FAYETTEVILLE -- Sam Pittman and Ben Sowders, the strength and conditioning coach, met with the media Thursday on the eve of Friday's 6:20 a.m. practice to begin preparation for the 2025 season.

One topic that came up is sophomore running back Braylen Russell, the former Benton High School standout, who played last year as a true freshman. Russell was third on the team in rushing with 67 carries for 354 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 18 yards. Pittman praised Russell on Thursday.

"He's got to stay healthy, but absolutely he can do it, and I believe will do it," Pittman said. "He's had a great summer. He's in shape. There's power in being in shape, now. If you're not, you're not very powerful. If you are, your mind, your body tells you. It's powerful being in shape, and that's another reason I'm sitting here excited about the team, because Ben and his staff and our kids got themselves where they need to be at this point in time. But yeah, if Braylen can stay healthy and fight through the nicks and the this and that. I believe you can do that on a regular basis."

Russell topped the Hogs in rushing twice. First, he rushed for 62 yards on eight carries in a 19-14 win over Tennessee. Later in the season in a 58-25 victory over Mississippi State, Russell rushed 16 times for 175 yards. He also had one catch for 11 yards against the Bulldogs. Sowders also talked about Russell and was asked if Russell (6-1, 238) losing weight will hurt his power?

"No," Sowders said. "Actually I’m more eager to see him, to be honest. I think he’s a guy who needs to stay around 245. He is a big back. But the best ability is availability, right? And being able to repeat it over and over and over and over. I’m not sure if y’all remember, but the Mississippi State game, he kind of strained his hamstring. Well that’s the fastest he had ever ran since he had been here. The fastest. So a point of emphasis in the spring and summer is we have to repeat your speeds over and over and over so when you do get that breakout run, you don’t have the tissue and the strain on the hamstring like that. You can’t just coast, coast and when it’s time to go, go. That’s not how this league works.

"But his body fat has dropped. Y’all are going to see him tomorrow — how many of y’all are coming to 6 a.m. practice? Should be all of y’all — but you’ll see. He does. He looks good. He’s in a lot better shape than he was last year. A lot of that is maturity, I’m a year in the program. But really excited about that room, excited for him. He’s a powerful back. Same thing, you look at his numbers, his power has gone up. Last year we had 15 guys broad jump 10 or more. We had 31 this year. So we’ve even doubled that, so really put an emphasis on power. So going back to (Russell), it’s right up his avenue. Really like our team and I think we’re going to be a lot better up front, too."

In addition to starters Xavian Sorey Jr. and Stephen Dix Jr., Pittman praised former Harding Academy linebacker Wyatt Simmons and others on Thursday.

"I like them," Pittman said. "You know, Brad Shaw, he’s going to be right in the middle of trying to figure out if he’s a 1 or not. I like him. (Trent) Whalen made a lot of tackles, and then unfortunately, fortunately for us with the coach and all that at, I believe it was Kent State. I like those guys, and it’s time for Wyatt Simmons to do something. Last year he was a freshman and had some hamstring issues and all of that. He’s a big, 242-pound something guy that can run. We like him, and it’s time for him to get going, and he will, and Tavion Wallace will be the other guy in there. I think if you look at older guys that have played, you mentioned the first two and then obviously Brad Shaw and Whalen."

Simmons was a standout at Harding Academy (in Searcy) and was a member of the Class of 2024 at Arkansas. As a senior, Simmons had 77 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Also ran 18 times for 79 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.