Sam Pittman shares initial thoughts on BYU offense

The Arkansas Razorbacks will take a brief break in SEC conference play on Saturday. But their opponent will not provide them with a break in the quality of competition. Arkansas will travel to Utah on Saturday to take on the BYU Cougars. On Monday, ahead of the matchup, Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman gave his take on BYU’s offense and their quarterback Jaren Hall.

“Well, Hall’s a really good quarterback. I like their offensive line,” said Pittman. “Their two offensive tackles are really good; actually, I think they’re all good, but I like their two tackles. Obviously, Kingsley (Saumataia), the right tackle, I tried to recruit at Georgia and lost that battle.

“They’re all different personnel; they can go empty. They (BYU) got (Gunner) Romney back. He was out for a while. So their receivers, they’re big. They throw a lot of one-on-one balls. But we’re going to have to pressure him because I believe he’ll pick us apart if we don’t. We’re going to have to stop the run, and then we’ve got to pressure them. Because if we don’t, I think he’s a really good and accurate thrower. And his receivers are big. They’re 6’2 or better.

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BYU has put together another competitive team In 2022 that is giving their opponents all they can handle. The Cougars started off the year ranked in the top 25 but fell out of it this past weekend after a loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Although they are no longer ranked, BYU is still a tough contest for any opponent. And for Pittman and Arkansas to come out of Saturday victorious, the team will have to overcome the Cougars’ physical defense and rushing attack on offense.

Pittman shares latest Khari Johnson, Jayden Johnson injury update

Few programs have had one position hit by injuries as hard as Arkansas has been at the safety position in 2022, and coach Sam Pittman provided a Khari Johnson and Jayden Johnson injury update Monday after both left this weekend’s game against Mississippi State.

They were just the latest in a long string of injuries for the Razorbacks at the position, and Arkansas will begin the week with Pittman unclear on the status for either going into a game against BYU.

“I don’t (know). Well, I don’t know that Khari will be available,” Pittman said. “Jayden could be, we’re not going to practice him today. Khari probably not, Jayden I don’t know. We’re holding him today.”

In addition to those two, who left the Mississippi State loss in the first half, safety Myles Slusher continues to battle an upper-body injury that has had him in and out of the lineup.

Slusher sustained the injury in the season opener and missed the team’s contests against South Carolina and Missouri State before returning against Texas A&M and Alabama. However, he did not appear in the team’s 40-17 loss to the Bulldogs over the weekend.

“I thought he would be a little bit further along yesterday, to be perfectly honest with you, than what he was,” Pittman said.