Most college football coaches would never say they didn’t think their team was ready for a game, much less the season. Things are almost always positive, especially before a single down has been played.
What may have been a surprise, though, where the areas in which Arkansas looked to be more advanced than expected. The transfer portal has a lot to do with that.
Arkansas added 19 players via the portal in the offseason, including several who were starters at power-conference schools last year. One of them, safety Al Walcott, was even an All-Big 12 selection in 2022.
Pittman let Walcott and wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, a transfer from Division II Hillsdale College, have their first turns with the media after Thursday’s practice. Pittman doesn’t usually players expected to be reserves to such availabilities.
And Walcott’s odds of being a regular, if not one of the best in the Arkansas secondary, went up later in the day when fellow transfer safety, AJ Brathwaite Jr. left the team. For a unit that struggled so much last year – the Razorbacks were last in FBS in pass defense – even that loss stings a bit just three weeks ahead of the season opening.
For now, though, Pittman will count on the new players just taking the next step forward.
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