SEC Spring Meetings Report: Pittman updates McAdoo; Musselman talks offseason

Arkansas defensive back Quincey McAdoo moves past a teammate Thursday, March 30, 2023, while taking part in a drill during practice at the university practice facility in Fayetteville.

DESTIN, Fla. — Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman on Wednesday said cornerback Quincey McAdoo’s rehab following a car accident this spring is “going exceptionally well.”

According to an Arkansas State Police report that was obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this month, McAdoo was given two citations for his two-car rollover wreck on north-bound Interstate 49. He was later treated for an injury to his vertebrae.

Pittman said McAdoo, who is from Clarendon, is rehabbing in the Razorbacks’ facilities.

“He got out of the hospital a long time – several days, two months – faster than what they might have thought,” Pittman said. “He’s so strong, so determined. I think he’s going to have a great recovery.”

Pittman thinks McAdoo can make a full recovery.

“It’s just going to take a little bit of time,” he added.

McAdoo rapidly rose up the ranks in Arkansas’ defensive backfield in 2022 after moving from wide receiver. He picked up Freshman All-SEC honors after finishing with 30 tackles, 20 solo stops, 4 pass breakups, 2 interceptions and 1 sack.

In 368 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, he had the team’s 12th-best overall defense grade (66.2). The site also shows he allowed 14 receptions on 31 targets and gave up 1 touchdown.

Eager for summer

The Arkansas men’s basketball team’s five commitments from the NCAA transfer portal are on campus, and Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said Wednesday he is excited about the group entering the summer.

Arkansas signed transfers Keyon Menifield (Washington), Tramon Mark (Houston), Khalif Battle (Temple), Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati) and El Ellis (Louisville). Musselman said a lot can be learned about players and the team as a whole in the coming weeks and months.


And those things will factor into what happens personnel-wise early in the season.

“I think you learn which guys retain stuff. You can implement your philosophy on both sides of the basketball,” Musselman said. “Who’s got work ethic? Who’s got toughness? Who can fight through things? Who can sustain things and who is consistent? There’s going to be the mile test and we figure out who can pass that and how long it takes to pass it.

“Then there’s the whole weight room evaluation and how guys are improving in there and their intensity.”

Looking forward to fall

Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman said Wednesday that the Razorbacks will hold their first practice of the preseason on Friday, Aug. 4.

Game times for Arkansas' first three football games were also released Wednesday. Asked about the 3 p.m. start time and expected heat for the Sept. 2 season opener against Western Carolina in Little Rock, Pittman joked that he is glad he will not be playing.

“I’m not familiar with why the game was set at 3 o’clock,” he said. “We’ll practice plenty and will be ready for it. I wanted the one in Little Rock as early as possible.

“But I think we want as many fans there as possible as well, so I understand the timing of it.”

Teams are able to schedule the start time for the games that are only available via an online stream, which for Arkansas this season is the season opener. The hosting conference and TV networks decide the start times for the other 11 regular-season games. 

Brazile update

Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile is “way ahead of schedule” in his recovery from an ACL injury last December that abruptly ended his first season with the Razorbacks' basketball team.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said the team’s trainer, doctor and strength and conditioning coach are “really, really optimistic” about how much progress Brazile has made. The fourth-year head coach did not want to put a timeline on his full return to the floor.

“We will [not] put him in contact ahead of schedule,” Musselman said. “He’s put himself in a really good position to…he’s ahead of schedule, but we’ll still wait until the right time. It’ll probably be a full 10 months.”

Brazile announced March 30 that he would return for the 2023-24 season.

Hoops series vs. OU

Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said Wednesday that he does not think the Razorbacks will play Oklahoma in men’s basketball in non-conference play in 2023-24.

Arkansas and Oklahoma have played at Tulsa’s BOK Center each of the last two seasons. Oklahoma beat the Razorbacks 88-66 in December 2021 and Arkansas defeated the Sooners 88-78 last December.

The contract for the series called for at least two games and the option to renew for two more seasons. If the teams were to renew for two more years, it would include the Sooners' first season as an SEC member in 2024-25.

“But do we play an Oklahoma State game [in Tulsa] in the future? I don’t know,” Yurachek said. “We haven’t reached out to them. But that game has been really cool for Arkansas.”

Martin in NBA Finals

Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman said his cell phone was blowing up Monday night as Caleb Martin, a former player of his at Nevada, helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

The 6-5 guard scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Heat’s 103-84 win at Boston in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Making the championship round and being a standout in the postseason is great for Martin – and Musselman.

“Really, it’s great for recruiting,” Musselman said. “It’s really good for our current players, because I talk about Caleb and [twin brother and former Nevada player] Cody so much. In the offseason I’ll talk to them about their work ethic, but I think it helps us in a lot of ways.

“A couple of recruits’ parents texted me about, ‘I didn’t know who this guy was.’ They found out about him quickly.”

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Central on ABC.

New assistant

Eric Musselman is in the process of finding an assistant coach after two-year assistant Gus Argenal accepted a head coaching job in the Division II ranks last week at Cal State San Bernardino.

Musselman did not go into detail on the search or a preferred timeline for a hire, but said he is “in the middle of our interview process.”