Ask Mike: Secondary Woes, Revenue Sharing & Is Sam Gone?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – Here’s this week’s Ask Mike:

Q. Our first question is from Mousetown who wants to know: Do you still think that Sam Pittman’s job is safe? Last week you pretty much acted like it was a done deal that he’s coming back.

A. You’d think with this crazy season I’d get it that nothing is a done deal. Seems like all over the SEC everything resets every week. What’s true today may not be true in a few days.

The last thing I heard from people I trust is that provided Arkansas wins six games and makes a bowl he won’t be fired. However, with the way this defense, and I should say secondary, is spiraling out of control who knows what’s going to happen? They could win six games, get a bowl bid, lose that game and end up 6-7. To me that might get him fired or he might retire. It’s hard to say.

Q. RazorAlex88 says: We’ve had some pretty bad losses but this loss was a whole new level of bad. There should be some forgiveness offensively with injuries to Taylen Green and Jackson being out last couple games. Defensively… that would be a thumbs down.

A. No question the injury to Green had a big effect on the game but look at the difference in he way the offense responded and the defense. The offensive line was getting overwhelmed at first but as the game went on they started opening up some holes for the backs and protecting Malachi Singleton better. Arkansas was able to score four touchdowns after Green was pulled from the game. It’s also unfair to put the blame on the rest of the defense. Plain, pure and simple, the secondary just punted. It was as bad as I’ve seen from a group of players who had been very competitive until the LSU game.

Sam Pittman made a comment after the game about 80 guys on the team trying to win but another 20 dragging everybody else down. Seems accurate to me.

Q. MacDaddyHog says: On defense, the Hogs have poor lane discipline, take bad angles, and have too many blown coverages. And on offense, what’s up with not lining up on the line of scrimmage properly in the last two games? Is attention to detail not being emphasized enough for this team? Is this a talent level issue or coaching?

Q. All teams make mistakes. It becomes more noticeable when you lose. The problem right now is that secondary. If Arkansas goes up against a good passing team they are in trouble. That problem has to be fixed or this team maybe has one more win coming up, if that.

Q. Marty Byrde’s proxy wants to know: Why has the defense regressed so much? Have other teams figured out Coach Williams’ scheme or are they seeing more of weaknesses in individual players, especially certain DB’s?

A. Pittman indicated after the game that other teams have figured out Arkansas defensive schemes. I do believe that is part of the problem. But the other thing you mentioned is a bigger issue. Opposing coaches can clearly see that Arkansas secondary is a disaster right now because the starters aren’t doing their jobs.

I’ve been told that Ole Miss wasn’t doing anything special with their passing game. Simple pass routes were enough to get wide open.

Q. John Hawes Jr. asks: Why is it that we come out sluggish and with such low energy like we don’t even want to be there? In front of our fans no less.

A. Again that’s not my assessment of what happened. The secondary played that way after Green got hurt and especially after the went to the bench and Singleton took over. Why did they do that? That’s the big question.

Was it as, Pittman suggested, Arkansas might have been tipping off Ole Miss has to what they were about to do scheme wise. I would suggest given the simplicity of what Ole Miss was doing that it was the secondary and had little to do with alignments and pre-snap movements. Those guys just checked out.

Q.WVHogfan asks: What is the morale of the team after having player(s) kicked off the team for refusing to play and being destroyed by Ole Miss?

A. I’m sure morale is down after losing a game that badly but the removal of Ty Washington and Var’keyes Gumms is not a big issue as nearly as I’ve been able to determine. They wanted to redshirt but would not promise Pittman that they would be back next season. He has said to the team that he is not going to redshirt any player so they can leave and go play another team. So don’t ask to redshirt if you’re leaving. I think the other players understood his position on that.

Q. Hawgredneck asks: What’s your take on Pittman’s “Ole Miss is Louis Vuitton and Arkansas is a Blue Light Special” comparision before the game? What the heck was he talking about? A lot of fans have jumped all over it.

A. I think they misunderstood what he was saying. He was basically explaining that Arkansas’ NIL situation had forced his coaches to recruit a lot of 3 star players to make four stars out of them whereas Ole Miss, with more money to spend, was bringing in four star players from the beginning. But it was what he said after that which was important. He said with revenue sharing on the way Arkansas will be able to be competitive with schools with bigger NIL collectives.

