Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman with the final updates on depth chart, roster spots ahead of Saturday's opener with Western Carolina at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock at noon.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 to ask you about Luke has not a lot of freshmen have started
00:04 right out of the gate here at Arkansas,
00:06 and he's listed as a starter.
00:08 Just curious on the camp that he's had
00:10 and everything he's done to this point to earn that right.
00:13 Well, ever since he came in here,
00:18 he's worked his tail off.
00:19 He loves football.
00:22 His brother does too.
00:24 I think had a lot to come from--
00:27 who raised him and coming from Bigsby High School.
00:31 But he's a little older.
00:34 He's strong.
00:35 Can really run.
00:39 And he's got wonderful hands.
00:41 I mean, can catch everything.
00:42 You guys have seen him in practice.
00:44 Can catch everything.
00:45 But I think you have to-- as a freshman,
00:47 you have to bring in that kind of mentality, that work
00:51 mentality, and that physical play.
00:54 Now, he's going to be a much better player in two or three
00:56 years than he is right now.
00:58 But he's a fine player now because what
01:03 keeps freshmen off the field is not
01:05 knowing what they're doing or not physically able to do it
01:08 or the development's not quite there as fast.
01:13 But his has been ever since he's been here.
01:16 And so really excited to see what he can bring to us.
01:20 Maybe an extra dimension that we possibly haven't maybe not
01:26 haven't in the past.
01:29 I think we could also expect to see Jalen Braxton some.
01:31 But I was-- my question was about just other freshmen
01:34 that we might see.
01:35 I know safeties and linebackers or tight ends
01:38 are popular on special teams and stuff.
01:40 Just who else might we expect to see?
01:42 True freshman wise, Brad Spence comes to mind at linebacker.
01:49 Alex Sanford comes to mind.
01:50 If you're talking about special teams role,
01:52 Spence is going to be more than that, Trey.
01:55 I think he'll play quality minutes at linebacker.
01:59 Quincy Rhodes is a guy that's going to play.
02:02 Ian Graffard is going to play.
02:05 Quincy could work his way up.
02:08 I mean, I think he's really a special talent.
02:11 In the back end, you had already mentioned Alex Sanford.
02:16 Excuse me, you'd already mentioned Jalen Braxton.
02:20 I'm looking over there to see TJ Metcalf.
02:23 TJ Metcalf of B1.
02:25 Offensive line, probably not there.
02:28 You talked about tight end, running back, probably not yet,
02:31 even though we're really pleased with Isaiah, quarterback.
02:36 Malachi has done a really good job.
02:38 And then wide receiver, yeah, you're
02:43 going to see both of them, James and Dozier.
02:46 They're in our top six.
02:49 Wide receivers, you'll see both of them.
02:51 Well, when you talk about that defensive line with nine
02:54 seniors and stuff, what does it say about Graffard and Rhodes
02:57 that they may be able to make some noise there?
03:00 Well, what we hit, they're both really good players.
03:06 Both great kids, know how to work.
03:09 And the thing with Ian, I mean, he was all biscuit away
03:13 from 400 this summer.
03:15 And he never missed a rep, never missed anything.
03:20 And that's hard to do now at that kind of size.
03:26 And so that tells a little bit of his makeup.
03:31 But you're 100% right.
03:33 And Quincy Rhodes is just, in my opinion, a special talent.
03:39 Thanks, Coach.
03:40 Bob.
03:43 Hey, Sam, how you doing?
03:46 I wanted to ask you about Patrick Kudas,
03:48 kind of camp he's had.
03:50 He's obviously going to be at a key spot for you.
03:53 How's he doing?
03:54 What are you looking for out of him?
03:55 Really good camp, very athletic.
03:58 We moved him late, I believe, in the spring to tackle.
04:04 We need to see solid consistency there, which is hard to do
04:11 at that spot.
04:13 But very, very talented, very strong.
04:18 And so obviously, we recruited him.
04:21 That's how smart we are, recruited him
04:22 as a defensive lineman.
04:25 And going to become one of our better offensive linemen,
04:28 I believe.
04:29 But he's very strong, very competitive, tougher
04:33 than a billy goat.
04:34 Just a guy that I think the future is really bright there.
04:39 And then looking at the depth chart for Western Carolina,
04:42 I was kind of surprised to see how big
04:43 their offensive linemen were.
04:45 I mean, if you didn't know, but you'd
04:47 think, wow, that looks like an FBS team,
04:48 bunch of 300-pound guys.
04:50 One of their tackles is 6'8".
04:52 Well, I wonder what you think about that.
04:54 Yeah, they're really good, too.
04:57 I think they're probably average about 305, 307 pounds across.
05:02 I listened to a little bit of what Coach Bell said about it.
05:04 He's very, very excited about his line.
05:07 And I believe he said maybe two or three of those guys
05:11 could have a chance to play on in the NFL.
05:15 So yeah, everybody seemed to be bigger nowadays and all that.
