Joe Moore Award finalist, Pittsburgh State Athletics HOF, NAIA First-Team All-American, and whatnot. Yet, despite having such an impressive resume, Sam Pittman continues to struggle with the Arkansas Razorbacks. A disappointing 7-6 record in the last season dashed all the hopes for a turnaround. And when the Razorbacks teamed up with their former HC Bobby Petrino last season, it was a clear indication that Arkansas was moving on from Pittman. At least veteran analyst Paul Finebaum believed so.

“There’s nothing Pittman has done in the last three years that has really excited anybody. If you bring in the disgraced former head coach [Petrino] as your coordinator and that energizes your fanbase? That’s telling me that he’s there for a reason, and the reason is to take over for Sam Pittman,” Finebaum said. Now, while everyone believed Pittman may not be able to save his job, his Arkansas future sees a sudden twist when we are just three months away from the next season.

See, Sam Pittman did have a great run with Arkansas. Remember back in 2021, the veteran HC guided the Razorbacks to a 9-4 record, with a 4-4 SEC conference standing. In the last 10 years, this was only the second time Arkansas had won at least eight games in a single season. But last season, the cracks started showing, and still, they stood tall. The season started with a dominant 70-0 victory over UA-Pine Bluff, thanks in part to the arrival of Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green.

However, the next week, Arkansas lost to Oklahoma State 39-31 in overtime after squandering their lead. The Razorbacks followed this with wins in three of their next four games, including a victory at Auburn and a resounding home win against Tennessee. But despite all of that, Sam Pittman took the Razorbacks to the Bowls. Now, let’s be real, a 6-6 run isn’t that promising, right? And that’s exactly why Pittman’s job was at stake until John Nabors hit all with a different angle altogether in the SEC Football Podcast.

“The point I was making was that Arkansas’s schedule is so difficult, and Arkansas’s roster on paper looks like it’s not as good overall as a year ago, that if Sam Pittman goes 6-6 this year—which would match Arkansas’s record from a year ago—then he needs to be praised and needs to be commended for that. I used the term of just saying ‘bring him back another year’ because it would show just how miraculous that would be,” Nabors said. Look, that sure makes sense. Sam Pittman’s team is running quite thin in the roster this season, with 27 transfers and just 24 commits.

The team lost its key players in the portal, like WR Khafre Brown and freshman defensive back Quentin Murphy, to the portal. And on top of that team’s tough schedule. Last month, Sports Illustrated ranked Pittman’s team as having the third toughest schedule this year. Well, can we blame them? They are going to go up against Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, and Auburn. Let’s not forget their two-week road trip against LSU and Texas. So, now you can understand why John Nabors said, “So, no, I don’t believe that if he goes 6-6 again, he should automatically be brought back. I’m just saying it would be that incredible of a feat to pull off given the circumstances.”

Look, the schedule is pure fate, but Sam Pittman is doing everything to fill up his roster. He is bringing in notable commits to the team, like former UCF linebacker Andrew Harris and Texas Permian Basin’s defensive lineman Frank Mulipola. But even with all that, Madden Iamaleava’s stint sure hurts the most.

Sam Pittman clears feelings on Madden Iamaleava

Sam Pittman remained unfazed when Arkansas lost four-star true freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava to UCLA. The Razorbacks had secured Iamaleava’s commitment on Signing Day in December, after a coaching change at UCLA, landing the California native without an in-person visit. However, months later, Iamaleava entered the transfer portal, reuniting with his brother, Nico Iamaleava, in Los Angeles.

Speaking to the media Thursday after spring practice, Pittman frankly addressed the departure: “A lot of times where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and we had heard some rumors (of Iamaleava’s transfer),” Pittman said. “There’s always rumors going around, so I don’t know that I was totally surprised.” Instead of focusing on the loss, Pittman shifted the discussion to the challenges of the spring transfer window, mentioning Nico Iamaleava’s situation at Tennessee and acknowledging the current landscape for college athletes.

“The portal, and I know Nico was high-profile, but I don’t want to blame the players for leaving,” Pittman said. “I mean, you can say, ‘Well, he was here three months and blah blah blah,’ but the opportunity to leave is there twice a year. The money to leave for more money is there twice a year. And I’m not positive what we all would do in that situation. He handled it well, came in and visited with me about it, handled it well, and talked to me about it, and then decided to go in the portal. So, obviously, as soon as that happened, then we go find somebody to replace him.”

Before his move, Arkansas’s coaching staff praised Iamaleava’s skills during spring training. Even offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino likened the freshman to a past Heisman winner. “You know, Madden’s a special talent now,” Petrino said on April 8. “He can really get the ball out of his hands. He sees stuff and has a great, quick release. I know there’s times he drops back and he doesn’t know what the play is. But somebody pops open and he can stick it and put it right on their hands. The last guy that I coached that did that a lot as a true freshman was Lamar Jackson.”

Following Madden’s departure, Arkansas promptly secured a replacement. Trever Jackson, a former three-star prospect from Florida State, officially signed with the Razorbacks Thursday. “Well, I can’t remember the date right now when we lost our other quarterback, but (Jackson’s recruitment) started as soon as (Madden Iamaleava) hit the portal,” Pittman said. “The ironic thing is that Bobby had recruited him when he was at (Texas) A&M. He was already in the portal, so it went really fast after that, and he’s the only one that we spoke with and talked to about it.”

But it all sets up to one thing with a new guy: Will Sam Pittman’s team be able to make a splash this season?