SEC media days nothing but quiet

Alabama Coach Nick Saban was slated to be the marquee coach today at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Of course that isn’t happening as the SEC and the rest of the college football world waits to see what the next couple of weeks will reveal about the covid-19 pandemic and the chance for even having a season this fall.

Saban, who has won five national championships with the Crimson Tide and six in his coaching career, always draws a huge, sometimes-frenzied crowd, whether media days are in Hoover, Ala, a short drive from the Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, or Atlanta.

Also, firstyear Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman would have made

his media days debut along with three Razorback players.

Instead, Pittman will conduct his first major media day as a head coach in a “virtual” fashion, whenever the SEC gets around to scheduling the event.

Some of the questions Pittman likely would have fielded today include:

■ How will these Razorbacks be improved over the 2019 edition, which went 2-10 and extended the program’s SEC losing streak to 19 games?

■ What are your expectations on offense and defense from new coordinators Kendal Briles and Barry Odom?

■ How can Arkansas improve on defense with the loss of top players McTelvin Agim, De’Jon Harris and Kamren Curl now in the NFL with depth issues already a factor?

■ Will transfer quarterback Feleipe Franks, a 13-game starter at Florida in 2018, be a difference maker on offense?

■ Can transfer defenders like Xavier Kelly, Levi Draper and Jerry Jacobs help raise the level of play on that side of the ball?

■ Why did tailback Rakeem Boyd return and can he be more productive after rushing for 1,133 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2019?

■ Will Pittman’s expertise as an offensive line guru plus right-hand man Brad Davis as coach of that unit make a drastic impact?

■ Can you get the ball to Treylon Burks in scoring range just one time?

■ Who will win the starting placekicker job to follow the school’s all-time field goal accuracy leader Connor Limpert?

■ Can the punting game make much-needed improvements with a dedicated special teams coordinator in Scott Fountain?

Of course questions like that and more await Pittman whenever, and if, the virtual media days takes place.

Obviously there are a lot more issues than those for the Razorbacks, but if Pittman and crew can provide positive answers to most of them in the 2020 season then maybe Arkansas can start inching back toward respectability in the harder side of the nation’s toughest conference.

The lack of a physical media days this week doesn’t mean the news has stopped.

On Monday, Phil Steele released preseason predictions for All-SEC teams and six Razorbacks were included. Steele takes his preseason allleague teams four deep, more than most other publications.

Boyd was Arkansas’ lone second-team representative, while Burks was a third-team choice by Steele. The Hogs’ fourth-team picks were center Ty Clary, linebacker Bumper Pool, receiver/kick returner De’Vion Warren and deep snapper Jordan Silver.

The Razorbacks began mandatory weight lifting and conditioning drills Monday, and up to 20 hours per week of drills and film study, as allowed by recent NCAA rulings.

On July 24, college football programs will be able to conduct full-squad non-padded walkthroughs with footballs on the field if the current NCAA timeline holds.

This would mark the first time Arkansas coaches will have seen their quarterbacks throwing the ball in person.

Pittman