Fourth in a series previewing SEC football teams
DALLAS — University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman understands another 4-8 record won’t cut it in 2024, and he’s not shy talking about his status entering the season.
“I’m popular now, the wrong way,” Pittman said in the electronic media room on Thursday at SEC media days. “I’d say I’m hot. I’m at the top of those [hot seat] lists. … What’s fair is fair.”
This comes after Pittman led the Razorbacks from a 3-7 mark in 2020 at the tail end of a 20-game SEC losing streak to a 9-4 finish and four trophy game wins in 2021.
“If you’re going to get patted on the back, you’re going to get punched in the gut,” Pittman added.
Arkansas receiver Andrew Armstrong said players don’t pay attention to “hot seat” lists, but a tidy solution exists for the Hogs to turn down the heat on their head coach.
“At the end of the day, this is Arkansas football, and we’re trying to go win not only for ourselves, but for our fans, the state,” Armstrong said. “I know they’re waiting for a great season. So we’re not too much focused on the ‘hot seat’ thing. If the team is focused on winning, there is no hot seat for him. We go out there and win, those talks won’t happen.”
The Razorbacks are not likely to be chosen among the contenders in the SEC when the media’s projected order of finish is released on Friday. In fact, Arkansas will probably rank in the lowest tier of teams along with Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Pittman sounded fired up about wanting to discard the remnants of the 4-8 season.
“If we can take 4-20 to 9-4, we can deal with 4-8 too, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Pittman said, referencing the Razorbacks’ record in 2018-19 immediately before he was hired. “I’m very excited about the Arkansas Razorbacks.”
End Landon Jackson, a returning defensive captain, said the players won’t worry about media expectations.
“Whatever the media thinks about our team doesn’t really matter because we’re a whole new team,” Jackson said. “College football is a different game now.”
Quarterback Taylen Green, who Pittman said was “hand picked” by offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, compared his recruitment to where the media might pick the Razorbacks.
“We’ll just use it as motivation,” Green said. “You know growing up and being recruited, I wasn’t really highly recruited. So just proving the doubters wrong and proving ourselves right is something that we like. We like being the underdog and just proving ourselves.
Jackson pointed out how the NCAA transfer portal can change the identity of a team quickly, and he thinks that could apply to the 2024 Razorbacks.
“Taylen, for example, wasn’t here last year,” Jackson said. “Nobody knows for sure how he’s going to be for our team, but I think he’ll be phenomenal. Another guy, JJ [JaQuinden Jackson] at running back, I feel like he’ll be great for our team. We’ve got so many transfers in that we’re not the same team. Not even the same coaching staff.”
It will be incumbent on the Razorbacks to have a better record in one-score games, where they went 1-5 last season and 3-3 the year before.
“Those games can change a season all the way around,” Armstrong said. “We lost a lot of close games, and if I’m not mistaken Missouri went 5-0 [actually 4-0] in close games last year.
“You can see how they went the distance in their season. So I feel like those close games really are a major focal point in having a winning season or a losing season.”
Pittman said closing out tight games has been a point of emphasis in the team’s preparations all offseason.
“We have to figure out how to finish, win the close games,” he said. “We have got figure that out. We feel like we’re well on our way to getting that accomplished.
“I think a lot of that has to do with how we approach play calling, how aggressive we are on defense. … Whether you can run the football or not.
“Last year, we didn’t do a whole lot well on offense. It was a little bit more of a grab bag. What are we doing well right this moment instead of staying with it or what we thought the game plan would be because it wasn’t working. I think a lot of it had to do with the offensive line and the running backs, which I think we’ve shored up those two spots.”
Jackson said contributing on a successful team is a key reason why he returned for his senior year.
“My first year at LSU, we had a mediocre record,” he said. “Then, first year at Arkansas we were 6-6 before going to the Liberty Bowl. Then last year was a bad season.
“I really want to finish my college career with a bang. … Since I was a kid, my main goal was to play in the SEC and not just play in it, but dominate the SEC.
“That was my goal as a kid before any thoughts of the NFL. Now my goal obviously is to go to the NFL, but I’ve got to complete my initial goal. I really wanted to come back and have a dominating season as a team, not just as an individual player, and really get those wins.”
The Razorbacks will not play perennial power Alabama, which has won 17 consecutive games in the series, but they have added new SEC member Texas.
Arkansas will not wear the mantle of having the toughest schedule in the nation as it has claimed many times in the last couple of decades, but it’s still a rugged slate.
“We have seven top 25 teams on the schedule, so it’s probably a lot better year than it’s normally been,” Pittman said. “Nah, you know Andrew [Armstrong] said it on the plane on the way over, he said, ‘Hell, coach, they’ve got to play us too.’
“So we do have a good schedule. It gives us more opportunities, and it gives us more opportunities to make a splash. And any time you play top 25 team and you win, it’s a splash and it’s a hit and so it gives us a lot of opportunities and that’s how we’re looking at it.”