Pittman addresses job security at SEC media day in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Sixth-year University of Arkansas football Coach Sam Pittman kept it real with media members during his appearance on the final day of SEC media days Thursday at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Pittman addressed questions regarding his job security at the event, as well as issues Arkansas is facing regarding NIL, the NCAA transfer portal, revenue sharing and recruiting.

Pittman is a lot more bullish on the prospects for the 2025 Razorbacks than the media analysts, who place him in the “scalding” category of hot seats in the SEC and project a bottom-tier finish for Arkansas after a 7-6 season.

Pittman thinks the Razorbacks’ first five games will give them a chance to bolt out of the gates with a team that has a veteran feel based on massive transfer additions the last two years.

“A lot of hard games in there,” Pittman said, referencing games against Arkansas State, Ole Miss, Memphis and College Football Playoff runner-up Notre Dame, a stretch of matchups that follows the opener against Alabama A&M.

“But at the same time we have great opportunity. It’s not all about, a lot of times, who you’re playing. They’ve got to play the Arkansas Razorbacks too, and we’ve got a really good football team.”

Fifth-year Razorback defensive tackle Cam Ball, who was back in his hometown, along with quarterback Taylen Green and linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr., two second-year transfer Razorbacks, accompanied Pittman to Atlanta.

Pittman identified improvement in the turnover category as the key ingredient for a big season because he’s happy with the team unity he’s seen through the spring and summer. He touted the Razorbacks’ 459.5 yards per game last season, second-most in the SEC behind Ole Miss.

“Again, top 10 on offense, I think we’re better on defense, our special teams are solid,” he said. “We’ve got to learn how to finish games and to me it’s all about turnovers right now, and if we can get more.

“We need to get more. It’s not just the offense turning it over. We have to get more, and if we can take care of the ball better, which we believe that we can — we all understand the offense a little bit better — then we could have a very special season because of the way our schedule lines up.”

Pittman, who has a 30-31 record at Arkansas, suggested he could have ridden off into the sunset to the house on Lake Hamilton he and his wife, Jamie, own after last season if he wasn’t prepared for the pressure and challenges of the 2025 campaign.

“This ain’t my first year on it, you know? We’ve been six,” Pittman said about processing the pressure. “It’s just that the media’s been a little rougher on me the last few, which is fine. That’s what they should be. They’re just doing their job.”

Pittman said he didn’t feel the pressure as much because of the elements in place on the roster.

“When you have a good team and coaching staff you don’t feel the pressure as much as if you’re going, ‘Oh, we’re going to go out there and get slaughtered and I’ve got nobody to coach them,’ ” Pittman said. “That’s not the case at all. I’ve got a really good coaching staff. We’re fortunate that all our coordinators came back this year.”

Pittman listed other factors he thinks play into the Razorbacks’ favor.

“We’ve got our quarterback back, and I think everybody knows I believe strongly in our quarterback,” he said. “We have three levels of leadership on defense, with Cam being the leader on the front, Sorey on the linebacker level and then Larry Worth. So I just feel really good about this team. I should.

“All you can do at this point is feel your football team in spring ball, how they’re handling the summer — Are they getting stronger? Do they like each other? Are they cohesive? — and I like the team. So the pressure, I think … if you ask Kirby (Smart) there’s pressure on him too.

“So I think this league, that’s just all what it’s about. Evidently I like it because I got a chance to go to the lake and I’m not there.”