Reaction to Athlon's Anonymous Coach's Take On Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There’s a lot of time between now and the start of the 2024 college football season for Arkansas. The landscape of the sport is rapidly changing and will likely look different sooner rather than later.
For Arkansas, things seem to always stay the same. Outside of the Chad Morris debacle it’s been difficult for anyone to truly forecast the Razorbacks season for more than a decade now.
That was not the case for Arkansas from 1998-2011 during the height of the program's success in the SEC. Houston Nutt and Bobby Petrino led the Razorbacks to three 10-win regular seasons. Those also happen to be the Hogs' only 10-win seasons since joining the SEC. Expectations were high for the team to stay competitive once Bret Bielema was hired away after seven successful seasons at Wisconsin. That era ended in a thud of a 4-8 season and into the death penalty along with two seasons under Morris with a 4-20 record.
It's obvious Sam Pittman enters the 2024 season with one of the hottest seats in the country from a national perspective. Pittman's done a fair job returning the Razorbacks to a respectable state despite the unprecedented circumstances given less than 90 days after taking the job. What he's done right is hire capable coordinators with head coaching backgrounds to help him navigate as a first-time head coach. Sure, he's paid millions of dollars to lead and he's taken lumps in stride as he's gone on. Here’s what an anonymous SEC coach thinks of Arkansas early on in the offseason.
“This is the hot-seat job for the SEC heading into the season. Sam [Pittman] is such a well-respected guy across this industry, you really feel for him having a guy like [new offensive coordinator Bobby] Petrino, who the fans and boosters probably think should be head coach, coming in underneath him. That’s the SEC right there."
- Anonymous coach, Athlon Magazine
Now, he brings not only one of the greatest offensive minds in football but also a celebrated Arkansas head coach to run the offense again. Perception that Petrino is there only to take Pittman's job is folly. He knows his place in the structure of Arkansas' organization. It's doubtful there will be any sort of conspiracy going on to overthrow Pittman as head coach anyway. That's even if the Razorbacks return to the winning ways of 2021.
One of the biggest questions for next season is whether or not transfer quarterback Taylen Green can operate an offense in the SEC. There is tape for him from his time at Boise State as the starter. Plus, he showed himself to be quite dynamic in a vanilla version of Petrino's offense in the Red-White Spring Game.
Nearly half of Arkansas' roster is full of transfers and true freshmen. The pressure from the outside this offseason seems to be centered on Green's maturation and development under Petrino. This anonymous coach believes a successful season hinges on how former Broncos' quarterback and new Razorbacks' offensive coordinator work out.
"If Petrino can get [quarterback] Taylen Green ready, they might have a shot at a .500 year, but they have a shaky situation with their offensive line losses in the spring. Is .500 enough to keep Sam?"
- Anonymous SEC Coach, Athlon Sports
One of the more underrated position groups of Arkansas' team is defensive line. Led by returning starters Landon Jackson, Cam Ball and Eric Gregory this unit should be one of the bright spots next season. They will be joined by FCA Albany transfer Anton Juncaj who was named an FCS All-American last year after totaling 50-plus tackles with 21.5 for loss and 15 sacks. Optimism for a dominant defensive line shouldn't be out of the question and this coach agrees.
"The defensive line is their best unit probably, but they just don’t have the overall defensive talent right now to compete in this league.”
- Anonymous SEC Coach, Athlon Sports
Arkansas has plenty of questions up and down the roster. It makes sense between staff changes and a roster overhaul. The summer will likely take a while with 2024 being a landmark year in college athletics.
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JACOB DAVIS