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NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
FAYETTEVILLE — A familiar face will be in Reynolds Razorback Stadium this weekend.
For the first time since leaving Arkansas, where he was the offensive coordinator from 2013-14, Jim Chaney will return as Tennessee’s play caller when the Razorbacks host the Volunteers on Saturday.
It will be a reunion of sorts for two close friends now on opposite sidelines. Chaney and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman have known each other since graduating from high school the same year and signing to play at Central Missouri State.
Although Pittman ended up going to Pittsburg State, which was an NAIA school at the time, the two men ran into each other several times as they navigated their coaching careers.
Assigned to recruit St. Louis at various point, the pair crossed paths on the recruiting trail and would go out to each together, leading to a friendship that resulted in them working together for six seasons at three different schools.
“We had a lot of common interests,” Pittman said. “I respected him deeply as a coach and as a man. We went out and had a good time and got to know each other better. That's how it started.”
When his time at North Carolina ended, Pittman said a chance meeting outside of a restroom at the annual coaches convention that year ended with Chaney recommending him for the offensive line coaching job at Tennessee.
After one year with the Volunteers, they both joined Bret Bielema’s first staff at Arkansas. They worked together for two years in Fayetteville before Chaney left to take the offensive coordinator job at Pittsburgh.
One year later, they reunited at Georgia, where they worked together for three seasons before Chaney returned to Tennessee.
That familiarity has led Pittman to have more conversations with defensive coordinator Barry Odom this week because he knows Chaney’s philosophies and tendencies better than most.
Here are a few other notes, tidbits and stats from the week leading up to Saturday’s game, which will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and be televised on the SEC Network…
Saturday Slobber Knocker
It hasn’t quite lived up to the hype it received in the offseason, but Tennessee still has a loaded offensive line that features multiple highly rated recruits - including several former five-star prospects.
Pittman said he tried recruiting a bunch of them to Georgia when he was the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach. He actually signed one of them in guard Cade Mays, but he transferred to Tennessee this year.
The leader of the bunch is left guard Trey Smith, who opted to play another year with the Volunteers instead of entering this year’s NFL Draft. He’s a projected first-round pick in 2021 and has a solid 72.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.
“I think they are nasty, big, strong,” Pittman said. “They are very physical and very good double-team guys. They can double-team you and move you. They’ve got Jim Chaney written all over them… So it’s going to be a slobber knocker.”
On the flip side, Arkansas used a seven-man rotation last week with Ty Clary, Luke Jones, Brady Latham, Beaux Limmer and Ricky Stromberg getting work on the interior. Pittman said he expects to use at least a six-man rotation against the Volunteers.
