Pittman preparing for 'a lot of action' when transfer portal opens
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The NCAA transfer portal opens on Monday, Dec. 5, and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is planning to be aggressive in it, filling gaps that are caused by players leaving to the draft, graduation and the transfer portal itself.
Pittman spoke Monday and talked about the portal as it relates to bowl games.
"I think that was the original concern about the portal, where you put the opening at (Dec. 5), because we knew in coaching that you would go to bowls, possibly — if you’re not in the playoffs — you would go to bowls possibly with, it could be 15, 20 guys that aren’t there," Pittman said. "It could be 10, it could be five, whatever, but you could certainly decrease your roster big time between the portal, between opting out."
Arkansas has yet to learn what bowl they will play in and who its opponent will be, but it is almost guaranteed that both teams in the game will be down some players. Just Monday, Arkansas lost running back James Jointer to the transfer portal.
"(Running backs coach Jimmy Smith) just walked in my office right before we came over here and showed me the tweet, so I have not had a chance to talk with him nor did he come in to talk to me," Pittman said.
Pittman also said if a player enters the transfer portal, he won't let the player travel with the team to the bowl game.
"To me, if you get in on the fifth, that means you need that time," Pittman said. "There would be no reason to get in the transfer portal and wait until after the bowl, in all honesty. Unless you just want to go to the bowl, but now you only have four days in January that you could find another school. If they know they’re going to transfer, they come in and do it the right way, then we’ll help them find (a school). If they want, we’ll help them."
While the transfer portal has by and large been criticized by fans, the reality is that a lot of times there is no malicious intent by entering the portal, and sometimes players just need a fresh start.
Pittman said he understands there are many reasons why someone might enter the transfer portal, and mentioned a player he grabbed out of the portal last offseason as an example.
"Drew Sanders, I don’t think he was disgruntled with Alabama," Pittman said. "I think he wanted playing time, he wanted to maybe move his position, whatever. The world looks at everybody who goes in the portal as the worst thing in the world and I really don’t. I look at it as maybe he sees on the depth chart, he’s not going to play for two, three years, maybe ever, and decides to go into the portal."
When the transfer portal opens up, Arkansas will be both contributors and beneficiaries of the players that decide to enter.
"I’ve got a lot of exit meetings coming up Monday," Pittman said. "And that’ll be … you guys know, us and everybody in the world, that’ll be a blow-up day, now. It’s going to be the transfer portal, who’s going to come back. You have seniors [making decisions] … It’s going to be a lot of action."
Pittman and his squad will face Missouri at 2:30 p.m. CT Friday at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. The regular season finale will be broadcast on CBS.