Pittman's confidence stems from belief in personnel
For two weeks running, the Razorbacks have played without a handful of personnel listed on the starting depth chart.
After the first play against Auburn, Arkansas was officially without its starting right tackle Noah Gatlin, starting tight end Hudson Henry, starting wide receiver Treylon Burks, starting running back Rakeem Boyd, starting defensive end Dorian Gerald and starting cornerback Montaric Brown. During the game, starting corner Jerry Jacobs also went down.
Through all of this, Pittman and his staff didn't flinch.
"I'm a believer," Pittman said Monday. "I believe in us Razorbacks, man. Am I nervous sometimes when they say 'So and so is not going, he's not on the plane, he's not on the plane.' Yeah, it makes you a little nervous, but we prepare these guys. And more than anything, we let these kids know we believe in them and it gives them a confidence builder. They know what they're doing, they're playing extremely hard, and we're awful happy with their effort."
Stepping in for Gatlin was Dalton Wagner. Wagner started all 12 games for the Razorbacks in 2019, so despite losing his job to Gatlin, he was ready to go.
"Dalton Wagner came in and man, I’m proud of him." Pittman said of the right tackle from Illinois. "He’s got such a great attitude. He came in and played well. He's just an old tough, country kid. I tell you what, he might be one of the most popular kids on the team. Every time he gets in front of the team everybody is whooping and hollering."
With Brown and Jacobs injured, Pittman called on redshirt freshman Hudson Clark to play above all expectations and gave Khari Johnson, a freshman corner from Boston, his first start. The Razorbacks have other options at corner, like Malik Chavis or Devin Bush, but no, Pittman ignored scholarship status and experience, playing the two corners who'd won over the coaches.
"They’ve practiced well." Pittman said. "They’ve come in and watched extra tape. They’ve basically made their position coaches believe in them by the way they act, the way they play, the way they practice."
Clark, making his first start after playing 49 snaps against Mississippi State, played all 72 defensive snaps and posted seven tackles. He was credited with only one missed tackle and he posted the second highest coverage grade of Arkansas's defenders with 15+ snaps in coverage.
Johnson ended up playing 40 snaps, 26 in coverage, and notching four tackles. He was credited with two missed tackles, an expected outcome of being thrust into SEC play against the No.13-ranked team in the country.
"Khari, he was nervous, you know?," Pittman said, smiling in his press conference. "There early he was playing corner at free safety depth, you know? He figured out the speed of the receiver, his moves, different things and he played a really fine football game. I was really proud of him."
The Razorbacks could potentially have almost all their week one starters back for this Saturday's game against Ole Miss but if not, backups are gaining critical snaps early to be ready to take on the Rebels.
"You know they don’t say a word about who’s hurt, who’s out, who’s not there," Pittman said. "The next guy goes in there and he plays his heart out. The bottom line is we have practiced four-deep and our players have been ready to play. I’m happy with the direction the program’s headed."