Nate Allen
FAYETTEVILLE - Together in 2016 and 2017 as assistants for Kirby Smart at Georgia, Arkansas’ Sam Pittman and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer have become the recent SEC head coaching apexes at rescuing floundering programs.
At 11 a.m. on ESPN today at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, one of the two will take a pedestal step up and the other a step as Pittman’s, 1-0 Razorbacks and Beamer’s 1-0 Gamecocks collide in the SEC opener for both teams.
Pittman’s now 16th-ranked Razorbacks of the SEC West won, 31-24 over then 23rd-ranked Cincinnati last Saturday in Fayetteville while Beamer’s unranked Gamecocks of the SEC East were winning, 35-14 at home in Columbia, S.C. over Georgia State.
Optimistic starts for programs pessimism punctuated in the final years of the immediate predecessors to Pittman and Beamer.
The Hogs had gone a combined 0-16 in the SEC during the Chad Morris regime of 2-10, 2-10 overall seasons in 2018 and 2019.
So former 2013-2015 Arkansas offensive line coach Pittman was deemed something of a miracle worker coming from Georgia offensive line coach to first-time head coach guiding Arkansas to 3-7 for the 2020 covid revamped schedule of just SEC games.
Going 9-4 overall (4-4 in the SEC with a nonconference triumph over Texas and Outback Bowl winner over Penn State made Pittman one of five finalists for the Coach of the Year won by Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell.
Beamer, leaving Georgia as tight ends coach/special teams coordinator after two years to become assistant head coach from 2018-2020 at Oklahoma, in 2021 became the head coach at South Carolina, replacing the Will Muschamp regime, 4-8 and 2-8 in 2019 and 2020.
As a first-time head coach, the son of former Virginia Tech coaching legend Frank Beamer guided the Gamecocks to 7-6 including a Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over North Carolina.
The successes of the other surprised neither coach, not only fellow assistants but neighbors during Beamer’s two years in Athens, Ga.
“ I mean he’s just a really good person,” Pittman said of Beamer. “And a fiery guy, a good recruiter. You know when he got the job over there I was very happy for him.”
Beamer counters that he had never coached tight ends before coming to Georgia and how much he learned from Pittman in their mutual drills with the tight ends and O-line.
“Certainly when you watch his team play, it reflects Sam,” Beamer said. “They play really, really hard, they’re really, really physical.”
The offensive line and defensive line, since he had spent his entire coaching life opposite D-lines, are Pittman’s bailiwick and identity.
Meanwhile as the son of Frank Beamer, whose emphasis on special teams was called “Beamer Ball,” lives up to his dad’s special reputation.
“You look at Saturday's game (vs. Georgia State),” Pittman said. “They kicked an onside kick, they squibbed a kickoff, they faked a field goal that got them seven points. They got down first and goal on the 2 with a fake field goal. They blocked two punts for touchdowns. So special teams scored 21 points. It’s a passion of his just like o-line is to me.”
South Carolina punter Kai Kroeger was named the Ray Guy Award Player of the Week. He averaged 49.14 yards on seven punts against Georgia State including four inside the 20 and a long punt of 79 yards.
Arkansas freshman punter Max Fletcher of Australia opened “nervous” not punting particularly well against Cincinnati, Pittman said. Pittman opened the week expecting a continuing battle in practice between Fletcher and 2021 incumbent punter Reid Bauer.
The Gamecocks special team’s prowess seems the biggest factor to be wary of the 9.5 points betting spread in Arkansas’ favor that Las Vegas established during the week.
The Razorbacks did beat the better team and both ran the ball and defended the run effectively against Cincinnati.
However after pitching a 14-0 first-half shutout, the Razorbacks yielded 24 second-half points with the Bearcats capitalizing passing on Arkansas’ secondary minus injured All-American safety Jalen Catalon and starting nickel back Myles Slusher.
Neither practiced Monday or Tuesday and appear doubtful.
The Gamecocks did not run the ball well but quarterback Spencer Rattler did throw for 226 yards and a touchdown.
Rattler was heralded out of high school and formerly deemed a Heisman Trophy candidate quarterbacking the Oklahoma Sooners before falling on hard times and was beaten out for the starting job prompting his transfer to South Carolina.
Rattler runs and throws while running so well that Pittman said the Gamecocks appear most dangerous in an empty set without running backs.
“He can throw on the run as accurate as anybody,” Pittman said.
Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, 6-2, 242, with 18 of 26 passing for 226 yards and three touchdowns without a pick and 62 yards rushing, makes defenses cringe, Beamer implied.
“People bounce off of him in the pocket when they try to sack him,.” Beamer said. “And then he's able to get himself out of trouble but then keep his eyes downfield and throw the ball downfield. He's not always just looking to run.”