05:20 But they certainly have a line that
05:23 could match up size-wise with a lot of teams
05:26 that we play this year.
05:28 Thanks, Sam.
05:29 Hodge?
05:31 Yeah, Sam, speaking of the offensive line,
05:33 on the teleconference this morning,
05:34 you mentioned you feel good about eight guys
05:36 and that you'll play more than usual and that you have been.
05:40 What does that look like?
05:41 Do you have a set rotation, like this guy
05:43 is going to go in this series?
05:44 Or how do you go about that?
05:47 I think some of those comments come out of we've
05:52 had some injuries, therefore part of it,
05:56 they've earned some of that.
05:57 Part of it, we owe them opportunities
06:00 to play because of some of the injuries.
06:04 Now, we wouldn't throw them out there just because somebody's
06:07 been injured if we didn't think that we could win with them.
06:10 Let's get that straight.
06:12 But we have, with Wiggins, he's played left guard at center.
06:17 With Chambly, certainly, in my opinion,
06:21 he's been one of the bigger bright spots of camp.
06:26 And then you go with Tykeese Crawford,
06:29 he might be in that same category.
06:32 And injuries certainly gave us an opportunity
06:35 to look at them with a different group,
06:38 look at the ones and all this.
06:39 I'm still just as excited as I can be about Devon Manuel.
06:43 But we found some more guys.
06:45 And I don't know if it's because our eyes opened and looked
06:48 at them differently.
06:49 I don't know.
06:49 I really don't.
06:51 But I am very confident going into it that we have eight.
06:55 And I think I'd feel the same way about Amari and Harris,
06:58 except he's been injured here lately.
07:00 We got him back yesterday.
07:03 And if everybody is healthy, do you
07:05 envision playing multiple, rotating guys in
07:10 as the season progresses?
07:11 Is there a benefit to that?
07:12 Or do you want to find a, this is my five,
07:15 and they're going to play every rep as long as they're healthy?
07:17 No, I would rather be what you mentioned first,
07:21 to be totally honest with you.
07:23 There's obviously guys that are just
07:26 better than everybody else up there or have the separation.
07:34 But if they don't have separation,
07:37 I don't know how you figure out which one of them
07:39 is the best if you don't get them in the game
07:42 and let them have at it.
07:44 And so I think we're that way, in all honesty,
07:47 with at least three positions up there.
07:51 And so we just got to go find out
07:52 and see who the best guys are.
07:55 And then eventually, maybe by midseason, by start of SEC
08:00 play, hopefully we could cut that down.
08:03 And if nobody's separated, we'll continue to go ahead and play
08:06 seven or eight.
08:09 Kevin.
08:09 Yeah, hey, Coach.
08:16 One of the big things that you started today was obviously
08:19 all of the freshmen.
08:20 And now looking into it, this season,
08:21 you have a lot of returners on your roster,
08:23 specifically experience with KJ and Rocket.
08:26 How do you believe that experience
08:27 will help this season?
08:30 I think, to be honest with you, I
08:32 think it's helped us since January simply because we
08:35 had so many new guys.
08:37 You had 38 new guys.
08:38 And you have to have somebody inside your program that
08:42 believes in you and believes in what you're doing
08:45 and believes in how you're treating or respecting
08:48 the team when those guys come in.
08:51 Because if you don't, it could be a madhouse.
08:54 It could be going everywhere.
08:56 So with KJ and Rocket, you could go on and on
09:01 about the returner guys.
09:03 They certainly had a great importance.
09:06 They've gotten better.
09:08 Now, whether that's strength-wise and a mind,
09:12 they fit our system better, whatever it may be,
09:16 they've gotten better.
09:17 And Jaden Johnson and Jaden Wilson, those two guys
09:30 were guys that I thought were pretty good last year.
09:32 And now I think they're really good.
09:34 So they've obviously changed as well,
09:38 what their mind's telling them.
09:39 But to be honest with you, the core of our team
09:43 was the guys that we had, as you mentioned.
09:45 And we'll go rock with those guys.
09:48 And then the new guys are certainly going to help us.
09:53 Got it.
09:56 Sam, we talked to Tank Booker last week.
09:58 He said his transition here was pretty smooth.
10:02 I'm wondering how you maybe saw him operate
10:04 when he got here to make that transition smooth.
10:09 Tank's personality would allow him, in all honesty,
10:12 probably to have a smooth transition a lot of places.
10:17 I appreciate him saying that here.
10:19 But he had something to prove.
10:23 Moving, going to the SEC, that was something there.
10:28 But he came in, didn't say a whole lot.
10:31 People respect what you do, not necessarily what you say.
10:36 In the beginning, once you do something,
10:38 then they'll expect the words coming out of your mouth.
10:40 And I thought he came in, went to work,
10:43 and didn't say a whole lot.
10:44 And then the kids started noticing him.
10:47 And obviously, we did as well.
10:49 And then he's become a little more outspoken.
