Sam Pittman on the hot seat for the Arkansas Razorbacks

We continue to look ahead to every SEC team heading into the 2024 college football season. We recently looked at Alabama , and now we head to Fayetteville, where Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks are in desperate need of a bounce-back season after a terrible 2023.

Can Pittman orchestrate the turnaround needed to save his job? Here’s what he’s working with…

After a predictably poor transition from Kendal Briles’ Veer and Shoot to Dan Enos’ pro-style system, Arkansas is now making the, frankly, desperate move of bringing none other than their longtime HC Bobby Petrino back to Fayetteville as OC to help fix their offensive woes. Off-field concerns aside, he should provide a definite upgrade as a play-caller.

KJ Jefferson is leaving for UCF, so the Hogs brought in another big running QB to replace him in Boise State’s Taylen Green. Green was a much better runner than passer at Boise, but he looked comfortable throwing in the spring. Utah transfer RB Ja’Quinden Jackson gives Arkansas a much-needed leader in that room, and he and Green should be a strong rushing duo.

Virtually the entire receiving corps returns. The talent here isn’t all that flashy, but WR Andrew Armstrong and TE Luke Hasz are solid options. The OL will make or break the offense. It was terrible last season, and it’ll be up to a group of transfers, led by former San Jose State LT Fernando Carmona, to fix things.

Arkansas was quietly solid on defense in 2023. The overall numbers don’t jump off the page, and they struggled a bit at the end. But for much of last season, DC Travis Williams’ unit did a respectable job of limiting opponents. And despite some losses, there are some solid pieces to work with in 2024.

The DL is up there with the SEC’s best. 1st Team All-SEC DE Landon Jackson returns and is joined by Albany transfer Anton Juncaj, who led the FCS in sacks last season. Multi-year starter Eric Gregory anchors the defense at DT. Safeties Hudson Clark and Jayden Johnson and young but promising CB Jaylon Braxton provide protection on the back end.

LB is a big question mark for Arkansas. Georgia transfer Xavian Sorey should make an immediate impact. In nickel, Tennessee transfer Doneiko Slaughter leads the way.

It’s do or die time for Sam Pittman. He enters 2024 in one of the hottest spots not just in the SEC but in the entire country. His fate largely rests in the hands of Bobby Petrino, who may or may not actively try to take his job.

The pieces are there for Petrino to produce a good offense if, and this is a huge if, the OL can only be average. But if that group struggles again, it’s hard to imagine things will be significantly better. The defense should be good enough to keep them competitive, but probably won’t be strong enough to overcome a terrible offense.

The problem for Arkansas is that their schedule doesn’t offer many easy wins or opportunities to build momentum. In the first six weeks of the season, they play at Oklahoma State, at Auburn, Texas A&M in Arlington and at home to Tennessee. They have to win one of those games to have a chance at a bowl game, and if they do, it would be an upset.

If they go 0-4 there? Pittman might not make it to the end of the season.