Sam Pittman defends Arkansas' program culture amid significant roster turnover

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman took the stage at SEC Media Days on Thursday and was immediately grilled about some of the harsh realities surrounding his program. Many of them circled around the program’s finances relative to its SEC peers.

One reporter, Wilson Alexander of The Advocate, put a question to Pittman about an unusual amount of turnover from the 2023 recruiting class. That class has largely been decimated by attrition.

“Your 2023 recruiting class is mostly gone now,” Alexander said. “Is that because of those financial reasons, or is there something else you attribute that roster turnover to?”

Pittman quickly provided his answer, fresh off another one about recruiting and the challenges of doing so in a state that doesn’t have as much natural talent as some of the surrounding ones. He appeared at least slightly defensive, perhaps for good reason.

“Well, man, you’d have to ask each one of those kids,” Pittman said. “Here’s what it’s not because of: because of the way they’re treated, because of the way they’re developed and because of the way they’re taught to. That’s not the reason.”

Whatever the case, though, Pittman is up against it a bit when it comes to roster retention. In his opening statement, Pittman revealed his team will have 58 newcomers this season: 19 high school signees, 31 transfers and eight walk-ons.

Creating a competitive squad given those circumstances can be tough. Continuity truly is a key, and Arkansas has precious little of it.

Sam Pittman opened up on why he thought there might have been so much attrition from the 2023 class, in particular. He also cited the transfer portal windows being where they were.

“It could be playing time, it could be finances,” Pittman said. “Probably the majority of it is finances. But you’d have to ask those guys.”

In any case, Pittman plans to be competitive once again. Arkansas is coming off a promising 7-6 campaign, and it returns starting quarterback Taylen Green. Green is one of several transfers that Pittman believes represent what the Arkansas program is all about. He explained.

“I do believe that whom we’ve got in the replacement, they want to be there,” he said. “They’re happy with what their deal is they have and that they’ll represent the university well.”