Arkansas coach Sam Pittman praises Missouri transfer Tre Williams

The Arkansas defense is miles ahead of last season, and Sam Pittman credits that in part to Tre Williams. The transfer defensive end from Missouri has been all over the place in the past two games, earning praise from his new coach.

“I’ve been a Tre Williams fan for a long time,” Pittman said. “Especially when you go to the portal, I feel like we hit. When you see guys play you and they’re giving you trouble — and I was fortunate enough to have a couple first round tackles at Georgia — Tre was hard to block with those guys.

“I knew if we could get him he could solve some of the pass rushing issues we had. He hasn’t really surprised me. I expected that he would play like he has.”

Williams has a combined 3.5 sacks in the past two games and four total for the season. He is the first Arkansas player to accumulate four sacks through the first four games since 2014. In a win against Texas A&M in Week 4, Williams finished with two sacks and also had three quarterback hurries.

Arkansas currently sits at No. 8 in the country after beginning the year unranked. Pittman finds himself an early coach of the year candidate for his remarkable turnaround of the program. When he arrived in 2020, the Hogs were in the midst of the longest SEC losing streak in school history.

The defense has been at the forefront of the success, along with a smash-mouth rushing attack. The Hogs rank 12th in the country in total defense, giving up just 267.3 yards per game.

They run into the nation’s top unit Saturday when they face No. 2 Georgia on the road. The Bulldogs are the only school in the country to allow less than 200 yards per game.

Sam Pittman will hope Tre Williams and the rest of the Hogs defense can hold its ground. For Arkansas to come out victorious, it needs to establish the passing game and keep Georgia’s offense from making any big plays.