Harsh Reality of Arkansas' Future When It Comes to Offensive Line Play

If not even a man of Pittman's reputation can land high level prospects, what hope is there for his eventual replacement?

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Oct 24, 2023 7:36 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 24, 2023

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas fans need to accept a reality that doesn't seem to have set in. It's going to be borderline impossible to improve dramatically on the offensive line in the coming years barring a few lucky breaks in the transfer portal.

The state simply doesn't have enough money to fully fund an SEC level roster across the board in an NIL world, so there will always be a deficiency in some area on the team. The area where that most likely will occur is along the offensive line.

There was once a world where running backs were highly valued while offensive linemen were given what was left of the pot. However, around the turn of the century, professional football programs began to realize teams are built from the inside out and a powerful offensive line outweighed a high quality running back by leaps and bounds. Therefore, money began to grow exponentially along the offensive front.

Once NIL came around, college teams learned their lesson from their NFL big brother and programs with financially flush alumni began figuring out the best ways to corner the market on offensive linemen. Nowhere can that be seen more clearly than in Arkansas recruiting.

Yes, before the wolves were unleashed, it mattered that Sam Pittman and his protege' Cody Kennedy had a reputation as elite offensive line coaches. It was a relatively even playing field at the time with a few exceptions. That's why the 2021 class, Pittman's first full recruiting year, although it was hampered by the COVID lockdown, featured a pair of 4-star tackles in Myron Wells and Ty'kieast Crawford.

The following class was Pittman's first true recruiting class as it was the first to come without restrictions. That class signed in December 2021. He was able to sign 4-star offensive linemen Patrick Kutas, E'Marion Harris and Andrew Chamblee. If he could keep stacking offensive line classes like this, then the Razorbacks would be set going into the future the way Arkansas fans envisioned when Pittman took the reigns from the mess Chad Morris left behind.

However, there's one footnote with that class. In the summer of that signing period, after most elite players had already made up their minds, NIL became a thing. Fortunately for Pittman, no one knew the rules or had time to get any kind of organization going behind it, so he got to recruit under relatively normal circumstances.

By the time the 2023 recruiting class came around, schools like Texas, Texas A&M and USC had quickly figured out the collective system and also had lines of millionaire donors a mile long looking to restore their beloved programs to glory through any financial means necessary. The damage created by the Razorbacks' inability to compete in NIL meant that not only was Pittman unable to sign a 4-star or higher offensive lineman, only two 4-stars even bothered to visit despite Pittman's reputation and the chance to play in the SEC.

Skip ahead to the 2024 class that is currently being put together, and again, only two 4-stars visited Fayetteville. JacQawn McRoy of Pinson, Alabama followed the Nike money to Oregon and Leesburg, Virginia's Fletcher Westphal chose the borderline unlimited pocketbook that has been opened for Billy Napier down at Florida.

It's not possible for Pittman to compete in this climate. He did well in his only recruiting season where he wasn't hamstrung and that's the environment Razorback fans picture when they keep saying they envisioned an unhindered flow of elite offensive linemen pouring into Arkansas under Pittman for the duration of his time as head coach.

The Razorbacks have the financial backing to compete in baseball at an elite level. There is more than enough money to compete in basketball. However, there just aren't enough people of wealth in comparison to other states to generate enough financial capital to compete in NIL on the football field at a high level.

Someone can be the best race car driver in the world, but if his team can't afford to drive one of the best cars in the the race, it doesn't matter. Pittman has both hands tied behind his back and it's triple knotted when it comes to recruiting the type of linemen he's used to having on his roster.

Arkansas has access to 3-star money and Pittman's reputation stretches that financial capital up to high 3-star status, but that's as good as it gets. There's a finite amount of funds with which to work.

Pittman can try to rob Peter to pay Paul by encouraging those putting together NIL agreements to shift money away from skill position players to the offensive line, but, unlike the NFL, the business world doesn't value linemen as highly. Unfortunately, a lot of the NIL opportunity in Arkansas isn't coming from wealthy donors, but, instead, from businesses that need high profile players promoting their product to a Razorback frenzied fan base. An offensive lineman doesn't generate the name and facial recognition a skill position player like KJ Jefferson or a solo defensive star like Landon Jackson can bring.

Thus, not only does Pittman find himself at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to number of boosters who can and will pour money blindly into the program, but he's hamstrung with a '90s mentality when it comes to investing in players in the one area where there is a decent amount of support that might tip the scales on at least one lineman each recruiting class.

Some schools have gotten creative, which has helped land offensive linemen, but even that wouldn't work at Arkansas. For instance, at Wisconsin, offensive lineman Jack Nelson rakes in extra cash charging just shy of $100 for an autograph. There aren't a lot of people in Arkansas who can afford to cough up that kind of money for an offensive lineman to sign something, and the ones who can probably aren't crazy excited to drop a crisp Ben Franklin on something like that.

As a result, even if Pittman can pull this season out of the ditch and keep his job, it's going to be an uphill battle. The only way forward with this program is to build from the inside out and there just aren't inside out resources available.

His eventual replacement will face the same issue – develop 5-stars out of 3-stars or perish. If the hill is to steep not even someone with Pittman's reputation could overcome it, what hope does a man of lesser reputation among offensive linemen have, especially without the SEC chip to throw out there against Texas and Oklahoma now?

Arkansas fans had better buckle up. Whether the like it or not, reality is what it is. What they have experienced over the past decade is exactly what the forecast for the future looks like. The facilities are nice, although difficulty raising cash lately means they will eventually fall behind. The campus and city are nice enough also.

There simply just aren't enough zeros to put on the ends of the checks for those things to really matter.