The road graders. The hole creators. The trench soldiers.
Offensive linemen do a ton of the work but receive very little of the glory–and they don't expect to.
It's no surprise that after coaching offensive linemen for 30+ years, Sam Pittman has developed an innate humility–a unique quality as a head coach in the SEC.
After playing opposite offensive linemen in college as a NAIA All-American defensive end at Pittsburg State, Pittman set off on a path to become one of the best offensive line coaches in all of college football.
He's recruited and developed seven first-round draft picks, but he hesitates to make the accomplishments of his players about himself. Even capturing and sharing the moments of his former players calling him after being drafted was tough on Pittman–though it made for great promotional material.
"It was incredibly gratifying and satisfying for Jamie and I," Pittman said Wednesday on with The Morning Rush on ESPN Arkansas. "It was hard for us a little bit filming that. The only reason I asked (the film guy) to come out is because I had been invited to the draft by both those kids. I would not have done that... but I wanted to capture it for my own savings for the years to come, so I could have that moment on video."
Pittman has never had to be the face of a program. He's never had to prop up a DI team with his own reputation and accolades. That has been a major change for the former associate head coach and offensive line coach.
"It's hard," Pittman said. "I told our guys, 'I don't want anything on my Twitter that's self-promoting, if you want to put it out on the Arkansas (account)' ... I never have been a guy to say 'Hey I did this, I did that." I didn't do that, they did it, they're the kids did it. Did I share in the process? Certainly I did.
"That part of it's hard, because you need to recruit. But I get turned way off with guys who say 'me, me, me,' when they didn't play a snap, they didn't block a guy, they didn't protect the quarterback. It's hard for me to do that."
Pittman, with Brad Davis, has already elevated the level of offensive line recruiting at the University of Arkansas with three signees and two commits who've averaged more Power Five offers than any that committed to Arkansas since he left for Georgia.
His prowess for coaching linemen and getting them to the league needs little promoting at this point, but his accomplishments will have to convince more than highly-touted linemen to become Razorbacks. Pittman told the Morning Rush how he'll get more elite athletes to Fayetteville.
"It's about the team," Pittman said. "I could only control the position that I recruited and the position I recruited had seven first rounders and 20 guys drafted. That just doesn't happen. It's about recruiting the right kid. If you can, then the rest of it is technique and motivation. We talk about who we've hired and what they've accomplished.
"To be honest, it's all about, 'what are the expectations?' Our expectations for our people are at the top. They're at the highest they can possibly be. That comes with pressure. We're sure as heck going put it on you. Mediocrity is not something we can talk about or accept. That's how it's been with my position group and that's how it's going to be with my team."
Pittman's team will be lineman-led, and it'll be unique. Besides Ed Orgeron, who Pittman has already drawn comparisons to, no other SEC coach played in the trenches. It worked out well for Coach O, we'll see how it works out for the Razorbacks.
