Tag: Arkansas football

Georgia football staff loses another key member

The Georgia Bulldogs have lost another staff member to the Arkansas Razorbacks. This time, it’s one of Georgia’s own.

Following the departure of beloved offensive line coach Sam Pittman, now head coach at Arkansas, the Georgia Bulldogs have lost another staff member to the Razorbacks.

This time, it’s one of Georgia’s own.

Fernando Velasco, who played on the Dawgs’ offensive line from 2003 to 2006 and in the NFL from 2008 to 2016, joined his alama mater’s staff in 2016 as player relations coordinator. He was quickly promoted to director of player development, a position he held for the past three years.

He is the fourth staffer to follow Pittman to Fayetteville, joining special teams coordinator Scott Fountain along with strength and conditioning coaches Jamil Walker and Ed Ellis.

According to his twitter, he will maintain his position of director of player development for the Hogs.

Fernando Velasco is a verified Damn Good Dawg and we wish him the best of luck in the future. That is, until he’s recruiting away from his home.

NSD around the SEC: How’d each team do?

How did each SEC team do during the 2020 recruiting cycle? Georgia football holds the lead.

Georgia football closed out National Signing Day with the No. 1 ranked class in the nation, making that the second time in three year that the Bulldogs finished with the top class.

As it always does, the SEC dominated recruiting, with the conference occupying seven of the top ten spots in the team rankings.

Georgia had some tough competition for the No. 1 spot but was able to fend off powerhouses Alabama and Clemson to remain America’s top dawg.

The numbers do not lie, though. Georgia has spent more money on the recruiting trail than any other team in the country. And apparently it’s working well for them.

From Bleacher Report:

Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald (h/t USA Today) cited Georgia’s annual NCAA financial report that covered the fiscal year of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and noted the Bulldogs spent $3.7 million on football recruiting expenses.

That represents a jump of more than $1 million from the previous fiscal year when they led the country in the same category.

Here’s a look at how each SEC school did in the 2020 recruiting cycle:

In order of SEC ranking

1. Georgia (No. 1 in country)

2. Alabama (No. 2 in country)

3. LSU (No. 4 in country)

4. Texas A&M (No. 6 in country)

5. Auburn (No. 7 in country)

6. Florida (No. 8 in country)

7. Tennessee (No. 10 in country)

8. South Carolina (No. 18 in country)

9. Kentucky (No. 24 in country)

10. Mississippi State (No. 27 in country)

11. Arkansas (No. 33 in country)

12. Ole Miss (No. 38 in country)

13. Missouri (No. 48 in country)

14. Vanderbilt (No. 56 in country)

So, the next closest SEC East school to Georgia is Florida, which sits at No. 8 in America. Then there’s Tennessee, which is No. 10. Is the talent gap really closing as much as Gator fans say it is?

2020 Notre Dame Opponent Lands Florida QB Transfer

Former Florida quarterback and grad-transfer Feleipe Franks announced Monday he would be transferring to Arkansas for his fifth year.

At first glance the Notre Dame home opener isn’t against a stunning opponent as the Arkansas Razorbacks make their first trip to Notre Dame Stadium.ย  However, when the two programs meet for the first time in each other’s history the Razorbacks will do so with more intrigue than perhaps previously thought.

Arkansas is coming off an embarrassing 2-10 season in which they fired Chad Morris with just two games remaining.ย  Barry Lunney, Jr. coached the final two games of 2019 in an interim role before the school announced Georgia’s offensive line coach Sam Pittman to be their head coach in early-December.

Pittman doesn’t appear to be wasting any time upping the talent at Arkansas as he has found his quarterback for 2020.

Former Florida quarterback and grad-transfer Feleipe Franks announced Monday he would be transferring to Arkansas for his fifth year.

Franks started 13 games for Florida in 2018 and helped lead the Gators to a massive turnaround, going 10-3 and winning the Peach Bowl over Michigan.ย  He threw for 2457 yards that season with 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions while adding seven more scores on the ground.

Franks broke his ankle in Florida’s third game of 2019 and missed the remainder of the season.

