Sam Pittman addresses the change in Arkansas from hunter to hunted

The Arkansas football program has come a long way since notching two seasons without an SEC win under Chad Morris. The program is now No. 16 in the nation and this weekend, South Carolina comes to Fayetteville looking for a statement win for Shane Beamer. Heading into game two, head coach Sam Pittman addressed how the program has handled the transition from “hunter” to “hunted” under his watch.

“We always will find a reason to play our brand of football,” Pittman said of the team’s blue-collar mentality. “We like who we are. As long as we keep that chip, you know, disrespect-type chip, whatever it may be. We’ll find a reason to talk to the team about things like that. You’re right, it’s changed a little bit.

“You see your name in the top 25 and all that kind of stuff. We’ve been here for awhile now. We have a smart group of kids and they believe in their coaches, they do. They believe in what we’ve done, what we do in practice, and how we place, it’s the only reason why we’re winning, and I believe that too. Not thrills and spills, they’ve bought into truth.”

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For as far as the Razorbacks have come, it has still been at least a decade since they’ve competed for the SEC title in earnest. Pittman won’t let his team forget that as they dive into a must-win game versus the Gamecocks.

Pittman updates status of running back Dominique Johnson

is continuing to work on returning running back Dominique Johnson to the field this week ahead of Game 2 versus South Carolina. Head coach Sam Pittman opened up about the team’s process for getting Johnson reps this week with the hopes that he can play.

“I hope (he can play),” Pittman said. “I don’t know. We’re going to put him out there this week, today, and see what he can do and if we feel good about it. I felt like we were experimenting with him a little last week, and it was basically, ‘I don’t think he’s going to play’ type experimentation. But we were trying to get him ready for the possibility of playing against South Carolina.”

“We’re going to amp up his responsibility and reps and see what happens,” Pittman continued. “We will see how we feel about it and more importantly if he feels good about it, he’ll play.”

Johnson led the 2021 Hogs in rushing touchdowns with seven. He was also one of four Razorbacks that rushed for more than 500 yards.

On Saturday versus Cincinnati, Arkansas players rushed for 224 yards. The leading rusher was Raheim Sanders with 117 yards on 20 carries.