Sam Pittman discusses philosophy change in transfer portal
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman knew something had to change with his approach to the transfer portal. The Razorbacks saw 29 players opt to leave the program this past season following a 7-6 finish, causing Pittman to contemplate just where he went wrong.
Ultimately, the coach landed on adjusting the way he approaches conversations with players at the end of the season regarding playing time. It can be difficult to tell a player he may not get much playing time, but in the past, Pittman believed he was doing the right thing by being honest and allowing them an opportunity to move on.
Now he sees the value in every player on his roster, realizing all of them have importance in their own way.
“Butch Davis told me a long time ago that everybody has to have great importance whether it be the secretary, coordinator, worse player on your team or best player on your team,” Pittman said. “When you talk to somebody and you need his scholarship and you’re sitting there talking to him, ‘hey, I don’t think yo’;re gonna be able to play here.’ All this kind of stuff. You don’t say, ‘I’m taking your scholarship.’ None of us coaches do that. But you’re encouraging. He goes back to the best player on your team who might be his best friend and then you lose both of them.”
Pittman saw that play out as key players such as Jalen Catalon, Myles Slusher and Trey Knox all entered the transfer portal. That has put the Razorbacks in a bind, particularly in the secondary as Pittman scrambled to find replacements.
The coach did a solid job given his situation, adding 18 more players through the portal. That included a big get for the secondary in Georgia cornerback Jaheim Singletary as well as North Texas tight end Var’Keyes Gumms, the No. 74 and No. 82 players, respectively, in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings.
Furthermore, Pittman had a conversation with the team this spring to let them know he needed them all in Fayetteville, preventing any additional transfers.
“This year, what changed the philosophy of it was I just thought the other one wasn’t working,” he said. “So I just told everybody, ‘I don’t want anybody to leave.’ The whole team. So one left in the spring, but it wasn’t a mass exit like it had been in December. I just changed the way that is because the other wasn’t working, to be honest with you.”
Arkansas still returns key pieces from last year such as quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders, so hope of a bounce back from 2022 remains. Going forward, he’ll take the lessons he learned from this tough offseason as he gets set to enter Year 4 at the helm with the goal of continuing to build the program back up.