Sam Pittman raves about Simeon Blair's progression from walk-on to potential starter

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had the opportunity to gush about one of his favorite players and team leaders this week. Reporters asked the third-year head hog how he’s seen senior safety Simeon Blair grow since joining the team as a walk-on in 2018.

“Everything, would be the first answer, he’s smart, he’s a great team player, one of the hardest working guys on the team,” Pittman said. “He’s appreciative of what he gets.”

Blair, a 5-foot-10 safety, committed to Arkansas as walk-on out of Pine Bluff High School. Although he redshirted his first year, he quickly turned into a significant contributor. In 2019, Blair played in 11 games in a back up role. Going into his third season and shaping up into a defensive team leader, he earned a scholarship and ended up starting two games.

Pittman and the program didn’t release a video like some do when they award walk-ons with scholarships but the former offensive line coach said it was special all the same.

“You know, I’m not a flashy, when you offer a scholarship to a guy and do the video, and all that, I applaud those guys that are, I just know that the guy not getting one is feeling as bad as the guy getting one is feeling good,” Pittman reasoned. “But that was a special moment to be able to give him, he earned that scholarship.

“And from then he’s taken off. He runs the ball, he’s a leader over there. And he’ll hit ya. You’d love to have a whole bunch of Blairs on your team.”

Simeon Blair anchors Arkansas defense in fifth season

In 2021, Simeon Blair made just seven starts but his impact went far beyond that of a partial starter. He posted 24 solo tackles with a sack and four pass breakups.

The senior is likely to start the first game of the season versus Cincinnati on Sept. 3 alongside potential early-round draft pick Jalen Catalon.