FAYETTEVILLE -- There's no doubt the University of Arkansas has fallen behind its SEC peers in many facets of team building for football.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the trenches.
The Razorbacks have lacked depth on both the offensive and defensive fronts through the course of three consecutive losing seasons, and essentially since Sam Pittman's final year as an assistant coach on the Hill in 2015 when Arkansas sported one of the biggest offensive lines in all of American football.
Now with Pittman back for his first season as head coach, the Hogs have renewed their emphasis on bulk and strength up front. Pittman understands it's not an overnight fix, but there's been a push on strengthening and adding weight to both fronts, and Pittman said last week that he likes the direction the Razorbacks are headed.
"The key is not only are they getting bigger, but can they move and not lose that quickness and gain more power," Pittman said on a video conference Thursday. "I've been really, really pleased."
Pittman credits strength and conditioning coach Jamil Walker and his staff, and the willingness of players to follow improvement plans with making a difference since his arrival in December.
"Jamil Walker, I think we have as good a strength coach as anybody in the country," Pittman said. "But our kids have done a good job. They've all gained weight.
"I thought we needed a bigger football team. I think if you look at our team, we do have speed. But I thought we needed to get bigger to compete in this league, and we're certainly headed that direction."
Pittman described the defensive front as probably the unit that has impressed him beyond his initial impressions.
"The D-line is probably the one that I've been most happy with as far as what my mind might have thought how we're going to be versus how we're doing right now," Pittman said. "That group ... is doing really well."
The group features just one returning starter in end Mataio Soli, who started 11 games as a true freshman despite playing with a broken bone in his hand after Week 1. But defensive tackles Jonathan Marshall and Isaiah Nichols seem ready for larger roles after playing in limited duty behind McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith last year.
Soli wound up with a starting job largely because defensive end Dorian Gerald was lost for the season after one week with a bruised artery in his neck. Starters Agim, Smith and Gabe Richardson, and top reserves Jamario Bell and Collin Clay have all been lost from last year's top eight on the defensive front.
Gerald is back, and the Razorbacks supplemented the front with Clemson transfer Xavier Kelly, junior-college transfer Julius Coates and others.
"He really, really looks good," Pittman said of Gerald. "He's got tremendous foot speed, and he's another guy who should be a leader on our football team."
Younger players such as Zach Williams, Eric Gregory, Marcus Miller, Taurean Carter and Enoch Jackson Jr. should be more advanced and capable of providing quality snaps.
"You run out there at different times and you have Marshall and Nichols and Kelly and Coates, them guys are big guys," Pittman said. "They can hold up against the size of the SEC offensive linemen, and they can move."
On the offensive front, weight additions jumped out for several players on the Razorbacks' most recent roster released last week.
Left tackle Myron Cunningham, a 10-game starter who played at less than 300 pounds last year, is listed at 325 pounds. Ricky Stromberg, who broke into the starting unit at right guard at less than 270 pounds as a true freshman last season, is listed at 311.
Ty Clary, a two-year starter at center who was listed at 285 pounds last season, is up to 298.
Stromberg has gotten work at center during walk-throughs as the coaching staff looks to identify its top eight to 10 players and make sure there's versatility for the travel roster.
"We're trying to put the five best players on the offensive line, and then number six and number seven, all that," Pittman said. "But you can't have your ... second-best player playing behind your best player just because he plays left tackle. I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
"So, we're trying to find our five best, and the hardest place to play on the O-line is center, so we're trying to develop at least three centers. If we can get more in the top 10, we would do that, too, but we're trying to at least be able to travel and be three deep at center."
Cunningham, Clary, Stromberg and right tackle Dalton Wagner are returning starters. But Noah Gatlin, back from knee surgery last year, could challenge at tackle. Players such as Shane Clenin, Luke Jones and others also will look to push into starting roles or spots in the top 10.
Redshirt freshmen Beaux Limmer, Brady Latham and Dylan Rathcke all weigh between 290 and 300 pounds, and the true freshmen are big ones, such as 6-5, 359-pound Jalen St. John, 6-5, 320-pound Ray Curry Jr., and 6-5, 284-pound Marcus Henderson.
"Jalen, we're working with him," Pittman said. "He's with our nutritionist and all that. He's big. We're working with him maybe to take a little bit of weight off so he can get his foot speed better."
Pittman would like his offensive linemen to weigh closer to 300 pounds than 275.
"I'm not saying a 275-pound man can't block a 315- or 330-pound man," Pittman said. "I'm not saying that, but I would like to have a little bit more anchor. Obviously, everybody I would assume knows that I like big offensive linemen."