Pittman Taking Keen Interest in Defense for a Break

Arkansas coach spending more time on the opposite side of the ball for some relief

Author:
Daniel Shi
Publish date:
Sep 20, 2023 10:00 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman's forte is the offensive line, but what happens when you bring some massive speakers to practice and play the most ear-piercing sound ever known to exist? Even Pittman, who's officially coached offensive line at various colleges since 1997, watches more defense.

"I’ve never watched so much defense," Pittman said. "I got through about period eight yesterday and I was about to throw up and had a headache." All of this is in an effort to prepare for the Hogs' first road game of the year, a night game in Death Valley. Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge La. is the seventh largest sports stadium in the world with a stunning capacity of 102,321.

The media was there to experience the deafening sound at the beginning of the week and to say it was unpleasant would be quite an understatement. It's a deafening roar that has measured on the scale for earthquakes in the past. It does vibrate the goal posts on a regular basis.

"We have to get hand signals down because you're not going to be able to really communicate verbally," defensive back Alfahiym Walcott said after practice Tuesday. "It's really hand signals and trying to be on the same page throughout the week. Using that sound in practice really helps us to get ready for that."

Not only will the Razorbacks have to contend with talent all over the field including quarterback Jayden Daniels, whose near-perfect 30-for-34 performance led to a 42-14 win. On the other side of the ball, Linebacker Harold Perkins menaced the Arkansas offense, who will once again most likely be without Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, for eight tackles and three sacks en route to a 13-10 Tiger win in 2022. Both Hogs' units must contend with likely a six-figure crowd and the overwhelming of them whose bloodstream will be a mix of purple and gold by kickoff.

Despite all of the odds stacked against Arkansas, the excitement among the team is still palpable to kick off conference play.

"I'm excited. It's going to be a great atmosphere," true freshman tight end Luke Hasz said. "There's going to be a lot of people, and it being a night game is going to be really special as well. I'm definitely excited this is my first one."