Here's what I see as Pittman's "to-do" list this offseason...
arkansas.rivals.com
The 2021 season is officially over for Arkansas, which capped off an incredible year with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl on Saturday.
However, the work is just getting started for head coach Sam Pittman and his staff. It may be the offseason, but they still have a lot of important things to take care of moving forward.
Here is how HawgBeat sees Pittman’s offseason checklist as he heads into his third year as the Razorbacks’ head coach…
1. Retain all assistant coaches
Leading up to the bowl game, Pittman mentioned that his Christmas wish list included winning the Outback Bowl and retaining his coaching staff. He’s already accomplished the first half of that and seems confident about the second part, but things can quickly change in college football.
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom figured to be a candidate for head coaching jobs this offseason, but the Razorbacks seem to have made it through the carousel unscathed. While there is still a chance offensive coordinator Kendal Briles could take another job, with Miami (Fla.) seemingly being the biggest threat, Pittman has repeatedly said he believes all of his assistants will be back in 2022.
It’s clear that having consistency on his staff is very important to Pittman, who learned just how difficult that can be last offseason when Justin Stepp and Brad Davis left for other SEC jobs. He also moved on from three other assistants - Jon Cooper, Derrick LeBlanc and Rion Rhoades - but now seems happy with his current staff composition.
2. Sign Rowser
The Razorbacks signed 22 of their committed players during the early signing period, including transfers Jadon Haselwood and Landon Jackson. A large chunk of those players - all but four - will arrive in Fayetteville at midterm, allowing them to go through spring ball.
The lone player who did not sign was four-star safety Myles Rowser, who is actually the highest ranked player in the class at No. 119 in the Rivals250. However, he remains committed to Arkansas and has told Rivals that he intends to sign in February.
Delaying his actual signing, though, creates some uncertainty. The Razorbacks are pursuing four-star prospect Gentry Williams, who delayed signing with Oklahoma, but he seems to be a little bit more of a long shot at the moment. With the secondary still a point of emphasis, securing Rowser’s signature is very important for Pittman and his staff.
3. Close out 2022 class with the transfer portal
Arkansas was originally going to have room for only 21 incoming players, but the NCAA passed a one-year waiver that allows schools to sign up to seven additional players to replace those lost to the transfer portal.
With 11 players already in the portal, the Razorbacks have unlocked each of those extra spots and can now sign up to 28. Assuming Rowser does end up signing, they’d be at 23 - leaving five more spots.
One of those would undoubtedly go to Williams if he decided to flip from Oklahoma, but that does not seem likely at the moment. Instead, Arkansas will hit the transfer portal for more players to join Haselwood and Jackson.
It would not be surprising to see the Razorbacks target a few key positions. Pittman has actually mentioned linebacker and they offered Miami (Ohio) transfer Ivan Pace Jr., but he committed to Cincinnati - where his younger brother plays. Even with Jackson in the fold, defensive line is still likely a major point of emphasis, as they’ve offered defensive end Jared Verse from the FCS ranks and made the top five for Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player.
Something else the staff must figure out is whether or not they want to add a quarterback for depth purposes after Kade Renfro suffered a torn ACL in bowl practices. If they do so, Pittman said he would discuss it with the other quarterbacks ahead of time.
4. Finalize / continue to iron out 2022 roster
Along those same lines, Pittman is juggling a lot of moving parts in an effort to settle in at 85 scholarships for the 2022 season.
Unlike this past season, when they could return and not count against that limit, super seniors will now factor into the 85 and the Razorbacks must be selective with who they ask to come back. Some dominoes have already fallen, with Dalton Wagner returning and four others - Montaric Brown, Trelon Smith, Kendall Catalon and Jordan Silver - moving on, but a few major question marks remain, including Bumper Pool, Joe Foucha and John Ridgeway.
As things currently stand, without those three players, Shane Clenin or Rowser, the Razorbacks are at 83 scholarships, according to HawgBeat’s projected distribution chart. If Rowser signs, that’d just leave one spot for the remaining four undecided super seniors and aforementioned additional five transfers.
For each player they go over that, another current player has to enter the portal, which currently has seen 10 non-senior Razorbacks go in it since November. There will likely be more roster turnover to make room for those guys (super seniors/transfers), so Pittman must figure out which players to process out while also dealing with any potential surprise transfers - like Mike Woods last year.
5. Build on 2023 class
It will continue to change as more players make their final decisions, but Arkansas is currently No. 16 in the Rivals recruiting rankings for 2022. It’s a solid class for the Razorbacks, but most of it was put together before they went 9-4 and won the Outback Bowl this year.
The impact of that success won’t truly be felt on the recruiting trail until the 2023 cycle, which Arkansas has already gotten a jump on. It has five commitments with one four-star prospect, three 5.7 three-stars and a 5.6 three-star, plus is ranked No. 5 nationally.
It’s WAY too early to put much stock into that ranking, especially considering the Razorbacks are one of only five teams with at least five commits so far, but it is a really solid foundation for what could be a special class.
Arkansas will have numerous 2023 prospects on campus this month and it is vital that the coaching staff continues to make headway with the class because recruiting is the lifeblood of college football programs.
