In Middle of Everything Else, Here Comes Spring Football

Sam Pittman will be sorting out new staff, try to add some key depth, answer questions.

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Feb 28, 2023 9:40 PM EST
Original:
Feb 27, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Don't expect a lot of quick answers when Arkansas starts spring football in just 10 days.

Yeah, there will be a lot of stuff going on with basketball in tournaments, baseball and softball, track, tennis and no telling what else. It's easy to forget spring football is nearly at hand.

There will be more questions, though.

In five seasons on the job, coach Sam Pittman has had to deal with everything he spent 40 years learning as an assistant to get thrown in the trash can with a head coaching position.

It goes a lot deeper than a virus pandemonium because we are left with certain things like a transfer portal and the whole name, image and likeness thing that apparently changes with the wind.

He's also breaking in a new staff of coaches. While hope abounds it's an improvement, but there are certain things (and not all of them bad) that will require some adjusting for everybody.

That's really why you have spring practice. It's a whole lot less pressure to sort out how to line up in the right spot for warmups in spring practice than with the band playing and the stands yelling.

The Razorbacks have announced they are starting things March 9 with five straight days of practice.

Don't even ask if there will be access for fans because we really don't know if the media will be able to watch much. The guess is not as much as last year because of all the new faces.

Everybody's guessing what we'll find out in the spring that can get this team back up a few rungs on the SEC West ladder. That will change next year with everything getting thrown out the window adding Texas and Oklahoma.

Only next year matters.

Coaches can't afford these days to build for three years down the road because not staying focused on the coming year will get coaches fired before the future arrives.

Now the Hogs have to re-build a defense to withstand a 12-game schedule in the SEC.

Throw in finding players just about everywhere except running back and starting quarterback and there are more questions than answers.

Oh, and that quarterback situation is only as stable as KJ Jefferson makes it. The odds of any starting quarterback in the SEC making it through a complete schedule intact kind of dictates you better have a capable backup ready.

Depth if the question. Of course we'll hear what the coaches like all spring and summer. Nobody just comes out and says they are looking like a house on fire.

But finding depth is a traditional question for the Hogs. There aren't a lot of proven names in that area just about anywhere.

Pittman knows all this, whether he'll say it publicly or not.

And we won't have the answers in 10 days. But at least we'll start finding out what questions to be asking.