Hogs Rolling Under Pittman, but Next Step Could Be the Hardest
A mere two seasons removed from the worst stretch in Arkansas football’s 128-year history, the Razorbacks will open the 2022 season with an upwards trajectory and higher expectations. The reward for a 9-4 campaign capped by a New Year’s Day win in the Outback Bowl? An even steeper hill to climb.
As one anonymous SEC coach told Lindy’s Sports, “The next step is the hardest in the SEC. Going from 8-4 to 10, 11, 12 wins is a harder step than going from three wins to eight. It really is.”
The fact Arkansas finds itself in position to try and take such a step borders on unbelievable, considering where the program was just two and a half years ago, and the conference — specifically, the division — in which it plays. The Hogs have been ranked as high as 13 in preseason polls and picked to finish as high as second behind Alabama (and as low as fifth) in the SEC West.
Coach Sam Pittman’s out-of-the-blue hire in December of 2019 was met with skepticism (at best) and ridicule (at worst) by national media. The Hogs were coming off consecutive 2-10, SEC-winless seasons under Chad Morris, who didn’t inherit a great situation when hired in December of 2017. Bret Bielema’s once promising but ultimately unfulfilled tenure (one nine-win season) had just ended badly, 4-8 and 1-7 in the SEC, the lone win delivered via Connor Limpert’s last second field goal to beat Ole Miss in Oxford.
Bielema’s fortunes began to turn for the worse when he essentially chased Pittman, then serving as his offensive line coach, to Georgia. But then Morris attempted to turn Bielema’s ground-and-pound approach into the “left lane, hammer down” no-huddle system he had allegedly perfected as OC at Clemson and to moderate success as head coach at SMU. But enough of that prolonged nightmare.
Pittman, who always called Arkansas his dream job, is building the Hogs back into a team that can compete in the trenches. And in the SEC, that’s where it must begin. Now, KJ Jefferson is back at quarterback and Hog fans are dreaming of 10 wins again.
Photos courtesy of The Univeristy of Arkansas
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When the Hogs get off the bus at opposing stadiums this fall, they will look the part. Pittman brought strength and conditioning coach Jamil Walker with him from Georgia, and the Hogs, by all accounts, look bigger and faster across the board.
Jamil Walker
When Pittman was hired in December 2019, one anonymous coach said he wouldn’t have touched the program with a 10-foot pole. But headed into year three, the Razorback football team has been transformed, and such garbage silenced. All three coordinators — Barry Odom (defense), Kendal Briles (offense) and Scott Fountain (special teams) are back for their third year under Pittman. Such continuity is rare these days in college football, and each unit has shown improvement year-over-year.
Barry Odom
Under Briles, who turned down the Miami OC job in the offseason, the Razorback offense has finally merged into the passing lane. Points per game were up to 30.9 in ‘21, up from 21.4 in ’19, and total offense averaged 441.7 a year ago, compared to just 340.1 in Morris’ final season.
Kendal Briles
Prospects for a big season — that next step — reside behind Jefferson, the big dual-threat signal caller who threw for almost 2,700 yards, rushed for more than 600, had a completion rate of 67.3% and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 21-to-4. Backing him up is the speedy Malik Hornsby, who may see the field more as a slot back or receiver than as a QB. Also back are four offensive line starters — top pro prospect Ricky Stromberg at center, guards Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer and tackle Dalton Wagner, as well as part-time starter Luke Jones.
Scott Fountain
Just two seasons removed from Morris’ disastrous conversion of the Razorback OL, Pittman has built it back into the two-deep mauling machine it was when he served as OL coach under Bielema. In 2021, the Hogs led the SEC in rushing at more than 227 yards per game, good for seventh nationally.
The only lingering questions on offense concern how the Hogs will replace first-round draft pick Treylon Burks and who will emerge as a deep threat. Portal receivers Jadon Haselwood of Oklahoma and 6-5 Matt Landers from Toledo via Georgia are expected to help answer those questions. The door is wide open for last year’s No. 2 receiver, Warren Thompson, and big things are expected from incoming freshman Isaiah Sategna, a true speed demon and potential deep threat.
Odom, who also received opportunities to leave, has nurtured a similar turnaround on defense. The Hogs gave up 22.9 points per game in ‘21, down from 36.8 in ‘19, and 367.7 yards of total offense, a vast improvement on the 450.7 yards surrendered per game in ‘19. Turnover ratio went from minus-five to plus-six in that span, as well.
The only lingering question on defense resides up front. The ability to create more backfield disruption, the defense’s only real shortcoming a year ago, is important for the Hogs to take that next step. Odom may now have the numbers to do it. The mostly three-man fronts he employed in 2020 and ‘21 were necessary because the Hogs lacked the personnel to run man packages against today’s up-tempo offenses.
