Heading into Friday’s regular season finale against Missouri, Arkansas has a chance to win 8 games before a bowl for the first time in a decade.
That wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of Sam Pittman and his staff, and what they have done in just under 24 months is nothing short of remarkable.
Eli Drinkwitz himself even said it during the teleconference on Monday that he thought Pittman was coach of the year.
@CoachDrinkwitz calls Arkansas' Sam Pittman the SEC Coach of the Year. Said it on #secthismorning after South Carolina's Shane Beamer declined to answer. @SECNetwork @PeterBurnsESPN @ChrisDoering #Mizzou #arkansasrazorbacks
— Bucky Fox (@buckyfox) November 23, 2021
Pittman was made fun of when he was hired. All of the usual stuff, that he had never been a head coach, or even a coordinator, at the FBS level.
That he was an offensive line coach that was just good at using Twitter for recruits.
He alluded to that Monday when asked about KJ Jefferson and the progression he had shown this season.
Sam Pittman on KJ Jefferson being one of the best QB’s in the country/ being motivated by his doubters:
“He’s sorta like me, they had him 14th (best QB) in the league, too.
“I don’t want to trade (KJ for any other QB).” pic.twitter.com/fw1RwzInYM
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) November 23, 2021
All they (meaning Pittman and Jefferson) can do is point to their play on the field.
If they come out like gangbusters on Friday and beat Missouri and then win the bowl game for a 9-win season, fans are going to be doing cartwheels all winter.
The hype for the 2022 season will be off the charts. Probably the most anticipated football season since 2012, although no one was really ready to admit at the time that things could go awry with that team without Petrino.
Hopefully Sam stays off motorcycles this spring.