Tag: Arkansas football

Sam Pittman’s departure a big blow for Georgia football

Sam Pittman leaving Georgia for Arkansas is a big blow for Kirby Smart and UGA football.

Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman accepted the position of head coach at Arkansas over the weekend, piling on to what was already a sad few days for Bulldog fans.

For Pittman, it’s a heck of an upgrade, though. To go from offensive line coach to head coach at another SEC school is not something that you see often.

There’s no arguing that losing Pittman won’t hurt the Bulldogs. People may say that we’ll be fine, which we will, but the loss of Pittman will be noticeable. The guy is a recruiting mastermind and did something never seen before in Rivals’ recruiting history, according to Nikki Chavanelle, who covers Arkansas for Rivals.

You don’t just replace that kind of recruiting.

While at Georgia, Pittman put an emphasis on size.

Georgia’s entire line this season weighs in heavier than the average NFL offensive lineman (314.8 lbs) and allowed just 12 sacks all season.

Whoever replaces Pittman will be fortunate to inherit arguably the best returning offensive line in college football next season, but it’s hard to imagine there is anybody out there who reel in the big-hitters that Pittman did on a consistent basis each year.

For 2020, Pittman is the No. 3 ranked recruiter in all of college football, according to 247Sports’ recruiter rankings.

The other thing Pittman emphasized was depth. And this season at Georgia, the Dawgs had a group of second-stringers who could start just about anywhere in the country. And thank God we did.

Injuries happen on the line. A high volume of 300+ men in a congested space. Yeah, injuries will happen.

But Pittman prepared for that, and that’s why we were so deep at offensive line. Whoever we hire next as offensive line coach, if there’s one thing I hope he focuses on its depth.

In Pittman, Arkansas gets more than a great recruiter and teacher. They also get some of the greatest videos to ever hit social media.

I’ll miss a lot about Pittman, but none more than these classics.

It’s official: Arkansas hires Georgia OL coach Sam Pittman, fans react

It’s official: Sam Pittman is going to Arkansas to coach the Razorbacks

Sunday, it was reported that the Arkansas Razorbacks were heavily considering Georgia football offensive line coach Sam Pittman for their open coaching vacancy.

Now, it’s a done deal. Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek officially announced the new signing Sunday evening, with one of Pittman’s signature ‘Yessirr’ videos.

Sadly, the traditional ‘Go Dawgs’ slogan quickly turned to ‘Go Hawgs’ and that was that.

Here’s how the Bulldog Nation reacted to the news:

And I oop…

 

Georgia OL coach Sam Pittman hired as Arkansas HC

Georgia offensive line coach and associate head coach Sam Pittman has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas. Pittman, 58, was the Razorbacks’ offensive line coach from 20013- 2015. He was Coach Smart’s first major hire …

Georgia offensive line coach and associate head coach Sam Pittman has accepted the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas.

Pittman, 58, was the Razorbacks’ offensive line coach from 20013- 2015. He was Coach Smart’s first major hire and is one of the nation’s highest paid assistants at $900,000 annually. Eight of his recruits have been drafted by NFL teams, including tackle Isaiah Wynn in the first round by the New England Patriots last year.

This will be Pittman’s first job as a college football head coach. He has been widely considered one of the best offensive line coaches and recruiters.

Pittman has held various coaching staff positions since 1994 at schools including Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Pittman ranks as the No. 3 recruiter in the nation for 2020 and has consistently ranked as one of the top recruiters in the country.

Arkansas is coming off consecutive 2-10 seasons and hasn’t had a winning record since 2016.

Arkansas Razorbacks football team is dealing with a serious mumps outbreak

More than a dozen Arkansas players are out on Friday because of a mumps outbreak.

The Arkansas Razorbacks season seemed like it couldn’t get much worse, with just two wins on the year and several blowout losses to SEC powerhouses, but the team was forced to play its final game of the year without a significant portion of its roster on Friday due to a mumps outbreak on campus.

According to a report last Sunday, a total of nine cases of the mumps were reported at the University of Arkansas. According to Arkansas beat reporter Trey Schaap, Razorbacks secondary coach Mark Smith was diagnosed with the mumps, and John Nabors reports that “around 15 players” would be held out of the game.

