Hear me out on this. I really think Arkansas is going to shock some teams this year. Why? Well let’s look at it.
First, the set up. Three straight losing seasons with the last two yielding zero SEC wins means the program. Now you add hiring a career assistant as your new head coach and let’s just say expectations are as low as they could possibly be. That’s perfect. No analyst in his right mind is going to take a look at at Arkansas right now and predict anything but more gloom and doom. That actually helps this team.
So here you are. You’re Sam Pittman and you take over this program at its absolutely most desperate situation. What do you do? Well first you hire you a former SEC head coach as your DC. A guy that quite frankly would be considered your right hand man and a guy that can keep you from making some mistakes most first time head coaches make. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s basically one of the top DC’s in all of College Football. Now you realize that in this league you need to be good in the trenches so you go get Brad Davis who you taught everything he knows. A guy who has coached Olines for multiple SEC programs. a guy you know will build and teach that Oline exactly the way you want it and understands exactly how to do that and why. Then you go and get a DL coach that is known for producing great lines in this conference in Leblanc.
Now you bring in a hot young OC with a name in Briles that will bring an offense that’s easy to learn but very productive. You match him with one of the best recruiters from the previous staff who just happens to have a knack for bringing in talented receivers and getting them to produce. You go get a hot up and comer at RB coach and a TE Coach who apparently is going to bring almost every recruit in Oklahoma with him to fill out your offense. Add a former JUCO head coach as your linebackers coach and allow Odom to bring his own personal coach and you would think things were set. But no. You slip back over to your old program that you were an asst coach for and you grab some key gems. Probably one of the best recruiting SP Teams Coaches in all a college football and a top up and comer Strength and Conditioning Coach. Oh and before you go you grab up that top veteran asst S &C coach to give your other guy a hand. Now you’re set.
So what’s next, you start reshaping these guys bodies, you put some much needed weight on these guys. You realize that these guys aren’t nearly as untalented as people think they are. They’re just undeveloped, undersized, under coached, and most importantly under cared for. So you build an atmosphere of trust by being upfront and real with them from the get go.
While you’re at it, you bring in some key transfers to shore up some obvious holes. A successful SEC QB, an elite kicker, a linebacker stuck that was stuck down the depth chart at an elite school, a DT stuck down the depth chart at a Multi-National Championship Level program, and a DB that was tops at his school before an injury derailed him. You bring these guys in and now your gaping holes don’t look like holes anymore. Special teams looks way more improved. Your QB situation is way more improved, your secondary is a year more experienced and added a veteran presence, your LB Corp looks more solid than it has been, your Dline looks to be a real factor with talent and depth, your Oline is bigger and under better management, your top RB came back and will have some quality help behind him. You WR Corp has some real studs in it that just needs a guy that can consistently get them the ball.
Suddenly you look at this team and it’s heads right, the holes aren’t so big anymore, the talent is more physically prepared, the system is one that sets them up to succeed early, the coaches understand what takes to compete in this conference, the expectations are low and team is set up to succeed on both sides of the ball. No gimmicks, just doing things the right way, earning the trust of the players, and putting them in the best situation to succeed physically and schematically. You can’t ask for anything more than that. All we need now is some wins.
