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Even before he became a head coach, Arkansas fans knew Sam Pittman was one of the best offensive line coaches in college football.
Now the entire country is aware of Pittman's abilities, as both of his starting tackles at Georgia were taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday.
A captive audience of sports fans craving a sense of normalcy watched as the New York Giants pulled off the first surprise of the night by taking Andrew Thomas with the fourth overall pick. A few hours later, Isaiah Wilson came off the board with the 29th overall pick to the Tennessee Titans.
Both of those players were Bulldogs, but it generated a buzz on social media about the Razorbacks' first-year head coach - as seen with the tweets below.
It was the first time since Tennessee in 1991, a span of 29 years, that a team produced two first-round offensive tackles in the same draft.
For Pittman, Thomas and Wilson give him seven first-round offensive linemen on his resume:
-- Stockar McDougal, Oklahoma (20th overall, 2000)
-- Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina (7th overall, 2013)
-- Ja'Wuan James, Tennessee (19th overall, 2014)
-- Frank Ragnow, Arkansas (20th overall, 2018)
-- Isaiah Wynn, Georgia (23rd overall, 2018)
-- Thomas
-- Wilson
Arkansas fans likely aren't surprised by Pittman's success at Georgia considering they witnessed first hand what he can build up front when he was in Fayetteville from 2013-15.
Ragnow may have been the only first-round pick, but Pittman also recruited and coached an All-American and sixth-round pick in Sebastian Tretola, as well as two linemen who signed as undrafted free agents and have played in the NFL - Dan Skipper and Denver Kirkland. That doesn't even include Travis Swanson, a third-round pick who he coached in his first year with the Razorbacks.
In the four years since his departure, Arkansas has fallen off the map - both as a program and specifically on the offensive line. It will take some time, but many at least expect Pittman to rebuild that unit.
The way to do that is through recruiting and he's already shown some big strides on that front in just 4.5 months on the job.
Among the three offensive linemen the Razorbacks signed in 2020 was 5.8 four-star recruit Jalen St. John. They also recently gained a commitment from 5.7 three-star Cole Carson.
That is significant because during the four years between Pittman's departure and return to Fayetteville, Arkansas landed zero offensive linemen with a 5.7 or better Rivals ratings. When he was the Razorbacks' offensive line coach, every lineman he landed except for one (Tretola) was a 5.7 or better.
It is fair to assume that success on the recruiting trail will continue and having two tackles taken in the first round of the NFL Draft certainly helps the sales pitch.
