TMG Newsmaker of the week: Sam Pittman

The Arkansas coach has his team rolling, but now they must deal with Georgia.

He has never been the star of the show, and probably never will be.

But then again, that is not Sam Pittman's style.

But make no mistake, Pittman has made an imprint wherever he has been.

And at 59, with 30 years in the business, the University of Arkansas football coach has been around the block--more than a few times.

Included in the journey, which included Arkansas for the second time (but first time as a head coach) two years ago are stops at: Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Western Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Northern Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

Pittman is coming back this week to Georgia ,where he had last served as an assistant head coach/offensive line coach two years ago, with an Arkansas team that is a surprising--some would say stunning 4-0 record which includes back to back wins over Texas and Texas A&M, both ranked teams.

Still ahead are the No. 2 Bulldogs, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 22 Auburn, LSU and No. 1 and defending champion Alabama.

It is a challenge worthy of a champion and Arkansas could be in the discard pile in a matter of days, if not weeks, but then there is Pittman, who is the X factor.

Listen to what Georgia coach Kirby Smart had to say about his former assistant at a Monday press conference.

""I'm of the opinion that a good football coach that is willing to sacrifice his own ego and say, if I can go out and hire people smarter than me and people that are really good coaches, I'm going to have a hell of  a staff and not make it all about me,'' said Smart. ""Now, you've got to recruit and you've got to recruit well. Because nobody does real well without good football players. I think that's a big part of that role, but Sam fits all that. He's tremendous leader of men and that's the No. 1 discipline we'' re charged with. How do you lead men and how much do they believe in you and that, he's got the ultimate right now going on because 100 percent of men in that locker room believe in Sam Pittman and what he tells them to be true, and they go out and play like it.''

For that reason as well as Arkansas' 4-0 start, Sam Pittman is TMG's Newsmaker of the Week.