A mumps outbreak in Arkansas in 2016 resulted in more than 3,000 cases of the disease.

Via Arkansas.gov:

“Mumps is a viral illness that is transmitted by direct contact with respiratory droplets or saliva from an infected person. It is best known for painful, swollen salivary glands that show up as puffy cheeks and swollen jaw. Boys may also have painful, swollen testicles. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscles aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. There is no treatment, and symptoms usually resolve themselves within a few weeks. Mumps is usually a mild disease in children, but adults may have more serious disease with complications. Vaccination against Mumps is available with MMR vaccine.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Dave Matter tweeted that some media members covering the game were contacting their parents to find out if they had received the MMR vaccine.

[vertical-gallery id=873797]

Will Arkansas Come Calling For Boise State’s Bryan Harsin?

Arkansas is looking for a new head coach, will they call Boise State’s Bryan Harsin?

[jwplayer 18QegcJn-sNi3MVSU]

Will Arkansas Come Calling For Boise State’s Bryan Harsin?

Could the Broncos be in the market for a new head coach?

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

It seems unlikely but you never know.

Arkansas is in the market for a new head coach after the school fired Chad Morris not even two years into his tenure in Fayetteville. With every Power 5 job that opens up, there is a concern about a good Mountain West coach could get poached to take over.

While Arkansas is not an amazing job at the moment but it is in the SEC and that is a big deal. The Razorbacks were able to land Bret Bielema from Wisconsin where he led the Badgers to three-straight Rose Bowls but went to take a low-level SEC job. So, the alure is real.

Of the Mountain West coaches that could be in the mix is Boise State’s Bryan Harsin. It is not just because Harsin is performing well for the Broncos but he actually has ties to the area.

They are loosely based as he spent one year as Arkansas State’s head coach and led them to a Sun Belt title, and he spent two seasons at Texas where he was the quarterback’s coach and co-offensive coordinator. Those two make him attractive with recruiting and connections to the area.

Will Harsin leave Boise State?

Never say never but consider that he just received an extension by virtue of the win over Wyoming which adds $2.25 million to his contract, which now expires Jan. 10, 2025.

Plus, Harsin has the chance to spend a few more years with an elite quarterback in Hank Bachmeier who looks to be the next great Broncos signal-caller.

Not having to go through a rebuild is very appealing to coaches but some also want the challenge of winning at the highest level. If Harsin were to take Arkansas to an SEC title or even get nine wins he’d be very much appreciated at that university.

Money is another reason why Harsin may want to go to the SEC. He currently makes a solid $1.75 million at Boise State; Morris was earning $4 million per year. The Razorbacks could easily double that and pay less for a new coach. Arkansas is willing to pay coaches very well. They are shelling out $10 million to let go of Morris to find the right guy.

Does Arkansas want Harsin?

The Razorbacks job is the third Power 5 school to open up this year. Rutgers and Florida State are the other two and who knows who else could be let go or move on from their current job. All signs point to USC opening up and that would push Arkansas down the pecking order of who they want or can get.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1368]

Going with Harsin could be seen similar to the Morris hire. A coach from a Group of 5 school who was successful, however, Harsin has had more years and success as a head coach compared to Morris. Arkansas may feel getting Harsin is too similar to a move as Morris.

The ties are sort of there with Harsin but would his three total years in that part of the country amount to much with recruiting? There are other coaches in the area like Louisiana’s Billy Napier, UAB’s Bill Clarke, Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson, Willie Fritz at Tulane and more.

Recruiting and relationships is a big deal and that is one of the biggest weaknesses for Harsin being considered and that alow would have Arkansas put him below some candidates.

It is not like he is Mike Leech (don’t be surprised if his name comes up) who has a unique scheme that can give a boost overnight to it being so unique.

Arkansas spends like it is a big time player in college football and is in the SEC so they may want to make a big move this time around and avoid a Group of Five coach. Whether they get that or not is another question for debate.

Panic level for Boise State fnas possibly losing Harsin to Arkansas should seem pretty low.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

[protected-iframe id=”c0286d6e1aad69344270e42782a7311d-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://anchor.fm/mwwire/embed” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]