Hogs’ Sam Pittman Clearly Has High Expectations

Coaches pushing players in year when everyone expects more

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It was only the first practice Friday, but it's clear Arkansas coaches expect as much as the fans.

Well, some of the fans, anyway. There is always that Lunatic Fringe that has unrealistic predictions in August to have an excuse for November discontent.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman watches running back drills on a hot afternoon in Fayetteville for the first day of fall practices Friday. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Razorback coach Sam Pittman is pushing ... coaches and players.

"All the first days are about setting the tone at practice and how we do things," he said after a practice that ha more positives than negatives. "I don't know if we do anything right. I don't. We believe in what we do."

Clearly, he wants a program to win more than nine games.

"I told the coaches 'I can't be the only guy,'" Pittman said. "Last night in the expectations meeting that we had, I asked the coaches to listen to it, too."

He simply doesn't want anybody around that doesn't want what he wants.

""Because I can't be the only guy out there who has some type of discipline," Pittman said, "Don't get me wrong ... I haven't been. But I felt like our coaches really pushed our players through the practice today."

Razorbacks offensive line coach Sonny Kennedy puts his group through drills outside in the first fall practice of the year Friday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

An interception by Hudson Clark against the first-team offense may have been the highlight play of the entire day.

He picked off starting quarterback KJ Jefferson during a two-minute drill, which the Hogs work on a lot.

"He intercepted it and understood to get to the ground," Pittman said. "There's no reason to do anything with it, the game is over at that point. Thought he made a great decision there."

Jefferson was looking at it as a learning experience.

"I was throwing it to (Jadon) Haselwood on a corner route," he said later. "(Clark) sank back and made a great defensive play. For me, it’s being able to read the defense and also not to be too greedy in a two-minute situation."

Right now, though, it's just the first day of practice and Pittman wasn't reading too much into the negatives he saw.

Razorbacks running back AJ Green gets some water during drills at the first fall practice of the season on a hot day in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

The guess is he'll find some more when they look at the film, but he will find more things he liked than what he doesn't.

"Those are some things we can certainly teach off and we will," he said. "That's why we do two-minute. I'm not too concerned about it. We'll use it as a learning experience."

The Hogs will be back on the field Saturday in a busy first week.

They have practices scheduled every day until a one-day break on Wednesday.