Pittman reveals format, details for his 1st spring game at Arkansas
Not a subscriber? Subscribe for free for 30 days w/code HAWGS30
NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
HawgBeat's coverage of Arkansas' spring practice is presented by Wright's Barbecue. Already serving up the best meats in Arkansas, you can now also find Wright's meat rub and sauces at Walmart and Walmart.com.
FAYETTEVILLE — After last spring was completely wiped out by the pandemic, Arkansas is finally on the verge of playing the first Red-White spring game of the Sam Pittman era.
The Razorbacks will split into two teams and scrimmage in front of an expected crowd of about 15,000 fans inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium beginning at 2 p.m. CT Saturday and on SEC Network-Plus.
The first-team offense and second-team defense will team up as the red squad, while the second-team offense and first-team defense will be in white, meaning Pittman is planning on his best players facing off against each other.
“We anticipate somewhere around 50-55 plays on both sides of the ball, not counting special teams, and around a 2-hour spring (game),” Pittman said. “I don’t know how we’re going to continue to get better if we don’t go good on good, so we’ll go ones vs. ones.”
Pittman, who is entering his second season as Arkansas’ head coach, said the format of the spring game will include a running clock until the final two minutes of each half. There will be special teams, but those plays won’t be live.
Although he didn’t mention it during Wednesday’s press conference, Pittman said in an interview Friday morning on The Red Zone with Josh Bertacinni that the winning team would be rewarded with a steak and shrimp dinner. The losers, meanwhile, will have to settle for hot dogs and potato chips.
It will be the last chance the coaches have to see the players in action before fall camp in about four months, but - despite the usual overreaction from fans - Pittman said he doesn’t think the spring game will be weighted like a final exam. Instead, it’ll be just like the other 14 practices this spring.
“We are interested in seeing who plays a little bit better when there’s people in the stands,” Pittman said. “We’ve tried to do that partially with our scrimmages. I think we’ll see some things that we want to see and things that we don’t on Saturday, but I don’t know that it’s going to weigh a whole lot more than what a normal padded practice would weigh for us.”
Most of the overreactions will likely stem from the play of Arkansas’ quarterbacks Saturday. All eyes will be on KJ Jefferson and Malik Hornsby as they battle for the right to replace Feleipe Franks as the starter.
Jefferson was named the frontrunner going into spring ball and nothing has changed to knock him out of that spot, but Pittman admitted he’s been hard on the quarterbacks. Just two weeks ago, he told reporters after the Razorbacks’ second scrimmage that he thought they’d be further along than they were.
However, leading up to the spring game, Pittman acknowledged that it was pretty hard to truly assess their play because they’re in non-contact jerseys that remove a large part of their game.
“A lot of times guys break a tackle, break an arm tackle, do some things and it does wonders for their confidence and they become a little more accurate throwing the ball and all that,” Pittman said. “Because your mind is very powerful and it controls a lot of that.”
Pittman also changed his tone on the way the quarterbacks have played of late. Over the last four practices, Jefferson’s accuracy has improved, which he also credits to better protection from the offensive line and route running by the receivers.
Hornsby has done a better job of pulling the ball down and running when things break down, too, instead of sitting in the pocket too long. Overall, Pittman said he’s still confident that position will be fine when August rolls around.
While the quarterbacks have been the No. 1 topic of conversation among fans, toughness has been the buzz word within the program. Pittman is hopeful fans will leave Razorback Stadium on Saturday thinking they have a physical, fast and tough team - a stark contrast from what he inherited.
“We don’t have guys fall down on the ground and they stay down there for five or six hours,” Pittman said. “They’re getting back up and they’re coming back and playing and things of that nature.
“There were times here where we’ve had a lot of people on the sidelines that you question their toughness. We don’t have that any more and I’m very proud of that.”
To request a free ticket to the spring game, click here. It is also being streamed on SEC Network-Plus and HawgBeat will be in attendance, as well, providing updates on The Trough.