Sam Pittman says NCAA’s December schedule is not sustainable

December can be a hectic time of year for college football coaches, as everyone takes on the task of recruiting in preparation for their latest signing class, which now presents new challenges with the transfer portal. Some coaches are also challenged with preparing for a bowl game and dealing with coaching turnover, and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is one of those coaches.

“It’s a lot right now, but everybody’s having to deal with it. Certain when you add, and I’m proud, I’m happy for Barry that he got a head coaching job at UNLV and I’m happy for Dowell that he got a coordinator job from a tight end coach, but that adds to it as well,” Pittman said.

Razorbacks lost defensive coordinator Barry Odom and tight ends coach Dowell Loggins to different teams following the season. And as they looked to replace them, they also had to look to replace their players that would no longer be with the team in 2023.

“You’re not only flying around the country trying to see guys, I like what we did Trey, in other words we went out and tried to hit all 23 commitments the first week between the Friday the first day out and the commitments the first week so we can kind of fly around to different portal guys and make that a priority as well,” Pittman explained. “But adding you’re trying to hire two coaches that adds a little bit to it, adding that you’re in a bowl which we’re very happy we are adds a little bit to it and then the portal.”

The transfer portal has added a new dimension to recruiting, one that coaches are now forced to navigate through for the very first time this offseason, as Pittman used an interesting analogy to describe the double-edged sword nature of the transfer portal.

“There’s a lot going on in the portal and the portal taketh and it giveth and that’s just what happens. We try to keep every kid certainly on the team, but if they feel like there’s a better opportunity for them out there. It’s like anything if somebody wants to get in the portal, then if your wife wants to get in the portal it’s hard to bring her back and at some point, you’re going okay, I’ll go replace her,” Pittman said.

Arkansas has seen both sides of the coin, having multiple players enter the transfer portal and multiple commit to the Razorbacks from the portal, a new normal in college football’s current landscape.

“So you kind of have to have that mindset because then it becomes just woe is me and our mindset is whomever decides they would like to do that we certainly love them, we want them to stay but if they decide to go then our mindset is we’re going to go replace them. And that’s where we’re at with all those things,” Pittman said.

The long-term impact of the transfer portal on recruiting is yet to be seen or known, but Pittman has a feeling that it could have some negative effects, which he illustrated through a story about his new tight ends coach Morgan Turner recruiting with offensive coordinator Kendal Briles.

“I think he made a nice impression from talking to the parents after he left, I sent Kendal with him I just didn’t want to send him in there by himself. Which is another problem with what’s going on right now, because instead of going out and seeing high school kids you’re either going to the portal if you lose a coach or going to the guys you know. It’s a lot of things going on, everybody’s dealing with it, but will it hurt high school recruiting?” Pittman asked. “I believe that it will and it is.”