Pittman Looks to Future, Spring Practice with Confidence

Hogs need to take positive steps forward during 15 workouts before summer break

Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Sam Pittman looks optimistically to the future as he readies for spring practice and his sixth season as Head Hog. / Ted McClenning-allHOGS Images

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman is facing what might be the most important spring of his professional life. His hope is that it'll be a springboard to one of his most enjoyable autumns.

Pittman's sixth season as Head Hog of the football program begins with August practices but he'll lay the groundwork for that with 15 spring workouts.

They'll be important practices, as will regular off-season drills where players like quarterback Taylen Green work on fundamentals and the mechanics of their position

Pittman will take his usual upbeat and enthusiastic demeanor into the spring workouts, confident that his program is on the right track to sustained success.

First practice is Monday, March 10. There will be six workouts prior to Arkansas' spring break of March 24-28, and nine afterward. The Red-White game is set for April 19 at Razorback Stadium.

The baseball Hogs host Texas A&M that day at 4 p.m. and the softball team entertains Colorado State. Start time for football is not yet set.

Last season was one of "what might've been" for the Razorbacks, who finished 7-6 with a bowl win over Texas Tech in Memphis. Arkansas was just 3-5 in the SEC, good for a tie at 11th with Vanderbilt.

That season record could've easily been 9-4 as the Hogs frittered away two otherwise excellent outings by losing the turnover battle against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Landon Jackson (40) is expected to be a late first-round draft pick by the NFL. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Those setbacks in weeks two and five quickly turned hope and excitement into disappointment and frustration. What could've and should've been a 5-0 start and 2-0 in the SEC left the Hogs at 3-2 and 1-1.

Arkansas totally dominated Oklahoma State and lost 39-31 in double overtime. The Hogs led 21-7 at half and outgained OSU 648-385 for the game but missed two field goals and gifted the Cowboys 18 points off turnovers.

Against the Aggies, a similar story unfolded as Arkansas outgained A&M but lost the turnover battle and blew a 14-7 first-quarter lead to lose 21-17.

Immediately, Pittman was rumored to be on one of the hottest seats in college football by national media and many in the great state of Arkansas. He persevered, worked hard and did enough to save his $6 contract for at least another season.

Pittman supporters hope all the talk of hot seats and contract buyouts will not be a regular part of the conversation as Arkansas approaches its 132nd football season.

For that reason, and many more important ones, Arkansas will need a fast start when the season arrives. The schedule is difficult, as usual, with week three featuring a trip to face the high-powered Ole Miss Rebels.

Sandwiched between the opener against sacrificial softie Alabama A&M and Ole Miss is a tussle with in-state foe Arkansas State.

The Red Wolves could be dangerous as they're coming off a successful 8-5 season, 5-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. ASU beat Bowling Green 38-31 in the Lending Tree Bowl the day after Christmas.

Arkansas Razorbacks fans call the Hogs during the second half of their 70-0 romp over the Pine Bluff Golden Lions at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium on Aug. 29 in the 2024 season opener. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Arkansas versus Arkansas State is slated to be the final game the Razorbacks play in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, ending an outdated tradition that dates to 1948. Shouldn't have happened a lot sooner is all I've got to say about that.

Week four is at Memphis, a trap game that comes after Ole Miss and just ahead of one of the most historic events Razorback Stadium will ever host.

That's when Notre Dame and its 13 national championships visit Fayetteville. The Irish won titles in 1919, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988.

The school and its long-suffering fan base had hopes of ending that 36-year drought last season but lost in the College Football Playoff national championship to Ohio State.

Notre Dame gave us legends like Knute Rockne, the Four Horsemen, Paul Hornung, Joe Montana, Tim Brown and Jerome Bettis. Plus, George Gipp, the only college football player to be portrayed by a president, then-actor Ronald Reagan.

Then it's at Tennessee -- think revenge game for the Vols -- and home games against Texas A&M, Auburn and Mississippi State. Trips to LSU and Texas precede the home finale with Missouri.

You get the idea, tough schedule for Pittman and his Hogs. ESPN has six opponents in its Way Too Early Top 25 ranking. Texas is No. 2, Notre Dame 4th, LSU 8th, Tennessee 19th, A&M 22nd and Ole Miss 25th.

Pittman hopes his rebuilt offensive and defensive lines measure up to the task and that Green can connect on and off the field with new wideouts Courtney Crutchfield and O'Mega Blake.

Here's what I know for sure: Pittman, his staff, his players, and some die-hard football fans are anxious for spring practices to commence.

For the sake of all those folks, it'll be great if players stay healthy and take a big collective step forward before regrouping in early August with renewed vigor and hope.

HOGS FEED:

• Finally playing like Razorbacks helps Arkansas win crowd late

• Razorbacks refuse to have bubble burst at Bud by Missouri

• Razorbacks' shooting reverses fortunes to sink Missouri

• Arkansas pitching carries Razorbacks to some revenge over TCU

• Not Boogie, Bird or Superman can fix Razorbacks' problems

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