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FAYETTEVILLE — It has been 11 years since Arkansas football produced a double-digit win season, with Bobby Petrino at the helm in 2011, but Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson believes the team is ready to make that jump next season.
The Sardis, Mississippi, native said Wednesday during SEC Media Days in Atlanta the goal for next season is simple.
“Just getting over that hump, just try to maintain, try to get a 10-game winning season,” Jefferson said. “Just getting over that hump from nine games. Taking that next step forward, that’s our team goal.”
With the toughest schedule in college football once again, 10 games seems like a tall task. Not only do the Razorbacks have to face the regular onslaught of an SEC schedule, they also welcome last year’s College Football Playoff participant Cincinnati into Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Week 1.
Throw in a road game in Provo, Utah, against a BYU team that has gone 20-4 in the last two seasons, and some may feel compelled to bet the under.
Where Arkansas has an edge this coming season is continuity in the coaching staff. Arkansas is set to return all three coordinators, one of just eight Power 5 teams to do so.
Offensively, the Hogs will need to find a way to replace the production from Treylon Burks, but they have a host of wide receivers in his room to do that with. Pittman said he’s happy with the group they have.
"I like a couple of the guys we've gotten in the portal in Matt Landers and Jadon Haselwood,” Pittman said. "I think Ketron Jackson is going to have his best year. I think he's ready to go. Warren Thompson is ready to go. Bryce Stephens has improved. I like who we signed out of the freshman class. Still yet to be determined whether they can help us or not. Isaiah Sategna, Sam Mbake, and Quincey McAdoo, they've all had good -- one had an off-season, then summer.”
Backup quarterback Malik Hornsby has also worked with the receiving group this offseason. Pittman said he is a good enough player that he needs to be on the field, even with Jefferson starting at quarterback.
Jefferson will play a big role in the team’s success in 2022. Last season, he threw for 2,676 yards, finding the end zone 21 times and throwing only four interceptions. He was also the team’s leading rusher, running for 664 yards on 146 attempts and scoring six touchdowns.
The group of running backs for Arkansas is a threat every time the ball is snapped. They lost Trelon Smith, who transferred at the end of the season, but they return Dominique Johnson, Raheim Sanders, and AJ Green, who, combined with Jefferson, comprised the best rushing attack in the SEC, averaging 227 rushing yards per game.
Defensively, there has been a lot of transition. Defensive coordinator Barry Odom lost seven starters from last year’s team, some to the NFL and some to the transfer portal, but they have reloaded with transfer guys like Dwight McGlothern (LSU), Latavious Brini (Georgia), Landon Jackson (LSU), Drew Sanders (Alabama), and others.
Perhaps the biggest offseason news for Odom’s defense was the return of team captain Jalen Catalon, who missed part of last season with a torn labrum. Before his injury, he showed why NFL scouts believed he was a first-round talent. In just six games last season, Catalon racked up 46 total tackles, 22 solo and 24 assisted. He also had two interceptions and four pass deflections.
Getting to 10 wins is a hefty goal, but if there is anything that Pittman has shown, it’s that he can lead a team to places they aren’t expected to get to.
Jefferson credited Pittman’s blue-collar style with the reason for their success.
“Just the work mentality that he just brought back, and just the pride,” Jefferson said. “We just love to play for him. It’s also just bringing that hope and that willingness back to the state of Arkansas.”
While a 10-win season is the goal for this year, Pittman said that will not satisfy the team.
“You can set goals. Once you reach one, that ain’t the goal, that’s one of ‘em,” Pittman said. “Once you reach that goal, we’re going to celebrate it, then we’re going to move on."