Revenue sharing is supposed to be in place by April. The NCAA will offer a new way to compensate players. Athletic departments will pay players directly out of their own budgets. There will be a cap to prevent schools with more money from outbidding those that have less. There will still be NIL money but it will be regulated by a private company that specializes in fair market value in the business world. If a school offers an NIL to high school quarterback of say, $3 million, that company will come in and investigate the local market and determine the real value of the endorsements the athlete will be making. That $3 million could be cut back to say $300,000. Arkansas NIL situation is improving and it could afford to spend a few hundred thousand dollars for a top QB, receiver or running back. So even with NIL money Arkansas will be in a much better position. This is what Sam Pittman was referring to.

Q. VegasHog says: Coach Pittman is 28-29 in five seasons of SEC play. Kiffin is 41-17 and Drinkwitz is 34-23 over same time. What is the rationale by Yurachek for keeping Coach Pittman and the current staff for the 2025 season?

A. When I ask people who supposedly know I get a number of answers. Mainly that Yurachek likes the coaching staff and believes they have been recruiting with a short deck due to NIL limitations. That situation has improved and he’s convinced that progress is being made but I don’t that that part is written in stone. At the end of the season Yurachek could re-evaluate the progress made situation if this issue with the defense doesn’t turn around.

Q. revolution says: Taylen Green is having a good season for the Hogs and hopes can soar considering how he will perform in a second year under Petrino. What former Hog QB does Green most compare with? He seems rather unique.

A. To me it’s Matt Jones. Both could be described as tall and fast. Both good runners and decent passers. The difference right now is that Matt Jones made a lot fewer mistakes than Green. That will continue to be the challenge with him. Before his injury he was looking much better but in the LSU and Ole Miss games he have disastrous turnovers, one at Arkansas’ five yard line and one in Arkansas’ endzone. Both resulted in touchdowns.

Q. KYHog says: A lot of fans say that Arkansas quit in the Ole Miss game and it’s the coaches fault. What about the Aggies? They were leading the SEC and just gave up in the 4th quarter against South Carolina. It can happen to any team.

A. You won’t get many Hog fans buying into a comparison between those two situations but you do make an interesting point. A&M had more at stake than Arkansas. As the only SEC team without a conference loss they were closing in on a championship. I’m not surprised that they lost. I was shocked that their whole team, offense and defense, came completely unraveled with the game on the line.

Q. Jimmyhogball says: If I was coach Pittman here’s what I would have said to Kiffin after the game – “Nice win for your program coach, but you didn’t really need to intentionally run up the score like that. I won’t forget it!” What do you think?

A. The score doesn’t bother me as much as all that stuff that’s going on on the sidelines. Bringing a portable basketball goal with the team, setting it up by their bench. Slapping a Hog logo on the backboard and letting his players take turns dunking the basketball as the score got worse and worse. I’m told that they do that at every game. Most schools have a form of that, whether it’s giving a player a belt to wear after an interception or touchdown. Miami has a turnover chain.

I’m gonna get accused of being a boomer but I don’t like stuff like that especially if the game is a blowout. You don’t have to make a statement to opposing fans in a blowout. The scoreboard is enough. Everybody in the stadium and can see it.

Q. sgiles says. After football and basketball both winning last week we get hit with a double whammy. Football is football but what happened to Cal’s bunch?
Supposely TCU wasn’t that good.

A. Cal says he knew his guys weren’t focused the way they were for Kansas. He even chewed them out and told them they were headed for a loss. Basically Boogie Fland and DJ Wagner combined for 46 against Kansas and scored 17 against TCU. Zvonimir Ivišić scored 18 in the first exhibition game, just 5 in the second.

Still Arkansas had a double digit lead late and just stopped scoring. It happens.

Cal says he’s not about wins and losses right now. He want his guys ready to play their best basketball when SEC play starts. I think he’s exaggerating a bit but I understand the point he’s making. In two nights the real thing starts.

Q. HotlantaHog asks: With men’s basketball starting this week, what’s your prediction on the season? Who wins the SEC?

A. I’m terrible at predictions so I wouldn’t go by anything I said. Our Kevin McPherson who has forgotten more about college basketball than I’ll ever know came out with his power rankings this week. It looks like this.

Alabama

Auburn

Arkansas

Florida

Tennessee

Q. WooPig1991 wants to know: Are cross country and track losing scholarships to the football program?

A. The word I get is that track scholarships will probably expand under the revenue sharing change that’s coming. What will likely change is the elimination of walk due to roster caps but that is true for all sports.

Q. Space Hog says: Missouri’s HS Athletic Association has started allowing athletes to get paid NIL while in high school IF they go to a university or college in Missouri. Any chance Arkansas does the same thing?

A. The state legislature in Arkansas has already passed something similar. If you have signed an NIL deal with an Arkansas school you can start collecting that money while still in high school. NIL deals to out of state colleges cannot be collected until your high school eligibility is up.