10:52 He's not ever going to go up and give the public address.
10:57 That's just not his personality.
11:00 But I think he's going to do all his talking
11:03 physically, how he plays.
11:06 You said Monday that Western Carolina
11:08 likes to throw a lot of bubble passes at defense.
11:11 I'm curious what the key is to maybe being able to defend
11:14 that quick pass game effectively so early in the year.
11:17 I don't know if it was part of our practices.
11:22 Yeah, I'm sure it was.
11:23 But we started a lot of our practices this year
11:26 with the bubble drill.
11:27 And obviously, we want to get better at it offensively.
11:32 But we're going to have to defend it a lot.
11:34 I think Western Carolina does as good a job
11:38 as anybody will play throwing the bubble screens,
11:42 the intermediate shorter passes.
11:44 And not to say they don't do the long--
11:46 but the deep ball well.
11:47 I'm just saying they do a great job with that bubble
11:50 intermediate range.
11:53 So we put it as an emphasis.
11:56 We're trying to start fast.
11:58 So we're trying to do something physical
12:00 at the beginning of practice as much as we can
12:04 in a team-oriented thing.
12:05 Now, the bubble necessarily wouldn't be,
12:07 but fastball starts would.
12:08 So we would try to do both those things
12:10 because we're trying to do something right out of the gate
12:13 to say that we want fastball starts.
12:18 We want to start fast.
12:19 But to answer your question, they
12:22 are good at the bubble screen.
12:23 And we've gotten a lot of good on good reps
12:26 trying to defend it.
12:28 Mason.
12:29 Yeah, Coach, I was just wondering
12:31 with Jashod Stewart, is it still the heel that's
12:34 bothering him?
12:35 Yes.
12:36 And I don't know that he's going to be
12:39 able to play Saturday to be perfectly honest with you.
12:42 But yes, it's just been nagging him for a while.
12:45 And I would guess he's probably about 75% or 80%.
12:51 And to be perfectly honest with you,
12:54 it doesn't matter what the name of the team we played.
12:57 I just don't think it would benefit him or us for him
13:02 to play at this time on Saturday.
13:05 And then all of your openers as the head coach at Arkansas
13:08 have been in Fayetteville.
13:09 I'm just curious if there's anything
13:11 that you've done differently to prepare with it being
13:14 in Little Rock this week.
13:15 We really haven't, except for the fact that all of our--
13:21 we flip-- when we play on artificial turf,
13:26 we flip practice fields.
13:29 One day, offense will be on the grass and opposite.
13:33 And then the next day, they'll be--
13:35 all our good on good, all our kicking, all that
13:37 has been on our practice turf.
13:41 So we have done that.
13:42 But other than that, we haven't really talked a lot about it.
13:45 On my Friday talk to the team, I will
13:49 talk about the history of War Memorial
13:52 and the history of the team going to Little Rock.
13:54 So the kids will know it's a big deal.
13:56 And they need to know it's a big deal to me,
13:59 and they need to know it's a huge deal to the state
14:02 Arkansas.
14:04 [INAUDIBLE]
14:07 Coach, this morning on the teleconference,
14:09 if I understood you right, you said
14:10 you had some players that were out for the season.
14:13 I knew about Bocke.
14:14 Was there anyone else that you can say?
14:17 Yeah, I'll tell you whatever you want to know, Otis.
14:20 You're a good man.
14:23 Well, I figure you may have already told us.
14:25 I probably missed it.
14:27 I'm looking up there.
14:28 Quincy McAdoo, obviously.
14:30 Right.
14:31 I don't believe he'll--
14:32 Terry Wells, he had to pack surgery at Bocke.
14:39 That would be it as of right now.
14:42 And that's it.
14:44 Yeah, those were the three I knew about.
14:45 [INAUDIBLE]
14:48 Kind of playing off what Hutch asked you earlier about,
14:51 he talked about the offensive line playing more players.
14:54 But has the transfer portal or even the thread,
14:57 the transfer portal maybe more so,
14:59 forced coaches to maybe play a few more players than you would
15:03 have otherwise instead of just saying, you're going redshirt?
15:06 Well, I think I'd be lying if I didn't tell you it was always
15:09 in the back of my mind.
15:13 The other part about it is, too, if you really think about it,
15:17 Dean Lineman, they have responsibilities as well.
15:22 And we play eight.
15:24 They rotate basically on fours.
15:27 You know what I mean?
15:29 I've always been a guy that wanted to play my best five
15:34 and wanted to play them all the time.
15:37 I don't know that that helps you in the future of development,
15:40 whether you're talking about the portal or not.
15:42 But to be perfectly honest with you,
15:44 I'd be lying to you if I told you the answer to that was no.
15:48 Because I think there's a lot to--
15:51 nowadays, you don't get suspended a year in the portal.
15:57 So yeah, I think that's always something to think about.
16:01 In this case, I think it's just earned reps,
16:03 to be perfectly honest with you.