College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413@gmail.com.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has been one of the top feel-good stories in the country during the first month of the college football season.
Not only are the Razorbacks off to a 4-0 start and ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll after being in the SEC cellar two years ago, but they’ve done it with a likable former offensive line coach as their head coach.
Sam Pittman’s down-to-earth personality and coaching style has drawn admirers from coast to coast, even if they aren’t Arkansas fans. He opened up about his philosophy on not screaming at players during a segment on College GameDay last weekend and went into more detail Monday afternoon.
During his weekly press conference, Pittman told local media that his decision not to rule the team as a strict tyrant stemmed from his experiences at practice when he was younger.
“I don’t think you can reach your full potential out of fear,” Pittman said. “I think you can out of want-to because if I’m getting ready to take a rep, and I’m worried about the coach chewing me out when the rep’s going on, then I’m not going to play as well, in my opinion.”
It isn’t the stereotypical approach of a seemingly otherwise old-school, 59-year-old coach, but it appears to be making an impact on the program.
Even before the incredible start to this season, tight ends coach Dowell Loggains - who played for the Razorbacks in the early 2000s - said he saw how Pittman’s presence affected last year’s team.
Coming off back-to-back 2-10 seasons and riding a lengthy SEC losing streak, Arkansas went 3-7 against a brutal all-SEC schedule and three of its losses were by a combined seven points.
“I knew what type of person Coach Pittman was and I just saw how hard these kids played and the effort they gave, and I knew that Razorback spirit was back,” Loggains said during fall camp. “It had been missing for a little while, and he's been able to recapture that.”
As the Razorbacks prepared for the 2021 season, it was clear that Pittman’s philosophy trickled down to the rest of the staff.
In portions of practice open to the media, assistant coaches could be heard shouting words of encouragement and getting overly excited when guys made plays or executed drills.
“We can get after guys if we need to, but at the end of the day, I always look at it as, if I’m just yelling about something, I’m probably not fixing it,” wide receiver coach Kenny Guiton said. “That’s what coaching is all about. If a guy makes a mistake, it’s all about getting that mistake fixed and not just out there yelling and cursing and doing these different things.”
It is Pittman’s belief that by instilling that kind of confidence into players will help them practice better, which would in turn help them play better in games. It also serves as motivation for other players. If one guy is getting bragged on, others will push harder to get the same praise and - as Pittman said - it becomes “contagious.”
There are certainly times when Pittman raises his voice and uses strong language in practice, but it isn’t the result of poor execution. Instead, he reserves that for when the team isn’t trying as hard as it can.
“I get mad and all that, but most of my disappointment is effort,” Pittman said. “I’m not disappointed if we get whipped. We can teach them how to do better, but effort is what gets me. And if we give effort, then we’ve got a chance.”