Odom expects to run more four-man fronts now, and he experimented with them in the spring. D-line portal additions Landon Jackson (LSU) and Jordan Domineck (Georgia Tech) are expected to make immediate impacts. They’ll join a cast of returning contributors like Isaiah Nichols and Taurean Carter, who was having a big spring until injuring his knee. And the Hogs get a gift in the return of medical hardship/COVID senior Dorian Gerald, whose vast promise has been negated by injuries.
Portal prizes Dwight McGlothern (LSU) and Latavious Brini (Georgia), plus the return from injury of freshman all-America Jalen Catalon, the latest in the pantheon of hard-hitting Razorback safeties, solidifies an improved Arkansas secondary.
Linebacker Bumper Pool, last season’s team- and SEC-leading tackler with a whopping 125 stops, returns for his COVID senior year, and he’ll be joined by perhaps the biggest portal pickup, linebacker Drew Sanders from Alabama. At 6-5 and 232 pounds, Sanders is speedy and ready to man his preferred spot in the middle after part-time starting as an edge rusher for the Tide. And expect big things from freshman backer Chris Paul.
Odom should feel comfortable going on the offensive in ‘22.
And last season, special teams became a weapon again. Freshman sensation Cam Little went 20-of-24 on field goal attempts, including a game winner at LSU, and converted all 46 PATs. Punter Reid Bauer, after a slow start to his Razorback career, averaged more than 43 yards per punt, but he’ll be challenged by incoming Aussie freshman Max Fletcher, whose brother is the punter at Cincinnati and dad was an all-star player in Australian Rules Football.
Now that Fountain has the luxury of depth, lingering kick and punt coverage issues have been addressed. So, too, should be the Hogs’ return game. Bryce Stephens has the potential to be a dangerous punt returner, and Green and Johnson are threats to return kickoffs to the house.
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For the first time in what seems like a generation, but in reality is more like a decade, Hog fans are not poring over the schedule, hoping somehow to identify six wins. It feels like six wins (representing bowl eligibility) are a given once again, despite the vaunted SEC West, where 2-6 likely translates to 6-2 in any other Power 5 division.
Of course, the Hogs again face what some believe to be the toughest schedule in the land. Arkansas fans have come to expect nothing less. This year’s non-conference slate includes 2021 playoff contender Cincinnati in the opener and top 20 BYU on the road.
Even during its time in the SEC basement, Arkansas had good-enough starting talent (mostly) to compete in the SEC; depth has been the nemesis. This season, Razorback fans should begin to notice that’s not so much the case anymore. Five Razorbacks were named to preseason player-of-the-year awards lists for their positions: Stromberg, Pool, Catalon, Little and Bauer.
And recruiting – ever evolving in this age of the transfer portal and NIL – is looking up.
The Hogs’ loaded class of ‘23, already with 24 hard commits, currently ranks 12th in the nation and fourth in the SEC, which would represent the program’s highest finish since recruiting rankings went mainstream roughly 20 years ago.
Prior to Pittman’s arrival, the Hogs won just one league game — that thriller in Oxford — from 2017-19. Since his arrival — seven league wins. With a schedule full of swing games, Hog fortunes will ride on the ability of Jefferson and the new receivers to connect, especially deep, opening up what should be an elite run game, and the defense’s ability to rely on man coverages and create more negative plays.
Last season’s four league wins should represent a source of pride, given where the program was just two seasons ago. But breaking even in the SEC West is kind of like making B’s and C’s at Harvard. The Hogs are sniffing the honors college these days, and football season can’t arrive fast enough.
Returning all-star candidates
The heavy producers likely to make an all-conference or all-America list:
QB KJ Jefferson, S Jalen Catalon, C Ricky Stromberg (or any of the OL starters), LB Bumper Pool, K Cam Little, RB Dominique Johnson, RB Rocket Sanders
Portal prizes
Transfer and new players expected to have an impact right away:
WR Jadon Haselwood (Oklahoma), CB Dwight McGlothern (LSU), CB Latavious Brini (Georgia), LB Drew Sanders (Alabama), WR Matt Landers (Toledo), DL Landon Jackson (LSU), DL Jordan Domineck (Georgia State)
Sleepers
Don’t sleep on these players, who may be poised for a big year:
TE Trey Knox, RB AJ Green, LB, Chris Paul, WR Ketron Jackson, DL Taurean Carter, DL Cam Ball, DB Myles Slusher, PR Bryce Stephens, QB/WR Malik Hornsby, DL Eric Gregory, WR Warren Thompson, DB Jayden Johnson
Potential surprises
Potential out-of-the-blue contributors just coming in or flying under the radar:
P Max Fletcher, QB Cade Fortin, LB Mani Powell, RB Rashod Dubinion, TE Ty Washington.
