Whether or not Sam Pittman talks about toughness during his sleep is up for debate. His wife, Jamie, has never mentioned it.
But it would not surprise if that’s the only time the second-year Arkansas coach isn’t either talking about how to make the Razorbacks tougher, or at least thinking about it.
That was the attribute Pittman mentioned without a prompt when he opened his media briefing following a 20-10 victory over Texas A&M last month. Multiple players toughed it out despite injuries as the Hogs recorded a victory over the then-No. 7 Aggies.
Quarterback KJ Jefferson sustained a bruised knee in the third quarter, but returned in the fourth quarter to help the Hogs run out the clock.
Center Ricky Stromberg (knee) and tackle Dalton Wagner (back) left the game the previous week and were questionable for the game, but played every snap. Pittman said he was sure they would play after both gave him a thumbs up before practice Wednesday.
Stromberg injured a knee in the preseason and returned to practice ahead of schedule, missing only one week of contact. No one should be surprised. Toughness is what Stromberg is all about.
“By no means do I want to take credit, because Ricky has always been tough,” said Scott Stromberg, his father.
“From Day 1 of playing football — and he started playing in kindergarten — the thing he had was an ability to stick his nose in there and play tough.”
But maybe his father did have something to do with it. He coached his son at an early age, all the way to junior high football when public school coaches in the Union system of southeast Tulsa were handed a wonderful lineman.
“I probably did grind on him a little bit, force him to be tough,” Scott Stromberg said. “He never had any size until high school but he was always tough.
“What I always told the players on my team: Who is going to embarrass whom? Will it be you or the man across from you?”
Scott Stromberg grew up in Chicago, then moved to Tulsa in 1990 to work for a firm that makes artificial limbs. His love of the Chicago Bears was instilled in his children.
“Ricky wears No. 51 because of that, the number Dick Butkus wore,” Scott Stromberg said. “I brainwashed Ricky to love the Bears.”
A lot of the time the opponent across from Stromberg was Brady Latham, who now plays beside him on the Arkansas offensive line. Latham is the starter at left guard, Stromberg at center.
Latham was coached by his father, Bob, a former center at Oklahoma. Latham was in the Jenks system, the top rival for Union.
“I think it was starting in about the third or fourth grade we started playing Bob’s team and Ricky and Brady would go against each other,” Scott Stromberg said. “It would usually end up with a fight. Both of those kids went all the way to the whistle or past every play. Bob coached Brady tough, too.
“Those two are close friends, but they went at each other an awful lot for a long time at a young age.”
They are similar in that neither were recruited by the top schools in Oklahoma. Arkansas was the only Power 5 team to offer either. Tulsa also recruited both.
“I didn’t know about this at the time, but at the very end Oklahoma did call Ricky to talk about a blueshirt (scholarship),” Scott Stromberg said. “But it was after he was committed to Arkansas. It was not something he considered and didn’t even tell me at the time.”
The Strombergs love Pittman, who was not at Arkansas when Ricky committed or arrived.
“We were so lucky that we didn’t hire (as head coach) the ones we wanted and got Sam; just luck,” Scott Stromberg said. “We are much better off than what could have happened. We love him.”
That’s not to say they didn’t love Chad Morris or offensive line coach Dustin Fry. That tandem recruited many of the players starting for the Hogs on this year’s offensive line.
“What I’d like to say about a lot of these kids, they were tough when they came to Arkansas,” Scott Stromberg said. “What I give credit to Sam and his staff, they made this bunch mentally tough. But I can tell you that both Ricky and Brady were already tough.”
They’ll need that mental toughness against Auburn. After losing back-to-back games, the Hogs must dig deep to fight back in a quest for a top bowl trip. Auburn is 4-2 like Arkansas, and is likely to be under consideration for the same postseason destinations.
Head-to-head victories will be a determining factor when SEC commissioner Greg Sankey makes bowl decisions.
This is the time of year when injuries begin to take a toll. Most players are trying to fight through physical pain. The mental pain of losing a tough game at Ole Miss, 52-51, is salt to the wound. The Hogs went for a two-point conversion after time had expired, trying for the win.
They have fought through the heat of summer and a warm start to October. Temperatures are cooling after midweek rains in Fayetteville. Pittman said it’s a welcome break.
“That’s the one thing about the preseason and all the way up to Game 6 was the heat,” Pittman said. “We couldn’t get away from it. We certainly did this week. It’s been good.”
He said he cut short a few periods of practice midweek just to give the team a physical break, too.
“That’s like a Christmas for them,” Pittman said of the lighter load.
You can do that when you have a tough team. After conceding that toughness is a major key, here are 10 more for this week.
The Crowd
Pittman made a plea to fans to be loud on his weekly radio show Wednesday night.
“It’s hard to win on the road in the SEC,” Pittman said. “The crowd, in my opinion, makes such a difference in the games. It can make a difference in the start and it can make a difference at the end because of the volume and how they get our kids pumped up at home.
“I’ll tell you, Georgia’s fans made a difference and I’ll guaran-damn-tee you will, too, on Saturday.”
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, backup tailback, sees the difference in the crowd from last year when there were covid-19 restrictions on attendance.
