5 takeaways from Sam Pittman's pre-camp news conference

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman speaks Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, during a press conference at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman met with reporters Wednesday for the final time before the Razorbacks begin preseason football practice on Friday. 

The team will practice five times before their first day of full pads on Aug. 11. The Razorbacks will hold the first of two closed preseason scrimmages on Aug. 13. 

Arkansas is scheduled to open the season with a home game against Cincinnati on Sept. 3. 

Pittman spoke with reporters for about 30 minutes. Here are some of the key takeaways from his comments: 

Injury report

The Razorbacks will have a couple of key names either limited or largely unavailable when preseason practices begin.

Defensive lineman Taurean Carter, one of the top all-around performers until the final stages of spring drills, will likely miss camp as he recovers from a knee injury suffered in the Razorbacks’ spring showcase on April 16. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported he had surgery on the knee early in the summer.

Prior to his injury, Carter was expected to be one of the mainstays and leaders of Arkansas’ interior defensive line. He had 24 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack last season, but emerged as a potential top playmaker throughout the spring.

“TC will be in camp...but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be active in camp,” Pittman said. “But we felt like it was important that he come into camp, be a part of the team, be a part of the meetings, be a part of practice.

“Not that he’s going to be able to practice, yet. But we felt like that was important.”

VIDEO: Sam Pittman previews start of 2022 preseason practice

Running back Dominique Johnson is questionable for the season opener against Cincinnati, Pittman said. He is ahead of schedule in his recovery from an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss most of the spring.

Pittman added he believes Johnson will be able to do “some things,” but perhaps not in the first week.

“He’s progressing well,” Pittman said. “He’s ahead of schedule, so I don’t know if we’ll have him for the Cincinnati game or not, but I feel like we’re going to have him the majority of the season.”

Defensive back Jacorrei Turner (shoulder) will be in a green no-contact jersey when camp begins, and quarterback Kade Renfro (knee) has not yet been cleared for practice.

“We’re going to play a little caution with him for a couple of weeks,” Pittman said of Turner.

RB outlook

Arkansas returns three running backs who rushed at least 47 times last season, underscoring Pittman’s claim that not many SEC teams have a feature running back. 

With Johnson out, the majority of the workload is likely to fall on Raheim “Rocket” Sanders during the early portion of the preseason. 

“If Rocket is fresh, he’s going to get the majority of the carries,” Pittman said. 

Sanders, Johnson and AJ Green — all sophomores — ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively last season in carries behind quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Trelon Smith, who transferred to Texas-San Antonio during the offseason. 

Sanders (578 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Johnson (575 yards, 7 touchdowns) had considerably more touches than Green (227 yards, 1 touchdown), but all are expected to contribute significantly this year. 

“Kind of where we feel like we’re at is we have three guys that, when Dominique gets back, we feel like we can have success with,” Pittman said. 

Line talk

At SEC Media Days in Atlanta last month, Pittman spoke highly of Ty’Kieast Crawford, a 6-5, 347-pound offensive lineman who transferred to the Razorbacks prior to last season from North Carolina-Charlotte. 

Pittman said Wednesday that Crawford will work primarily on the right side of the offensive line at right tackle and right guard, but might also practice some at left tackle. 

Returning starting right tackle Dalton Wagner has battled multiple injuries during his six-year career and likely cannot play every offensive snap of every game, Pittman said. That might open the door for Crawford to play there. 

“We’re going to solidify that right tackle spot first,” Pittman said. “We’re also going to move (Crawford) in at right guard. I just think the guy is a really good player and I think he needs to help us. We’re going to keep him on the right side right now — right tackle, right guard — and see if he can’t win one of those spots. If he doesn’t, he’s going to play a lot of ball for us.” 

Crawford could have his hands full winning the starting spot at right guard if offseason workouts were any indication. 

When asked if there were any “standout summer stars,” Pittman mentioned returning starting right guard Beaux Limmer, a redshirt junior from Tyler, Texas. 

“He’s a freakish-type guy,” Pittman said. “He’s strong in the squat and the bench and all these things. He’s kind of a freak-of-nature type of guy.” 

Limmer has 16 career starts, including the final 11 games last season. Phil Steele listed Limmer as a fourth-team All-American in his preseason preview magazine.

Arkansas also returns starters Ricky Stromberg at center and Brady Latham at left guard. Luke Jones, who rotated at left guard last season, is expected to compete for the starting left tackle job.

Sategna makes strides

Isaiah Sategna, a 4-star receiver from Fayetteville, missed spring practice while he competed for his high school track team, but has impressed Pittman since he enrolled in summer school. 

“Isaiah has very good ball skills and can separate,” Pittman said. “He’s exactly what we thought he would be.”

As a senior at Fayetteville, Sategna led the nation with 1,908 yards on 100 receptions, including 17 touchdowns. He was the state’s Gatorade athlete of the year in track and field after he set state records in the long jump, 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles. 

Sategna will compete in both sports at Arkansas. His father, Mario, was a former assistant track coach for the Razorbacks.

Pittman praised Sategna’s intelligence and ability to learn the offense in a quick amount of time. 

“The No. 1 thing that keeps young kids off the field,” Pittman said, “is they don’t know the offense…so therefore they’re thinking and you’re not seeing their full athletic ability. 

“I know he’s a smart kid, but he really picked up the offense fast.” 

Looking the part

When Pittman was hired as Arkansas’ coach in December 2019, he said the Razorbacks had work to do to look like other teams in the SEC, which he called “a big man’s league.” 

After signing three classes of his own recruits, Pittman is proud of the way the team looks going into his third preseason. 

“We’re a big football team now,” Pittman said. “We look like an SEC football team, in my opinion, now.” 

Pittman said the Razorbacks also have the speed needed to compete. 

Speed-wise, I think there’s two parts to that,” Pittman said. “One is you recruit speed and the other is you develop speed. I think we’ve done a really good job…of developing our guys to get bigger and stronger, but we also spend a lot of time on speed development training as well, so I think we’re a bigger and a faster team. 

“Then I think recruiting and the guys we brought in, we’re starting to recruit bigger and stronger and faster guys when they walk in the door, and you can develop them even further at that point. So, yeah, I like the way our team looks and I like our team speed.”