The 2018 Joe Moore Award finalist, Pittsburg State Athletics Hall of Famer, First-Team NAIA All-American—that’s the Sam Pittman starter pack. However, even with these accolades, the Arkansas Razorbacks are struggling to stay afloat in the challenging waters of college football. Their disastrous 7-6 record in the 2024 season has cast a shadow over any hopes of a quick turnaround. College football analysts are already suggesting this could be Pittman’s last chance. As the 63-year-old prepares for his sixth season as HC, the looming transfer portal is adding to the sense of panic.

Since the disappointing end of last season, Pittman’s efforts to improve the team seem to have been in vain. Several areas needed significant improvement from 2023, with winning close games being a top priority. Their inability to close out one-possession games proved to be a major hurdle. Plus, their run game in 2023 has been a sheer mess. Dan Enos‘ putrid scheme saw the Razorbacks run for 139 yards per game, which was nearly 100 yards less than the earlier seasons. Did things get better in 2024? In the 2024 season, the Arkansas Razorbacks offense had a 459.4 total yards per game average, ranking them 15th in the nation. They also ranked 28th in passing yards per game with 274.6 and 62nd in rushing yards per game with 184.8. And what about turnovers?

Pittman’s team ranked a concerning 99th nationally. The Razorbacks’ pass defense also struggled mightily in 2024, plummeting to No. 108 while allowing just over 242 yards per game. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, the head coach has a plan to utilize available funds. “Number one is how much money do you have to sign however many guys. That’s always a factor… Because of depth and things, we’d like to sign some guys on defense. So that number would probably be five, if the money stretches.” However, this strategy relies on having an already strong foundation, to which these new additions would contribute. In this context, analyst Neal McCready offered a stark reality check on Pittman’s precarious situation, backing his opinion with a clear example on the April 19th episode of the That SEC Football Podcast.

“It’s going to be difficult. I saw Arkansas play twice last year. Saw them play at home against LSU, and I saw them play at home against Ole Miss. And they simply didn’t have enough talent.” Pittman’s boys simply couldn’t keep their offense on the field long enough against Brian Kelly’s Tigers, who won the time-of-possession battle 38:51-21:39 and beat the Razorbacks 34-10 in front of the fourth-largest Arkansas crowd in school history.

Pittman’s offense could only come up with 277 total yards. At the same time, they abandoned the running game too early. The Hogs only had nine rushes at halftime and finished the game with 19 carries compared to 28 passes. While against Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin’s boys used their superior size to stifle the Arkansas offense. Arkansas was held to nine first-half field goals while the Rebels ended the second quarter on a 23-4 run. Unfortunately, there prevails a discrimination in the distribution of talent when it comes to Arkansas’ athletic programs.

McCready pointed out, “They certainly appear to have a very strong plan in place for basketball and maybe for baseball I guess. But they’ve got to address that with football. Does that change? Let’s say this is a five and seven season there, and it’s the end for Sam Pittman do they address that with a new coach? I don’t know.” It’s double trouble for Pittman. Will he cool down his hot head coaching seat, or lock the gates and stop the players from going out? 

Sam Pittman confronts the unknowns of the transfer portal era

Already, one can sense the concern in the head coach’s voice. On April 15, Pittman shared his anxieties about the transfer portal during an interview with Pig Trail Nation. “You really don’t know what goes behind the scenes… but as we’re finding out more and more, each college, each league is getting more and more money to pit it on. Right now you can still do it the donor way with the collective way until the ruling changes. But I don’t exactly know what goes on behind closed doors, but we talk about it as a staff all the time.” In the current situation, money has a real role to play.

We have seen what happened to Tennessee and their quarterback drama ft. Nico Iamaleava. But at the same time, Pittman can’t afford to be passive, dwelling on potential future issues. At least he got to save his job now. So, he is now looking for help on defense from the transfer portal. As the head coach earlier shared. “I’m really high on the people that we have offensively. And defensively, I am as well, we just got to figure out the totality of the depth on defense.” So, who are the weapons that Pittman and co. can count on?

One of the most sought-after visitors of the weekend is defensive back Julian Neal. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound defensive back had a breakout junior season with the Bulldogs last fall. He comes up with a strong resume: recorded 35 tackles, five tackles for loss, six pass break-ups, two interceptions. The next one on their radar is the 6-foot, 205-pound cornerback, Shakur Smalls. Over the past five seasons, he posted 164 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 20 pass break-ups, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. So, the clock’s ticking for Sam Pittman, and he better find ways to stop the timer.