Pittman defines roles for new defensive assistants
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had to replace five assistant coaches this offseason, including three on the defensive side of the ball. With new faces comes unfamiliarity, and there has also been some confusion about who will be coaching what positions, a "co" in one coach's title and more.
To start, the Hogs lost defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who left to be the new head coach at UNLV. Linebackers coach Michael Scherer followed Odom to be his defensive coordinator. Cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman and the Razorbacks also parted ways, and Bowman is now in the same position at Temple.
Pittman chose former UCF defensive coordinator Travis Williams to fulfill the same position in Fayetteville. Williams is also expected to coach linebackers with the Hogs, which he has done at many of his previous stops, and he also played linebacker at Auburn.
Former Florida State defensive backs coach/defensive passing game coordinator Marcus Woodson will serve as a co-defensive coordinator and he will also coach the secondary. The final hire was secondary coach Deron Wilson, who served as a quality control/cornerbacks coach at Florida last season.
The "co" added into Woodson's title has created some confusion, and Pittman cleared that up during a press conference last Wednesday.
"Travis Williams is the defensive coordinator and Marcus is the co," Pittman said. "In other words, Marcus is going to handle everything in the backend. He’s the man back there. Certainly he’s going to have the help of Deron, but he’s the main secondary guy."
Simply put, Williams is going to call the defense and Woodson will add input. Pittman went on to add that Woodson's experience — which includes stints at Auburn, Memphis, Fresno State and FSU — earned him the "co" title.
"When they meet together, I’m assuming his voice will be heard quite a little bit," Pittman said. "But Travis Williams is our coordinator and Marcus certainly deserved the co-defensive coordinator title because of his experience and what he’s going to bring to us. And to be honest with you, there’s no way I could hire him just as a secondary coach because he’s earned that right to be a coordinator."
With the "co" situation cleared up, there is still confusion with having two secondary coaches. Woodson explained how he sees things working out between him and Wilson.
"We’re two different people, but we’re going to be one as we work together in the secondary," Woodson said. "It’s going to be times when I take the corners, he takes the safeties, and there will be times when I take the safeties and he takes the corners. It’s really going to be us working together and just finding what the best fit is for the players that put them in the best position to be successful."
After fielding statistically the worst pass defense in the FBS last season, Pittman clearly made it a priority to improve on the back end. The Hogs allowed 294.7 passing yards per game in 2022.
Woodson's group at Florida State allowed 165.4 passing yards per game last season, which ranked fourth in the FBS and first in the ACC. He told reporters that the Seminoles' secondary wasn't very good when he arrived, but he definitely left it better than he found it.
"It took some work to get us to where we were at when I left," Woodson said. "So I feel like that experience prepared me for that experience. Looking at the film from last year, the main thing I want us to focus on is being intentional. Being intentional with technique. Being intentional with the fundamentals. Being intentional with what we’re looking at and the footwork that goes with whatever the coverage may be."
At Florida, Wilson helped cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond to develop sophomores Jaydon Hill and Jalen Kimber, who each recorded an interception last year. Hill led the Gators with two interceptions, including a pick-six against Missouri.
"When I got Deron on the phone, I knew he was the guy we needed to hire," Pittman said. "He came highly recommended through the Zoom interviews and of course I knew some people that knew him...We Zoomed a lot of guys, we interviewed a lot of guys. We asked him to the prom first and he said he’d come, so that was great."
Pittman addressed the issues in the secondary from last season, and he also did his best to fix another issue he's harped on: recruiting. One common thing across the three new defensive hires is that they are well-respected recruiters that are familiar with the recruiting hotbeds of Florida and Louisiana.
"They’re recruiting machines, now," Pittman said. "And then Deron Wilson is the same deal. He comes from the family of a coach. A very well respected coach, a respected recruiter in Frank (Wilson)...He has Louisiana ties. But he’s got Louisiana ties and we need to get involved in that state a little bit more, so that helped us there."
Woodson said that recruiting the southeast has been his strong suit.
"The southeast is primarily the footprint of where I’ve experienced recruiting," Woodson said. "Florida, obviously coming from Florida State, I had an area there. Mississippi is my home state. So I feel like any kid that’s an SEC-caliber player that can help us get better, we’ll have a chance to go into that state and compete. Anywhere in the southeast, the main thing is us just covering the footprint, whatever we decide that’s going to be the footprint for Arkansas."
Arkansas is set to start spring football on March 9, according to Pittman. Click here for a full breakdown of how much Arkansas' assistant coaches will be paid in 2023 and the full on-field assistant coach salary pool.