Sam Pittman says Drew Sanders will have 'familiarity' with Alabama's gameplan

When Drew Sanders lines up at linebacker for Arkansas on Saturday, he will be looking at some former teammates in the eyes. Transferring into the program this offseason from Alabama, the two SEC West foes will be facing off for an important early-season showdown.

Head coach Sam Pittman discussed what Sanders’ mentality when playing his former team, saying there should be some “familiarity” when out there. While it might mentally affect some players, Pittman thinks Sanders is mature enough to look past it.

“I would assume for him, it would be somewhat some familiarity,” Pittman said. “What Alabama is doing and there’s got to be something in there. We’ll probably try to downplay that because it is just about shedding blocks and tackling and doing his assignment.

“Obviously, it’s different because you know people. He’s a mature guy, I would assume it won’t affect him too much.”

Sanders spent two seasons in Tuscaloosa, playing in 12 games last season and starting in three. He was thrown into the lineup due to injury but problems of his own led to the emergence of Dallas Turner for the Alabama defense. Most of his time was played on the edge instead of inside linebacker.

Nick Saban discusses former player, Drew Sanders

Coming out of high school, Sanders was a long-time Oklahoma commit. After two years with the Sooners, Alabama was able to flip the Denton (Ryan) and five-star prospect. At the time, it was a huge recruiting win for the Crimson Tide.

Playing for head coach Nick Saban for two seasons, Sanders is now obviously on the other side. Saban had the opportunity to speak about how happy he is for the linebacker. He mentioned the injuries that caused setbacks but sees the success for Arkansas.

“Drew was a good player when he was here, unfortunate injuries, and he’s certainly playing well for them,” Saban said. “It’s good to see that he’s doing a good job for them, we’re happy for him and his family.”

Sanders has moved to inside linebacker under Pittman, something Saban thinks would have been a possibility had he stayed. The position versatility was viewed as a positive but of course, it never worked out at Alabama.

“That was probably what we were going to do, but never worked out. It is what it is, it’s good for him that he can play both positions and that he’s doing well,” Saban said.