Sam Pittman shares story about Taurean Carter’s return from injury

Sam Pittman is elated to have Arkansas defensive lineman Taurean Carter back on the field.

Carter is returning from a major knee injury, and the Razorbacks felt his absence last season. Ahead of Arkansas looking to achieve new heights in 2023, having the stud defender back in the lineup bodes well for Pittman’s squad.

While sometimes you can be a little timid returning after such a tough injury, Pittman explained why he’s not worried about Carter.

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“I love Taurean Carter. He came up to me as we were getting ready to do pods, and he said, ‘Coach, I’m not going to lie to you, I’m a little nervous.’ So they did what we call hog drill, and one of the defensive guys, he was blocking basically another defensive guy, and he landed kind of on that knee, and I was watching him. I think he was kind of testing it, and things of that nature. To be honest with you, I asked him about it today and he said exactly what he needed,” explained Pittman. “That he needed that hit on there, and he said he was fine the rest of the way, and he’s been playing well.

“I love him. I’m so proud. We mentioned that in our team meeting. He’s been a long way back. He’s done a really good job, and survived the first day of pads. I think he’s going to be a really good player for us, and I do think that you’re going to play a little slow coming back from that ACL at the beginning. … But I think he’s going to be just fine. I’m really happy for him.”

Through two seasons at Arkansas, Carter has amassed 35 total tackles and one sack. They’re not eye-popping numbers, but he’ll be hoping to have his best season yet in 2023.

Sam Pittman is certainly a believer in Taurean Carter. The rest of the college football world soon will be as well.