Kirby Smart explains 'buy in and belief' Arkansas has in Sam Pittman
Another week, another dominant performance by Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Pittman’s Arkansas team defeated then-No. 7 Texas A&M, 20-10, in a gusty performance that has since launched the Razorbacks to the No. 8 ranking in the AP top-25. Pittman’s success has even impressed Kirby Smart, his former boss.
Pittman has revitalized the Arkansas football program in just a year’s time. Formerly an offensive line coach at Missouri, Kansas, Northern Illinois, North Carolina, Teennessee, Arkansas and most recently Georgia — under Smart himself — Pittman dreamt of being a head coach but never received the opportunity until Arkansas came calling in 2020. He inherited a team with an SEC losing streak of over 20 games, and a cumulative 4-20 overall record in the two seasons prior. Now, just one year removed from a 3-7 debut season, the Razorbacks are 4-0.
“Sam even had a big jump in year one,” Smart said Monday. “He had a tremendous jump, right? I mean, every game he won was one more [than the winless year prior]. So, he did a tremendous job there and continued to grow it. I think what’s really helped Sam [Pittman] is the buy in and belief that the kids had in him.”
The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs may not have as much experience as Pittman’s Arkansas team, but they certainly have the upper-hand recruiting-wise. The Bulldogs boast one of the most talented rosters in the country — including the No. 1 defense in the nation, which held Vanderbilt scoreless last week — and managed to put up 62 points in a historically lopsided win over the Commodores.
This week, however, Smart and Georgia will be put to the test. The Bulldogs play host to a hot No. 8 Arkansas team, one that Pittman has led to victories over two ranked teams: Texas and Texas A&M. As Smart continues to game plan for the Razorbacks, there was one thing about Pittman’s roster that stood out: experience.
Smart believes that the reason why Arkansas has so much experience is that the players have bought into Pittman’s vision; rather than transferring or graduating, many of them decided to exhaust their final years of eligibility in Fayetteville, despite a 3-7 record last year.
“[Pittman and Arkansas have] either eight or nine super seniors. Eight or nine super seniors makes a big difference, guys,” Smart said. “Those are Justin Shaffers and Devonte Wyatts, two of our better players. And you multiply that times four, and they’ve got that. They’ve also got 16 or something seniors. They’ve got seven or eight returning starters on both sides of the ball, I mean, you don’t see that in the SEC. And I told people before the season started, write it down — team with senior leadership, team with experience, team with the most seniors always does well in our conference. And no doubt they’re doing the same [at Arkansas].