Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said Friday that the Razorbacks are closing in on a new hire at the defensive coordinator spot.
The position opened up after former defensive coordinator Barry Odom left for the head coach gig at UNLV last Tuesday.
Pittman said he doesn't know exactly what he will do as far as making an announcement for the new hire.
"I think I'm weighing our program and possibilities of hurting our recruiting versus hurting some other university's recruiting," Pittman said. "It is so close to signing day. So, I'm closing in on that. I just don't know when I'm comfortable making a decision as far as when to announce that. Again, I'm weighing a lot of things for our university and our player first and foremost, and others as well."
On top of having to keep up with high school recruits, Pittman and his staff have been trying to recruit the transfer portal and the players currently on their team.
He's already replaced one coaching spot with former Stanford tight ends coach Morgan Turner filling the same role in Fayetteville after Dowell Loggains left for the offensive coordinator spot at South Carolina.
Now, Pittman is still trying to figure out the defensive coordinator spot. He said that he's searching for a guy that can recruit, among other things.
"I’m looking for some aggressiveness out of that coordinator," Pittman said. "But I think I said recruiting, coaching, those two things are big. And then what kind of person is he. Will he be able to go get players and will he be able to keep them. And you’re not going to be able to keep all of them. I get that. I don’t believe any school is keeping all of them. But that’s what I’m looking for and I think I’ve found it in two or three guys."
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports reported Friday that Tulane defensive coordinator Chris Hampton is a name to watch for.
Feldman's stats are slightly off, as Tulane had the No. 33 total defense in the nation. The Green Wave allowed opponents to convert just 34.8% of the time on third down — good for 38th in the country.
Pittman did shut down one rumor that had been swirling recently. Maryland DC Brian Williams became a name of interest after a flight tracking account on Twitter showed where an Arkansas Razorbacks plane was landing in Maryland.
"The poor guy at Maryland, I did not interview him for the job," Pittman said. "I felt terrible. I’m sure his coach was running in there going, ‘What’s going on?’ I was up to see a couple of recruits and then I flew down and Coach Turner was in Miami recruiting, and I hired him that day. I said, ‘Well, we’ll just come down there and pick you up.’"
Until they make a hire, linebackers coach Michael Scherer will fill in as the interim defensive coordinator, and he will call the defense in the Dec. 28 Liberty Bowl game against Kansas.
Scherer played under Odom and was also a graduate assistant under Odom at Missouri and Arkansas before taking over with the linebackers. Rumors have gone around that Odom has interest in bringing Scherer to UNLV, and Pittman addressed that Friday.
"Barry has not spoke with me about it," Pittman said. "And as of today, Mike hasn’t talked to Barry about it. Certainly we want guys to do what’s best for them and all that, but it’s just like I’ve told the recruits: Mike Scherer has a job here as long as he wants one, and I think he likes it here."
Pittman and the Hogs will travel to Memphis to take on Kansas at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m. CT. The game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium will be televised on ESPN.
- CB
- OLB
- DT
- SDE
- WR
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- C
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- ILB
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