Sam Pittman Comments on Tennessee Ahead of Hogs’ SEC Home Opener
Credit: University of Arkansas Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
#4 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0) continues SEC play with a trip to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas (3-2, 1-1) Saturday evening.
Kickoff is at 7:30 ET and the game airs on ABC. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe will be on a broadcast for a Tennessee game for the third time this season.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman opened his Monday press conference with thoughts on the Vols through one month of the season.
FULL VIDEO HERE:
Sam Pittman’s thoughts on the #Vols ahead of this weekend’s matchup in Fayetteville. pic.twitter.com/63ic2MKBfl
— Tucker Harlin (@TuckerHarlin) September 30, 2024
Pittman made sure to give Tennessee credit for what it had accomplished at the linebacker and defensive back positions, but instinctively they don’t carry the weight of the defensive line for Pittman. As a former offensive line coach, he recognized the threat the Vols pose to any offensive front this season with their stout defensive line.
Quick aside: the Razorbacks’ starting center is Addison Nichols, the first four star plus recruit to commit to Tennessee under Josh Heupel.
“I think a common theme over the last couple of weeks is their (Tennessee’s) defensive line is probably the strength of their defense,” Pittman said. “It’s similar to what (Texas) A&M’s (defensive line) and Auburn’s (defensive line) was, so that’ll be a big challenge for us.”
Pittman spent the next portion of his opening statement discussing the offense. He mentioned what how much Tennessee’s offense does at once but did say he had ideas for how to counter that the Hogs were practicing. Like the offense, Arkansas’ defense has a Tennessee transfer starting in defensive back Doneiko Slaughter.
Pittman complimented the skillset of Nico Iamaleava and mentioned Dylan Sampson’s ability to break tackles.
Of everyone on offense, Pittman probably spent the most time acknowledging Cooper Mays. Pittman recruited Cade Mays to play at Georgia back in 2018, establishing a strong relationship with the Mays family.
“I love Cooper Mays,” Pittman said. “He’s done such a nice job at center. (I) love his brother, love his family, they’re good people. Cooper’s playing exceptionally well this year, and he’s healthy. (I’m) really looking forward to seeing him.”