Arkansas will be the third SEC opponent to visit Notre Dame Stadium the last four seasons, joining Georgia in ’17 and Vanderbilt in ’18.

New Arkansas coach Sam Pittman gets choked up during first press conference: ‘I’m a wreck’

Sam Pittman was overcome with emotion during his introductory press conference at Arkansas.

Sam Pittman was officially introduced as Arkansas’ new football coach Monday, and he replaces Chad Morris, who was fired in November after going just 4-18 in less than two seasons and earning zero SEC wins.

Most recently, Pittman was the associate head coach and offensive line coach at Georgia, where he spent four seasons, and before that, he held the same positions, along with recruiting coordinator, at Arkansas from 2013-15. Former Razorback players so strongly supported their school hiring Pittman back that they wrote an open letter to the school supporting him, following Morris’ firing.

Judging by Pittman’s introductory press conference, this job clearly means the world to him. While speaking about recruiting and attracting coaches to join the program, he was overcome with emotion and met with applause from those in attendance.

“As you can tell, this means a lot,” Pittman said while getting choked up. “I’m a wreck,” he later added.

Arkansas finished this season 2-10 with its only wins coming against Portland State and Colorado State. It’s also on a 19-game losing streak in the SEC that goes all the way back to the end of the 2017 season, when Bret Bielema was still the coach.

Pittman signed a five-year contract worth about $3 million annually that also emphasizes performance bonuses, ESPN reported. He is also eligible for two one-year extensions if the team makes it to a bowl game, which it hasn’t done since 2016.

“I want to earn your trust, and the only way I know how to do it is to be loyal to you, be honest with you and go work hard,” Pittman said during the press conference. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”

Here’s a longer clip from his emotional introduction:

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It’s official: Georgia announces hiring of former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke

Georgia football announces hiring of former Ole Miss HC Matt Luke

Well, the rumors are no longer rumors.

Former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke will replace Sam Pittman as Georgia’s offensive line coach, after the former accepted the head coaching job at Arkansas on Sunday.

Coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs wasted no time filling the spot Pittman left open and are already back on the trail, hoping to retain all the recruits gained by the Razorbacks’ main man.

This morning, the rumors on Luke to Athens quickly turned into reports, before the Bulldogs officially announced the signing just after 12:00 pm.

Luke will also serve as Georgia’s associate head coach. He coached Ole Miss’ offensive line from 2012 until 2016 and was named interim head coach after the firing of Hugh Freeze. Luke, who played center at Ole Miss in the 90’s, became his alma mater’s permanent head coach after the 2016 season.

Now, Georgia will turn its focus to the Early Signing Day, which is only 8 days away, as well as re-tooling the offensive staff.

Make sure to follow along with UGA Wire for the latest updates on the ongoing changes in Athens.

Details: Sam Pittman’s new Arkansas contract

Former Georgia football OL coach Sam Pittman signs new head coach deal with the Arkansas Razorbacks. See the details of the signing here.

Georgia lost a good one yesterday as offensive line coach Sam Pittman signed a deal with Arkansas to become the Razorbacks’ new head coach.

Pittman, who has played a critical role in beefing up the Georgia offensive line through recruiting and coaching, is getting paid well by the Hogs.

Related: Sam Pittman’s departure is a huge blow for Georgia

Pittman contract is a five-year deal that starts at $3 million annually, per Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY Sports.

At Georgia, Pittman was valued incredibly high by Kirby Smart, earning $900,000 per year as a position coach.

Berkowitz provided all the info necessary on Pittman’s new contract.

 

 

This is a huge loss for the Bulldogs but is understandable looking at the business perspective of the deal.

We wish coach Pittman and his family nothing but the best as he embarks for Fayetteville next season.

Once a Dawg…always a Dawg.

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.

Georgiaโ€™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.ย 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 hasย accepted the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas.

Pittman, 58, was the Razorbacksโ€™ offensive line coach from 20013- 2015. He was Coach Smartโ€™s first major hire and is one of the nationโ€™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 Pittmanโ€™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 hasnโ€™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.

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