Arkansas team leader 'all in' on Petrino
Arkansas super veteran wide receiver Monte Harrison has been around the block.
The 30-year-old sophomore’s rare athletic path brought him to Arkansas in 2024 following a decade in professional baseball, which he appeared in 50 major league games.
Harrison broke his foot in Arkansas’ 56-14 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 6 and will likely miss the remainder of the season, but “Unc” as his teammates refer to him is still a key mentor in the locker room.
It has been a week of mixed emotions following the dismissal of Sam Pittman and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino moving into the interim head coach role.
Now in his second season learning under Petrino, Harrison is fully behind his play caller leading the way.
“I’m all in for Bobby,” Harrison said on 103.7 The Buzz’s Drive Time Sports Thursday. “Just the type of drive and passion he brings to the game. It’s evident that Bobby loves Arkansas and I think he has some unfinished business that he wants to complete and accomplish.”
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Define the moment or let it define you
Though Harrison may not be able to physically help the team right now, if the rest of the squad buys into his mindset it could be the difference in turning around the season.
Petrino talked more than once this week about adapting to change and the non-benefits of taking the easy route and immediately hitting the transfer portal.
“Some dudes are hurt but it is a business and as much as they want to say college is not professional, this is a business now,” Harrison said. “We have to be able to get past our feelings and understand that it’s part of it and we have to move on. There are seven games left that we still have to play and win.”
Harrison continued to say that he has had previous conversations with teammates even before the season about this being their job and the expectations that are set.
“Whatever you decide to do with your actions, there’s consequences and decisions that come from that,” Harrison said. “Multiple players have come up to me and been like, man, like, you were serious. I was like, I told y’all. Like, I’ve already been through this. Sometimes it is great to be validated, but then there’s other times, like, man I don’t want to be validated because it’s a bad time.”
A well-known straight to the point kind of coach, Petrino has clearly laid out what he expects.
“I think Bobby’s done a very good job just implementing his thought of being a head coach,” Harrison said. “Nobody’s seen that. Well, the offense has seen it just from an OC standpoint, so it’s not really new for us. The schedule did change a little bit, but I think about what the defense has to go through on that side just not having their main coaches there to be able to coach them up. So it’s just a different vibe on their end but at the end of the day, it’s football.”
Thankful for opportunity Pittman provided
It was Pittman who offered Harrison a walk-on opportunity with the Razorbacks in May of 2024, about a year removed from when Harrison decided to hang up baseball.
“I made the decision to be able to talk to schools and stuff like that, and I picked Arkansas because of the SEC family,” Harrison, who has a family of his own, said during fall camp in August. “(Pittman) is really huge on family, and it’s close to home for me, so I’ll be able to take care of my kids and be able to travel home.”
Harrison reiterated his admiration for the impact Pittman had on him and wished his former coach well in the next chapter of life.
“I have a lot of high praise to Pitt, and I love Pitt, that’s never going to change,” Harrison said. “Whatever he chooses to do, whether that’s in retirement or going somewhere else to be a head coach or a o-line coach, I wish him the best and he just needs to know that.”