“I feel like it (made) a big impact,” Sanders said. “By having people with us being there, I feel like we play a little better having a better crowd. I know we didn’t have a crowd like that last year, but I feel like that crowd that Texas game was pretty good.”
Most think it’s tough to find energy week after week during a 12-game season. Some weeks you have it, some you don’t.
Sanders thinks the crowd can help on those days your tank might not be full of gas.
“I feel like (energy) comes a lot with the crowd,” Sanders said.
Regardless, it’s a big key at the middle part of the season.
Playing in a hostile environment is not new for the Tigers. They’ve already played — and split two games — in two of college football’s loudest places, Penn State and LSU. Both were packed houses at night. Auburn lost to Penn State in the fourth quarter and rallied in the fourth quarter against LSU.
Will the Tigers bring energy to this game? They are coming off a rivalry game against Georgia, a performance that held merit for three quarters. They didn’t fade as quickly as did the Hogs against the Bulldogs, but that game was in Jordan-Hare Stadium — a big difference.
Leadership
There has been a strong belief that the 2021 Razorbacks have good leadership, both in the senior class and from juniors playing key roles, like Jefferson. Some lead without being captains. Stromberg is front and center in that group.
If there was ever leadership was important, it would be this week, coming off a two-game losing streak. Pittman said it has been important for the team to have strong leadership this week.
“They look at you like how are you going to react to this situation,” Pittman said, “and you better react as a grown man and figure out what you can do better.”
Pittman had praise for Stromberg’s leadership when asked about his junior center during the SEC’s weekly call for head coaches.
“I mean, he’s the guy,” Pittman said. “We’re a much different team when he’s not in there. He’s not necessarily a vocal guy. He leads by example.
“But I tell you, that room’s tight. That offensive line room is tight. Ricky Stromberg is a really good football player. He’s one of the top, in my opinion, he’s certainly a top-half — probably way higher than that — center in the SEC.”
Offensive Line
Excuse me if I spend more time on the offensive line than usual this week. It’s always what I look at first and the most when thinking about the keys.
The Hogs are improved on the offensive line, despite changing coaches after spring football when Cody Kennedy was moved from tight ends coach when Brad Davis left for LSU. Pittman gives Kennedy credit for keeping that group playing well despite injuries forcing players to shift positions.
Wagner, a captain and the right tackle, is out for several weeks after surgery for a finger injury. He did not play at Ole Miss. Stromberg missed time in the Georgia Southern game that forced Ty Clary to play center. Clary is now at right tackle.
“You know, Rick was also one that was beat up there, I don’t know what it was, maybe Week 2, maybe Week 3,” Pittman said. “But they’re a tough group of kids. The thing that we have is we have a lot of different guys that can play different positions and play them well.
“Coach Kennedy’s done a really nice job of making sure that if an injury occurs, we’re able to go out there and function at a high rate. So, obviously any time you have an injury like with Wagner, you’re concerned about there’s a reason he’s a starter and then the other thing you’re concerned about is depth after that. I think we’ve done a nice job this week of preparing different guys for different positions. It’s part of the game. We have tough offensive linemen and they’ll play if they can.
“Certainly if not, we have to be prepared as coaches that we’re ready to go win football games. I think Cody Kennedy’s done a real nice job of that and the players themselves of understanding that they have more value on the offensive front if they can play more than one spot.”
Clary’s value is huge. Pittman raves about his versatility.
“It’s a special guy, it’s a special athlete,” Pittman said. “A guy that has to understand the entirety of plays and what side he’s on now and what that changes technique-wise and which foot’s the attack foot. It is a lot of different things. It takes a special person to do that. We’re very, very fortunate to have Ty on our football team and offensive line.”
Tackling
It was solid for most of the year, especially sharp against Texas and Texas A&M, but it’s slipped of late. Tackling was poor to nonexistent against Ole Miss.
It’s tough to do too much tackling work at this point in the season because of the bumps and bruises to players. There can be no Oklahoma drills with full-blown tackling. Most teams tackle in “thud” drills and do not take players to the ground. For sure, you don’t want to tackle first-string backs. And how much does tackling a slower scout teamer help?
“I think you’re always cautious of too much hitting,” Pittman said. “ Just like Auburn we’re going into our seventh consecutive week. I believe they’re off after this and we have (UAPB).
“Anytime you get to this point when you’re playing SEC (teams), and it’s your seventh game in a row, you start to lose a few players just from, you know, bumps and bruises and injury. So we’ve been concerned about that this week. We have hit. We have gone good on good and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve made some adjustments at practice though because of that.”
Auburn returns four starters in the offensive line and has a solid running game with Tank Bigsby at tailback. Arkansas did not stop Bigsby much last season, so the Hogs better be ready to tackle. The Tigers will rely on the ground game.
Pittman bemoaned the lack of support from the secondary in tackling against Ole Miss. He also said edge support was poor. Overall, he said the defensive performance was “the glaring deal” against the Rebels.
