Sam Pittman's Search for Answers in Spring Starts This Week

Razorbacks have ton of questions after 4-8 season and now they can begin eliminations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rarely do coaches know if someone emerged in spring practice until about October. The 15 practices that get under way this week usually do more eliminating people than discovering a star.

Once again Arkansas has more questions than answers and this time they're trying to bounce back from a disastrous 4-8 season. In case you're wondering, we won't know any of those answers until at least October or November. Right now we don't even know what all the questions will be.

We will talk with Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on Tuesday,  but there won't be any answers. What he probably won't say is he doesn't know all the questions, either.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during a game last fall :: (Craven Whitlow / allHOGS Images)

That's because for a team short on depth like the Razorbacks, jumping out in practices against their own team might not be an accurate way to evaluate players. Let's see them after they start playing SEC games.

Fans are hoping former coach Bobby Petrino returning as offensive coordinator solves all the problems. That's an unrealistic expectation. He doesn't have a proven wide receiver, running back or quarterback. The best coaches usually have better players or at least ones with experience and the Razorbacks don't have a lot in that department, either.

Getting the idea why I keep saying there are questions we don't really have much of a clue where the answers are going? It doesn't mean they can't turn out to be great, but we don't know that right now. There's not a whole lot of evidence the transfers can translate that success at a lower level to playing in the SEC.

Forget championships. In football it apparently isn't anything except something coaches have said around here in over a decade that sounded like they were serious. Pittman tries, but doesn't quite pull it off to convince anyone. He probably knows it really comes down to the players.

Yes, the offense will probably get better. That's what Petrino does. How much influence he'll have over the defense remains to be seen. He never did recruit consistently well in all of his many coaching stops, especially on defense.

Petrino has developed offenses that blew up scoreboards ... when he had the players to make it work. He developed Lamar Jackson into a Heisman Trophy winner. What he's been most effective is having quarterbacks that make plays when they are needed and have the other guys around them to do it.

New Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green throws a pass for Boise State last year :: Michael Madrid / USA TODAY Sports

Maybe this team will get there faster than any of us know right now. There's no evidence to suggest any bold predictions right now, though. Not with just one quarterback SEC start on the roster and that's Cade Fortin. Sorry, but doing it on lower levels isn't a lot of cause for bold predictions right now.

Maybe if the Hogs were returning more experience on the offensive line, at running back or had some wide receivers with a proven record of making big plays. This team has a bunch of guys that have made an occasional play here and there, but not a consistent track record. Even having a proven kicker would help a little bit. There is no evidence of that at this point, either.

It will be interesting to see what answers we have by October. Maybe when spring practice wraps up in April we'll at least have an idea of what more of the questions are. The rest will come in September. It's those answers that will either be surprisingly good or create more grumbling.

There will be some bold predictions. That goes with the territory this time of the year and is based as much on hope as anything else. It's also the only thing we can accurately predict right now.

HOGS FEED:

• Race continues for pitchers to get two strikes in closing out sweep of Murray State on Sunday

• Effort is back for Razorbacks against Kentucky

• Dave Van Horn resorting to small-ball with offense struggling at times this year

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