Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks have an upcoming trip to Provo, Utah to play BYU Saturday afternoon.
By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas and BYU will meet for the first time on the football field Saturday with both teams looking for a strong second half with a momentum-building win.
The two teams have been ranked much of the season, but both fell out of the rankings after losing this past Saturday. BYU fell to Notre Dame 28-20 in Las Vegas while the Razorbacks were toppled by Mississippi State 40-17. A win Saturday could propel both teams to some momentum and a chance to build on that the remainder of the season. Sam Pittman knows the Hogs are in for a tough game on Saturday.
"A lot of respect for BYU and the way they play," Pittman said. "Boy, they play hard. And they have a lot of good players, starting with their quarterback (Jaren) Hall. But I don’t think anybody on our team has been to BYU and we’re excited to play an out of conference game with a great opponent like BYU. Looking forward to it. So that’d be about it."
Hall has helped lead BYU to a 4-2 record. He has completed 129 of 188 passes for 1,558 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has carried the ball 39 times for 75 yards.
"Me personally, I've never been out there before for a game," Pittman said. "I've drove by the stadium, but I never have gone up there for a game. I know our team will be excited to go up there and play. They have a really nice team. Coach (Kalani) Sitake does a very good job. They play extremely hard. They've got a really good quarterback. Good offensive line. Receivers that can win 1-on-1 catches.
"I really like their linebackers on defense, especially (Max) Tooley and (Keenan) Pili. I like those two guys. They are really good players for them. They have a solid D-line and secondary. It'll be a really nice challenge for us, but it'll be kind of neat to go out of conference at this point right before the bye and go play. We're excited to get up there."
Tooley is second on the team in tackles with 42 including 22 solo. He has one sack and a pass breakup. The most impressive thing about his stats though are three interceptions with two returned for touchdowns. Pili has 28 tackles with 10 solo.
Due, at least in part, to the depleted secondary with injuries, Arkansas chose to not pressure Will Rogers last Saturday. Is the plan to try and pressure Hall more this week?
"Well, Hall’s a really good quarterback," Pittman said. "I like their offensive line. I think their two tackles are really good. Actually, I think they’re all good, but I like their two tackles. I think they’re really good. Obviously Kingsley (Suamataia), the right tackle, I tried to recruit at Georgia and lost that battle.
"They’re a little bit… They’re all different personnel. They’ll empty. They’ve got (Gunner) Romney back, he was out for a while, and another receiver, so their receivers, they’re big. They throw a lot of one-on-one balls, but we can’t… We’re going to have to pressure him because I believe he’ll pick us apart if we don’t. We’re going to have to stop the run and then we’ve got to pressure him, because if we don’t, I think he’s really good and a really accurate thrower and his receivers are big. They’re 6-2 and better."
Romney is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior from Chandler, Ariz. Since returning from injury, he has five receptions for 59 yards. Keanu Hill leads the team with 17 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns. Kody Epps has grabbed 25 passes for 298 yards and five more touchdowns. Suamataia, 6-6, 325, was a high four-star recruit coming out of Orem (Utah) High School and originally committed to Oregon.
Not only has Arkansas gotten in big holes early in games against Alabama and Mississippi State, but then rallied only to lose the fourth quarter. Linebacker Bumper Pool said the players are tired at the end of games. Pittman commented on that as well.
"We’ve got a lot of guys having to play a lot of reps," Pittman said. "Part of that is, obviously we are not doing as well on offense. Part of it is, they have to get off the field with some opportunities to pick and things of that nature, they have to get off the field. 4th downs, things of that nature. But yeah, we’re just not as deep right now as we were last year. Last year we brought back 19 super seniors, so you had an older group of guys that had played, whether they were starters or not. And it’s just a little bit different.
"Bump is beat up, too. I can see why he would say that, because he’s out there fighting and clawing, and he’s hurt. Not hurt enough not to play, but aggravating some things that he can’t do. But yeah, I’ve noticed that as well, and I don’t know what to do about it unless… We are taking care of some of them in practice. But we’ve got to go win on Saturday, and that will help some of the tiredness, the ailments and the week off will help it as well."
Pittman was also asked if he has any extra concerns about playing in the altitude at Provo?
'Not really, I have heard stories about kids with the sickle cell trait that you really need to watch them," Pittman said. "We went over that this morning in our meeting, as well. I’ve heard people try to get used to it and go up a day early and all those type things in talking to some of the coaches that have played them and played up there, or some coaches that coached at BYU. They think as long as we hydrate and watch the kids with the sickle cell, we should be in good shape."
Pittman is impressed with Coach Sitake and talked about why.
"I have high respect for him," Pittman said. "In the AFCA, all the coaches are on Zoom, you know, and the things that he talks about when he speaks in the head coaches’ meeting, he’s very, very intelligent. From everything I see, he’s very, very positive, and obviously he has a love for BYU. I know this: For him to get Kinglsey to come back from Oregon to BYU — of course he had to go in the transfer portal — I have high respect for Kingsley’s family, and they love him. I would think that’s enough endorsement there. I do believe, just like you said Tom, that he’s a fine, fine man and a hell of a football coach."
Christopher Brooks leads BYU in rushing with 63 carries for 384 yards and five touchdowns. BYU is averaging 32 points per game. They are averaging 417.8 yards total offense per game this season. They are passing for 264.3 yards per game and rushing for 153.5.
Arkansas will have KJ Jefferson back, but still has several questions about the health of the secondary.
"You know, really honestly I can’t update the secondary until possibly this afternoon," Pittman said. "We know three guys haven’t practiced yet this week. I don’t know whether they will today or not. Depends on how they feel. Or if they practice in a limited situation. So we’ll know a little bit more when we get to practice today."
Safeties Myles Slusher, Jayden Johnson and Khari Johnson all are nursing injuries. Slusher didn't even make the trip to Starkville. Both Johnsons were injured in the game. Safety Jalen Catalon and cornerback LaDarrius Bishop are both out for the season.
The kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and televised on ESPN.