth-place finish nationally in the Learfield Cup, which encompasses all sports.
“I was watching the basketball team and how they went from nothing to something so quickly, it just made me think, ‘Why can’t that be us?’ ” Burks said. “I would tell certain people in my receiver group and the O-linemen, ‘That could be us. All we have to do is just put our head down and go to work and not worry about what the outside noise is saying.’ Anything is possible.”
Catalon echoed Burks. “Why not us? It’s not just for us, it’s going to be something for the fans, the people that put all these investments into us,” he said. “We’ve got to put on something for them to give back, so this year that’s why I think we’re so motivated.
“We’re trying to get back on the radar. Not everybody knows what Arkansas football is supposed to be like. I’m just excited for the season coming up with the boys, just trying to get everybody back on board with us. It’s going to be an exciting year.”
Said Pittman: “I love the demeanor of the team. I like the new guys we brought in, the transfers and freshmen. I’m very proud of the new coaches we’ve brought in. I don’t know if it’s fairytale land in there, but it’s pretty nice right now.”