The Hogs have played mostly in a three-man front this season with three safeties and a nickel in a secondary set with six backs. Pittman promised changes this week, but didn’t note what they could be. Perhaps a safety comes off the field and the Hogs add an extra defensive lineman.
Containment
Jefferson and Auburn’s Bo Nix are both good runners, although Nix is more dangerous on scrambles out of the pocket. Jefferson does damage that way, but more in the run-pass option, or on called quarterback draws against a defense spread thin in man-to-man coverage.
The key to stopping Auburn might be to contain Nix in the pocket. He is not the best pocket passer. He’s better when he breaks containment and looks to throw on the move.
In comparing the two quarterbacks, Jefferson is probably the stronger runner and a definite option on the goal line. Nix is more elusive. He wants to buy time to throw more than to run. Both are dynamic quarterbacks.
Pittman said the Hogs would prepare for Nix with “scramble drills,” and said the Auburn quarterback extends plays as well as anyone in the country. The plan this week is to keep the pocket from breaking down to let Nix loose. That’s easier said than done.
Secondary
Arkansas must eliminate busts in coverage in the secondary. They have been there for most of the season, but it wasn’t until last week against Ole Miss that it became a serious problem. Few teams were hitting the open man on the deep ball. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral changed that.
With the three-man front, Arkansas uses its safeties and nickel position in run support. Ole Miss took advantage by showing pass sets and running to the weak side where there were open gaps. It worked for big plays.
Can Auburn scheme such an advantage? Or will the Tigers just pound away inside like Georgia did two weeks ago?
Either way, the Hogs have to fix some things in the secondary. It may be a case of asking players to do too much. Perhaps defensive coordinator Barry Odom will simplify things and add a defensive lineman. No one is saying what changes are coming, but the Hogs must eliminate big plays.
Turnovers
The Arkansas defense has suddenly lost its knack for forcing turnovers. Ole Miss and Georgia did not commit a turnover the last two weeks. The last forced turnover by the Razorbacks came when Montaric Brown intercepted a pass against Texas A&M.
Auburn has lost three fumbles and Nix has thrown just one interception, so don’t expect one this week.
The key is to continue to play turnover free. The Hogs have for the most part. There were two last week, although one was a Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half that can’t be faulted.
Arkansas is eighth in the SEC in turnover margin; Auburn 10th. Turnovers have rarely been a problem for either team, but they aren’t producing many on defense. That’s a credit to both Jefferson and Nix. When your quarterback takes care of the football, good things happen.
Pressure
This is a delicate balance. Do you go after a quarterback capable of making a big play with his feet? Both Jefferson and Nix can do that. You show them man-to-man coverage with an empty backfield, a quarterback draw is the likely result. It might be a big play.
Both teams are short on sacks, although Auburn has done slightly better with 2.7 per game. The Hogs, with Tre Williams leading the way, have just 1.7 per game, 13th in the SEC.
Williams has been streaky in his sack attack. He leads the Hogs with four this season, but most of that came against Texas A&M. He will be matched with a top line left tackle, senior Austin Troxel.
The man the Hogs have to contain is not in the Auburn two deep. Third-team defensive end Eku Leota has four sacks and six tackles for losses. He’s a transfer with speed and ability. He plays a lot in special rush situations.
Special Teams/Penalties
Don’t let it come down to a field goal try. Auburn has one of the nation’s best. Senior Anders Carlson has made 16 straight field goals to start 2021 and has made 35 of his last 38 field goal tries. He’s headed for an All-America season.
The Tigers don’t return many punts, but have a dangerous man in wide receiver Demetrius Robertson. He averages 13.5 on four returns.
But punt return is not so much the worry this week as punt protection. The Tigers blocked a punt for a touchdown last year, probably the key play in the 30-28 loss (not counting an officiating error). Auburn has blocked three kicks this season and the Hogs have had multiple punts blocked.
Auburn punter Oscar Chapman averages 44.3. The Auburn net is actually better than that at 43.5. If it is a field position game, that could prove key since the Hogs net just 36.8 punting. It’s the biggest statistical difference in the game.
The Hogs cleaned up a big penalty problem last week at Ole Miss, although it seemed the crew ignored pass interference throughout the game. Auburn has played cleaner than the Hogs for the season, averaging just 5.8 penalties per game. The Hogs are 13th in the SEC at 8.8.
Physicality
This is an area that seems to be an Arkansas strength, but it wasn’t a clear advantage last week. It seems some of the battles the Arkansas defensive line had won early in the year were not as clear-cut wins.
John Ridgeway didn’t have his way against the Ole Miss center. He’d been playing against freshmen for most of the year. Auburn has experience at center with senior Nick Brahms.
Auburn coach Bryan Harsin harped on improving the physicality and the run game this week in his Monday visit with the media. He said it’s been the focus before, too, but falling behind early in several games has forced more passing.
“We’re just going to have to keep working on it and keep getting better at it,” he said. “It doesn’t change who we want to be. It doesn’t change the fact that that’s a goal of ours in the identity of what this offense should look like.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to do it. … Now, that being said, it’s not all run. There’s got to be some balance, and that balance in the pass game has got to show up.”
That flips things back to the top key, mental toughness. It holds a close kinship to physicality.