Talking about the hotness meter of Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman’s seat? Paul Finebaum got us covered. The ESPN analyst said, “I forgot he was in trouble. That guy has been living on the hot seat the last three years.” Outkick’s Trey Wallace also puts Pittman in the top three hot seats along with Billy Napier and Mark Stoops. While the head coach might fall prey to a wave of demotivation, one of his players can get him going. A 344 lb freshman, who has picked up the buzz. And that’s none other than the Razorbacks’ offensive lineman, Shaq McRoy. But what makes him be in the spotlight?

The offensive line has been a major concern for Pittman and Co. moving into the 2025 season. Offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who returned to Arkansas in December after stints at Baylor, BYU, and Texas State, said this is one of the most promising young units he has coached. The fight for the starter’s role has been between Keyshawn Blackstock, Kobe Branham, and E’Marion Harris. Harris played both tackle and guard last season. Right now, McRoy is likely to rob his goodnight’s sleep as tough competition looms in the right tackle position.

On the August 28 episode of the Jox 94.5 podcast, Trey Biddy shared some insights about Pittman’s offensive line. That’s when he could not stop praising McRoy. “E’Marion played both tackle and guard last season, and he’s still competing with another player who could eventually overtake him once he’s a little more polished—Shaq McRoy,” said the analyst. Last December, Pittman’s program successfully flipped McRoy from Oregon after he played no games in his freshman season. 

But looks like Pittman’s gamble is likely to pay off. As Biddy kept on singing in the freshman’s praise. “McCrory is massive. I’ve covered this team for 22 years, grew up in this state, went to Arkansas, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player as big as him. He’s listed at 6’8”, 344 pounds—he was 362 when he arrived. He’s a Birmingham kid, a former top-100 recruit, who started at Oregon last year, then transferred to Arkansas. He’s a redshirt freshman now. Honestly, he looks even taller than 6’8”—his shoulder pads sit where most players’ necks begin,” said the Arkansas loyalist.

He is already giving away Dan Skipper vibes, the former Arkansas offensive lineman, who was listed at 6 feet 10 inches. But in Pittman’s squad, McRoy comes off as the complete package. Along with height, he brings his strength to the table. Biddy sounded hopeful, “He’s the biggest lineman I’ve ever seen, and he can move. He can really run. I’m anxious to see how he develops. It may not all happen this year, but it could as the season goes along.” He had proved himself enough at Clay-Chalkville High School, leading them to an 8-2 record as a junior in 2022. Pittman’s freshman blocked for an offense that racked up 306.7 yards per game, including 1,667 total rushing yards and 1,400 passing yards. Now, what does the Razorbacks’ coaching roster promise?

Did Sam Pittman invite more trouble to Arkansas?

On August 27, TorresOnArkansas tweeted that OC Bobby Petrino will move to the booth this season to call plays. Pittman then confirmed that how his staff would no longer be found calling plays from the sidelines. “That’s how we’re going to start,” stated Pittman. “Bobby actually approached me and felt like he could see the field better, be a better offensive coordinator up there.” But what made Petrino come up with this request?

“I’m going to be on the sideline. You’ve got the clicker now where you can talk to the quarterback in the earpiece and can’t do that from upstairs,” he said. “I liked it last year upstairs, calling the game and being away from all the elements, but I didn’t like not being able to see the quarterback’s eyes and how they were reacting. I think it’s the right decision to be down.” With this, he cuts off distractions and will give his 100% focus to calling the plays. While Razorbacks are yet to figure out the outcome of this change, right now, Pittman’s another move is calling for attention.

Last month, the Razorbacks landed in deep soup. Their director of player personnel, Jovon Hubbard, responded to Auburn general manager Will Redmond’s call and joined the Tigers tribe. A month later, Pittman finally found someone to fill the gap. Matt Zenitz tweeted on August 26, “Arkansas is set to name David Bowen as its new director of player personnel, sources tell @CBSSports. Had been the team’s assistant DPP. Before Arkansas, he was Texas A&M’s director of college scouting. Has also worked at LSU, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi State.” But troubles loom in naming David Bowen as the next director of player personnel.

He had been part of the LSU Tigers program for 18 months. Starting off as a recruiting analyst, he got hired as the assistant director of player personnel and served in that role for 3 years. But the result was alarming. Under him, the program’s expenditure has exceeded revenue, bringing its total revenue over expenditure from 2021-23 to zero. So, did Pittman pile on more chaos to his overflowing plate?