Change can be good but sometimes necessary

By Jason Pattyson

FAYETTEVILLE — Gray. The middle space that represents where two opposite sides blend together between two poles. It fluctuates and can be a barometer representing a central feeling, not a void. The Gray representing fans’ feelings or thoughts on the Razorback Football team has shrunk over the last three years, when the Sam Pittman Era hit its zenith at the end of the 2021 against Penn State in the Outback Bowl. 

That imaginary space is filling back up with the addition of some crucial pieces on the offense. We all know who the players and coaches are to a point, as we have brought the loyal followers of Hogville and Pig Trail Nation these past few weeks during talkin’ season.  

I was on record in the first quarter of the season after the BYU game that if Pittman enters the offseason needing to replace a quarterback, running back, most of the offensive line, and a couple of staff positions, it would be almost impossible to overcome. 

Well, here we are, and that has all but happened. The comparisons to Pittman and former LSU coach Ed Orgeron are uncannily similar. First, Pittman successfully revamped the defense with a host of hires that improved every statistical category from the year before. The entire staff on that side of the ball stayed intact, which has been tremendous in recruiting. 

Now, he might have pulled it off on the offense; they could very well have saved this season before it began and extend Pittman’s time here as the Head Hog. 

He got a possible diamond in the rough with receivers coach Ronnie Fouch, Offensive line coach Eric Mateos, and running backs coach Kolby Smith, who is back after serving as a graduate assistant here for the Razorbacks. Mateos in 2013- 15 and Smith in 2012. 

The most significant get was bringing back Bobby Petrino; he provides much-needed vision in play calling that was lacking last year. Who said life isn’t about second chances? It’s all about what we do with them that counts the most.

You can always gauge the perception of fall camp by the collective reaction of the media when we get just a few minutes to watch a glimpse of practice. The bunch of us walked into the indoor practice field, and we were met by a loud voice telling us we needed to move as the offensive line group headed our way. We moved as fast as we could, and the position groups were already getting to work. 

Most practices sound like the night you arrive at basic military training: lots of yelling with instructions, coaches teaching what needs to be done and how, plus the expectation of getting it expeditiously right the first time. The urgency is different from spring ball and even more than fall camp last year. It was similar, but this year is different. It’s the approach because each group is buying in more than last year. They care because they know what is on the line. 

So, let’s venture back to that gray space. This sounds wild, but fans on the one end of the spectrum think Pittman’s going to lose his job, and on the other end, Pittman is safe in this job at the time, are trying to pull fans in that gray area to their side, hoping that if they yell loud enough, it will enter existence. The middle group, that Gray middle group of fans, is the smallest it has been in Pittman’s tenure here on the hill. A couple of factors have led us to this point. 

The dirty three-letter acronym NIL, tongue in cheek, hasn’t caused any problems in fans’ perception. This has led to fans resisting giving their hard-earned cash to the drive for 5K, much less paying for a ticket to go to a game when you already pay for it to show up on your TV every Saturday. Fans don’t like getting triple-dipped. 

Some fans don’t want Pittman to succeed, plain and simple. This group is usually the loudest and the first to climb out of the woods. Both the MGM Sportsbook and BETUS.COM have Pittman (5-1), only second behind Florida’s Billy Napier (4-1), as the first coach that could be fired in or after the 2024 season. Pittman leaned into that fact at SEC Media Days in July; he let the college football world know he has the weight of the state on his shoulders.

Then you have the silent crowd waiting to see if Pittman can turn this around. They may not be rooting for the staff yet, but you better believe they want the student-athletes to succeed. The team won four games despite all that happened, and the fans cheered when they had the chance. This group can get much louder if the wins can pour in.

Under any circumstance, the state, as a whole, wants to experience what winning feels like again. The wins will also help fill that gray portion of the fan base again that Pittman and company need back in their corner. Six wins is the line that most believe this team needs to be at for another go-around for the staff, and who doesn’t like to go bowling?