HawgBeat - Pittman's 2022 offseason checklist
HawgBeat reveals what it believes to be Sam Pittman's top offseason priorities.
arkansas.rivals.com
The 2021 season is officially over for Arkansas, which capped off an incredible year with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl on Saturday.
However, the work is just getting started for head coach Sam Pittman and his staff. It may be the offseason, but they still have a lot of important things to take care of moving forward.
Here is how HawgBeat sees Pittman’s offseason checklist as he heads into his third year as the Razorbacks’ head coach…
1. Retain all assistant coaches
Leading up to the bowl game, Pittman mentioned that his Christmas wish list included winning the Outback Bowl and retaining his coaching staff. He’s already accomplished the first half of that and seems confident about the second part, but things can quickly change in college football.
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom figured to be a candidate for head coaching jobs this offseason, but the Razorbacks seem to have made it through the carousel unscathed. While there is still a chance offensive coordinator Kendal Briles could take another job, with Miami (Fla.) seemingly being the biggest threat, Pittman has repeatedly said he believes all of his assistants will be back in 2022.
It’s clear that having consistency on his staff is very important to Pittman, who learned just how difficult that can be last offseason when Justin Stepp and Brad Davis left for other SEC jobs. He also moved on from three other assistants - Jon Cooper, Derrick LeBlanc and Rion Rhoades - but now seems happy with his current staff composition.
2. Sign Rowser
The Razorbacks signed 22 of their committed players during the early signing period, including transfers Jadon Haselwood and Landon Jackson. A large chunk of those players - all but four - will arrive in Fayetteville at midterm, allowing them to go through spring ball.
The lone player who did not sign was four-star safety Myles Rowser, who is actually the highest ranked player in the class at No. 119 in the Rivals250. However, he remains committed to Arkansas and has told Rivals that he intends to sign in February.
Delaying his actual signing, though, creates some uncertainty. The Razorbacks are pursuing four-star prospect Gentry Williams, who delayed signing with Oklahoma, but he seems to be a little bit more of a long shot at the moment. With the secondary still a point of emphasis, securing Rowser’s signature is very important for Pittman and his staff.
3. Close out 2022 class with the transfer portal
Arkansas was originally going to have room for only 21 incoming players, but the NCAA passed a one-year waiver that allows schools to sign up to seven additional players to replace those lost to the transfer portal.
With 11 players already in the portal, the Razorbacks have unlocked each of those extra spots and can now sign up to 28. Assuming Rowser does end up signing, they’d be at 23 - leaving five more spots.
One of those would undoubtedly go to Williams if he decided to flip from Oklahoma, but that does not seem likely at the moment. Instead, Arkansas will hit the transfer portal for more players to join Haselwood and Jackson.
It would not be surprising to see the Razorbacks target a few key positions. Pittman has actually mentioned linebacker and they offered Miami (Ohio) transfer Ivan Pace Jr., but he committed to Cincinnati - where his younger brother plays. Even with Jackson in the fold, defensive line is still likely a major point of emphasis, as they’ve offered defensive end Jared Verse from the FCS ranks and made the top five for Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player.
Something else the staff must figure out is whether or not they want to add a quarterback for depth purposes after Kade Renfro suffered a torn ACL in bowl practices. If they do so, Pittman said he would discuss it with the other quarterbacks ahead of time.
4. Finalize / continue to iron out 2022 roster
Along those same lines, Pittman is juggling a lot of moving parts in an effort to settle in at 85 scholarships for the 2022 season.
Unlike this past season, when they could return and not count against that limit, super seniors will now factor into the 85 and the Razorbacks must be selective with who they ask to come back. Some dominoes have already fallen, with Dalton Wagner returning and four others - Montaric Brown, Trelon Smith, Kendall Catalon and Jordan Silver - moving on, but a few major question marks remain, including Bumper Pool, Joe Foucha and John Ridgeway.
As things currently stand, without those three players, Shane Clenin or Rowser, the Razorbacks are at 83 scholarships, according to HawgBeat’s projected distribution chart. If Rowser signs, that’d just leave one spot for the remaining four undecided super seniors and aforementioned additional five transfers.
For each player they go over that, another current player has to enter the portal, which currently has seen 10 non-senior Razorbacks go in it since November. There will likely be more roster turnover to make room for those guys (super seniors/transfers), so Pittman must figure out which players to process out while also dealing with any potential surprise transfers - like Mike Woods last year.
5. Build on 2023 class
It will continue to change as more players make their final decisions, but Arkansas is currently No. 16 in the Rivals recruiting rankings for 2022. It’s a solid class for the Razorbacks, but most of it was put together before they went 9-4 and won the Outback Bowl this year.
The impact of that success won’t truly be felt on the recruiting trail until the 2023 cycle, which Arkansas has already gotten a jump on. It has five commitments with one four-star prospect, three 5.7 three-stars and a 5.6 three-star, plus is ranked No. 5 nationally.
It’s WAY too early to put much stock into that ranking, especially considering the Razorbacks are one of only five teams with at least five commits so far, but it is a really solid foundation for what could be a special class.
Arkansas will have numerous 2023 prospects on campus this month and it is vital that the coaching staff continues to make headway with the class because recruiting is the lifeblood of college football programs.
