Sam Pittman reveals offensive lineman who stepped up amid injury woes

Sam Pittman has high praise for Arkansas offensive lineman Ty’kieast Crawford, who’s been stepping up when his number is called.

Speaking with the media, the Razorbacks leader revealed that Crawford hasn’t just been improving his own stock, but the Arkansas offensive line as a whole has improved with him stepping up to the plate.

“I think it’s helped us,” Pittman responded, speaking of Crawford’s development. “There’s a lot of teams that can win a lot of games with Ty’kieast Crawford. He’s a good player. I mean, a legit, SEC good player. It’s really helped with Wags (Dalton Wagner) being super cautious, about Wagner’s back. We have to get it healthy. But Ty’kieast has allowed us to do that.”

A four-star prospect in the 2020 class, Bolden ranked as the No. 25 offensive tackle and No. 233 overall player according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He originally enrolled in Charlotte before joining Arkansas, choosing to join the Razorbacks over other SEC offers.

When you finally get an opportunity, you can either make the most of it, or let it slip. Evidently, Ty’kieast Crawford is making the most of his latest opportunity with Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks.

Sam Pittman explains why he wanted non-compete clause in Arkansas contract

Moreover, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said he planned to retire after he coaches the Hogs and he meant it, putting his money where his mouth is by signing a contract that includes a non-compete clause.

Pittman explained that the idea to have the non-compete clause came about after he told ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt during the 2020 season that it would be his last job.

“This is it for me,” Pittman said that October. “I’m not interested in any other program. Arkansas is truly the greatest program in America to me. We’re home, and this is where we want to be. This will be my last job.”

After signing his contract extension that could keep him in Fayetteville through 2027, Pittman described the benefits he sees with the clause.

“Well, the non-compete, basically how it came was I shot my mouth off on Scott Van Pelt-ESPN and then I was told, ‘you shot your mouth off, so you might as well sign it in there,” Pittman said. “Then once I got to thinking about it, I thought this could help us in recruiting because you know we’re one of eight programs of 130 that have the head coach and the coordinators coming back for year three.

“The transfer portal’s been around for a long time for coaches and I thought we could sell some stability, that’s why I wanted it in the contract and I told the people of Arkansas that this would be my last job. I wanted a piece of paper to confirm what my mouth said.”