Sategna says Arkansas got rid of negatives in locker room
Following a 4-8 campaign during the 2023 season, head coach Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks have once again flipped the roster significantly and plenty of new faces are in Fayetteville for the 2024 season.
While a lot of the new transfers will be expected to contribute early, the Hogs did return some key contributors. All-SEC defensive end Landon Jackson, leading receiver Andrew Armstrong, talented tight end Luke Hasz and future star corner Jaylon Braxton are some of the top names who elected to stay with the Razorbacks.
One such contributor is speedy wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, who talked Wednesday with ESPN Arkansas' Tye Richardson on The Morning Rush as part of the Miracles and Magic Radiothon to support Arkansas Children's Northwest.
The Fayetteville High School product began his career in 2022 with Kendal Briles as the offensive coordinator. Last season, he played under Dan Enos for eight games and then receivers coach Kenny Guiton earned the interim offensive coordinator title once Enos was fired. Now, Bobby Petrino is back in Fayetteville as the fourth play caller Sategna will have at Arkansas.
"Whenever Bobby got hired, I had so many text messages, so many calls and just so many people blowing up my phone," Sategna said. "It was really a blessing to just get one of the best offensive coordinators, offensive minds in the game. I can't wait to really trust in him and see where he can take my game."
Sategna said that he had no thought of transferring despite the revolving door at offensive coordinator and just 17 receptions for 141 receiving yards and two scores across two seasons.
"I came here because of Coach Pittman," Sategna said. "I really put my trust in him. We didn't have the best year last year, but the couple years before that we'd been doing some great things."
According to HawgBeat's count, the Razorbacks have had 14 scholarship players transfer out with handful of walk-ons doing the same. Though they lost some significant contributors, Sategna seemed confident that it was for the better.
"Last year, we had four wins and I just feel like we weren't a four-win team," Sategna said. "We lost a lot of games by 3 points, 7 points. We were closer than a lot of people think. We had one of the hardest schedules in the country. This is the SEC. We all came to Arkansas so we can play the best.
"Last year wasn't a reflection of Arkansas football. We're changing it and I can just see the difference in the guys this year. We're a lot closer as a team. I feel like we got rid of some of the negatives and kind of the cancers in the locker room. I feel like this year is going to be a lot better."
That would seemingly mark the second year in a row that Arkansas has had to get rid of negatives from the locker room, as it had over 20 scholarship players transfer out after the 2022 season.
As for Sategna, he's had to deal with his own battles. Injuries plagued his freshman year and led to him redshirting. He saw more action as a sophomore in 2023, when he caught 15 passes for 129 yards and two scores. Sategna also returned 15 punts for 180 yards and one touchdown
"It was really hard for me my first two years," Sategna said. "Even last year I got to play a lot more, but I still wasn't happy with how much I played. That's really helped me over this offseason.
"I've been working harder than I ever have. I've been hitting the weight room, really working on my weaknesses. I've always been kind of a small receiver, so I've been trying to get bigger, work on my blocking and stuff and have no excuses for next year."
The Razorbacks are officially back in town and winter workouts are in session ahead of the start of spring football in March.
"Right now we've been working out a lot," Sategna said. "We've been doing some hard stuff. I've just been thinking that whatever I do now, it's going to set me up for the season. The season is going to come faster than you think and I'm just ready for it. This year, I feel like I'm going to take a big step forward and show everybody my talent, because I think they haven't seen it yet."