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Sam Pittman’s honeymoon phase at Arkansas lasted just long enough for him to sign a fat contract extension in the summer of 2022, right as the rebuilding project that had produced a 9-4 record the previous season was beginning to run out of gas.
The Hogs sputtered in at 7-6 that fall, plummeting from a top-10 ranking in the process, then rolled to a dead stop in ’23, finishing 4-8 with a single win in SEC play.
Pittman fired his offensive coordinator in October; by the end of November, he had the air of a man who’d lost interest in whether he still had a job on Monday or not. (At one point he heatedly refuted a report that his job was safe.)
Ultimately, Pittman’s job was safe, but not for long without a quick turnaround under new OC … oh, you have got to be kidding me.
Will it work? TBD. FanDuel set the Hogs’ over/under win mark at 4.5 wins and I picked them to finish 14th in the SEC, but we can’t wait to find out, starting Thursday night in the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Razorbacks at a Glance …
2023 Recap: 4-8 (1-7 SEC)
Best Player: Edge Landon Jackson
Best Pro Prospect: Landon Jackson
Best Addition: RB Ja’Quinden Jackson (Utah)
Best Name: TE Var’Keyes Gumms
Most Grizzled: DB Hudson Clark (6th year; 31 career starts)
Emerging Dude: Sophomore CB Jaylon Braxton
Biggest strength: A pair of decorated edge rushers in Landon Jackson and incoming transfer Anton Juncaj. Jackson, a transfer from LSU, was a first-team All-SEC pick by league coaches in 2023, largely on the strength of a single dominant afternoon against Alabama; meanwhile, Juncaj was a consensus FCS All-American at Albany, the same school that incubated Florida State star turned first-round pick Jared Verse. If his game translates, they’ll form potentially the most problematic bookend combo in the conference.
Nagging concern: The new quarterback, Boise State transfer Taylen Green, projects as a lateral move from the old quarterback, KJ Jefferson, at best. Like Jefferson, Green is huge (6-6/215) and mobile (19 career rushing TDs at Boise); also like Jefferson, he’s erratic as a passer and has yet to play up to the sum of his physical tools over a full season.
Looming question: Can Bobby Petrino revive the offense? Whatever else there is to say about Petrino (and there’s a lot, obviously), his track record as a play-caller speaks for itself, and Arkansas’ decision to bring him back to a campus he left in disgrace more than a decade ago speaks to its desperation on that side of the ball. If Green clicks, there’s enough firepower in the surrounding cast to take a significant step forward.
The schedule: Pittman’s fate could be sealed by October: There is no plausible path to bowl eligibility that doesn’t include at least 1 September upset over Oklahoma State, Auburn or Texas A&M, none of them in Fayetteville. Ambush opportunities after that point are slim to none.
RELATED: Predicting every Arkansas game in 2024
The upshot
This is another case where an improved product on the field does not necessarily equate to a bump in the win column. Pittman only narrowly survived last year, and from this vantage point, frankly it will be a feat if he’s back in 2025.
Matt Hinton, author of 'Monday Down South' and our resident QB guru, has previously written for Dr. Saturday, CBS and Grantland.
