Eli Drinkwitz: Sam Pittman is 'the right guy for that opportunity' at Arkansas

This week, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek silenced the rumors about Sam Pittman’s future. He made his support abundantly clear and said Pittman would return as Razorbacks head coach next season despite this year’s struggles, particularly on offense.

Eli Drinkwitz knows what it’s like to hear speculation about his future. That was the case at Missouri last year before the university gave him an extension, which he helped channel into this year’s impressive record.

Although Arkansas and Missouri are rivals as part of the Battle Line Rivalry, Drinkwitz empathized with Pittman — and said he’s the person for the job.

“The reality of it is, we’re definitely rivals and we’ve got a trophy to play for, but we’re also human beings,” Drinkwitz said Wednesday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “And I can also tell you that I’m from the state of Arkansas, and I think Sam Pittman’s done a heck of a job there. When he took over, that program had really struggled for a long time, and Sam brought it back and Sam brought it to new heights and new levels. They won nine games two years ago, whipped our butt down there at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him.

“We’ve played in one-score games all but one year. I know he’s doing a really good job in some tough circumstances. I’ve benefitted from people believing in me last year, and I want to give him that same belief and think he’s the right guy for that opportunity. Now, come Friday, all that’s going aside. We’ve got a football game to win and we’ve got a football game to play. But I have a tremendous amount of respect for the product that he’s put on the field.”

There’s no question Arkansas has plenty of talent. Quarterback KJ Jefferson is one of the best players in program history as the all-time leader in touchdowns responsible, and the defense ranks No. 5 in SEC passing defense. However, the offense stalled, sitting 12th in the league entering Week 13, and Pittman recently moved to fire offensive coordinator Dan Enos.

Considering the notable names on the roster, Drinkwitz said it’s not worth overreacting and reiterated Arkansas fell victim to some “bad breaks.”

“Their defense has improved tremendously from last year,” Drinkwitz said. “They’ve got some really talented players on the offensive side of the ball. KJ Jefferson was a preseason all-conference quarterback. He’s lit us up the three years that we’ve played. Obviously, it’s sad that Rocket Sanders is injured, but they’ve got a talented running back room, they’ve got all-conference offensive linemen. So they’re a really good football team.

“And sometimes, the breaks don’t go your way. I mean, they lost five games by one score or less. That doesn’t mean you throw out the baby with the bathwater.”

Arkansas and Missouri will renew their rivalry Friday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS.