Head Coach: Sam Pittman (3-7, second season)

2020 Record: 3-7

Returning Starters: Offense (8) Defense (9)

Vs Georgia: Oct. 2 in Athens

Players to Watch: QB Malik Hornsby, RB Trelon Smith, RB AJ Green, TE Blake Kern, WR Treylon Burks, LB Bumper Pool, DE Eric Gregory, LB Grant Morgan, CB Montaric Brown, S Jalen Catalon, S Joe Fouche

Sam Pittman knew he had his work cut out when he took over the Razorback program last fall. A 3-7 record was the result, yet some progress was made.

For one, Arkansas broke a 20-game SEC losing streak with a big victory over Mississippi State, and lost to Auburn, Missouri, and LSU by a combined seven points.

Pittman also injected excitement back into the program, and hopes are high that there will be more improvement this fall.

The Razorbacks return 17 starters, although Arkansas will be breaking in a new quarterback. Freshman Malik Hornsby and sophomore KJ Jefferson will compete for the starting job this fall.

Arkansas also returns all five starting offensive linemen, along with wide receiver Treylon Burks (51 catches, 820 yards and seven touchdowns), plus a pair of talented tight ends in Blake Kern (20-201-2) and Hudson Henry (16-92-1).

In the backfield, Trelon Smith rushed for 710 yards and five touchdowns, but is also a threat catching the ball after catching 22 passes for 159 yards and one score.

Defensively, the Razorbacks have to find a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They hope sophomore end Eric Gregory will remedy some of those needs.

Middle linebacker Bumper Pool is also a talented player. He also has the best name in the SEC.

Jalen Catalon and Joe Foucha have an opportunity to become one of the better pairs of safeties in the SEC.

What was the general consensus on how Coach Pittman's first season with the Razorbacks went?

Hutchinson: "Considering what he inherited and all the challenges created by the pandemic, going 3-7 last year was about as ideal as anyone could have hoped. I predicted a 2-8 record, but was worried that might be too optimistic. With Georgia and Florida getting added to the all-SEC schedule, a winless season was definitely possible. I mean, the Razorbacks had lost 19 straight SEC games coming into the year, after all.

"However, Sam Pittman really seemed to make the team believe in itself again, plus he and his staff provided some competent coaching - something that had been missing the previous two years under Chad Morris. On top of the three wins, Arkansas lost three others by a combined seven points and they easily could have been victories: the Auburn fiasco, missing a last-second game-tying field goal against LSU (a game in which it was down most of its top defensive linemen because of COVID) and allowing a last-second field goal at Missouri.

"Throw out the losses to Georgia and Florida, add in three cupcake wins (and a loss to Notre Dame), and the Razorbacks would have been extremely close to a 9-3 season in a normal year. Of course, the key will be turning those close losses into victories - something that doomed Bret Bielema - but Pittman showed enough in Year 1 for there to be a lot of optimism in Fayetteville."

What's the early lowdown on KJ Jefferson?

Hutchinson: "Although he was a four-star, Rivals250 recruit in 2019, Jefferson was never the type of quarterback you’d expect to come in and be a Day 1 starter. Playing at a small high school in Mississippi, he had all the athleticism and tools you’d want in a dual-threat quarterback, but he was very raw.

"Fast forward two years and he has made tremendous strides. We didn’t get to see much of him in practices, but he essentially got an audition for the starting job when Feleipe Franks missed the Missouri game late last season because of a rib injury.

"All he did was throw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, run for another score and lead the Razorbacks to a season-high 48 points - punctuated by a touchdown pass (and two-point conversion pass) with 43 seconds left that should have been enough for a win.

"There are still some concerns about accuracy (he was 18 of 33 against Missouri), but Jefferson did look pretty sharp in the spring game, plus he has Treylon Burks to throw the ball to. I feel like there will be some growing pains and he won’t be nearly as consistent as Franks, but he’s oozing with potential, which has the fan base pretty excited - and nervous."

What was the immediate impact of losing Coach Davis to LSU? How big a deal was this for Coach Pittman?

Hutchinson: "Losing an assistant coach, especially to an SEC West rival, in June is never a good look, plus Davis was the Razorbacks’ highest-paid assistant outside of the two coordinators. He was clearly a valued member of the staff, as he was the first official hire made by Pittman and the coach consistently praised him in press conferences.

"It would have been nice to have continuity in the offensive line room because all of the starters and most of the backups in that group are back in 2020 and the progress of that unit will likely dictate how successful the offense is this year.

"However, it’s not the end of the world for two reasons. First, Pittman is still the best offensive line coach in the country and will probably have his fingerprints all over that room. Also, the Razorbacks replaced Davis by shifting Cody Kennedy over from coaching tight ends. Much like Davis, he worked under Pittman as a graduate assistant at Georgia.

"When Kennedy was hired to coach tight ends this offseason, the plan all along was probably to have him as the potential replacement for Davis if/when he left. This was probably earlier than Pittman could have ever imagined doing that, but it’s a pretty natural fit and should alleviate the growing pains of bringing in a new position coach to lead the offensive line."

What is Coach Pittman's top priority when it comes to this year's Arkansas team?

Hutchinson: "From a broad standpoint, Pittman needs to keep winning. It won’t be easy, but getting to six wins and playing in a bowl game would show that 2020’s success wasn’t a fluke and should help him continue to improve things on the recruiting trail.

"If you want to zero in on one specific area of this team, it should be the defensive line. Quarterback gets all of the outside attention, but a constant theme of Pittman’s interviews with the media has been getting more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

"The Razorbacks ranked dead last in the SEC in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush grade by a wide margin (63.0 vs. Mississippi State’s 67.9) and were tied for last in the conference with only 14 sacks. The also lost their top defensive end (Julius Coates) to the transfer portal and top defensive tackle (Jonathan Marshall) to graduation and the NFL Draft.

"Pittman made it no secret that he wanted to add some help along the defensive line and he did just that, landing three transfers. It will be interesting to see how they fit on the depth chart come fall camp. With an extremely talented secondary led by All-SEC safety Jalen Catalon and experienced linebackers led by All-American Grant Morgan, the defensive line getting more pressure will be critical to the defensive making a jump in 2021."

What are your expectations for this year's team?

Hutchinson: "I touched on it earlier, but I believe this team really needs to make a bowl game this season to continue trending in the right direction. As Georgia fans know, Pittman is an excellent recruiter, but you can only do so much if your program doesn’t have positive results on the field.

"Non-conference games against Rice, Georgia Southern and UAPB should be wins (although Georgia Southern’s triple-option sandwiched between marquee games against Texas and Texas A&M worries me). I wouldn’t be shocked if the Razorbacks find a way to knock off Texas, but I’m probably not going to predict that to happen.

"Reaching a bowl game will likely depend on how Arkansas does against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Missouri, with Auburn and LSU the two wild cards. It very well could go 5-7, which isn’t ideal and would probably put a lot of pressure on the staff and team for 2022, but 6-6 and 7-5 are also possible.

"Barring something unexpected, anything more than seven wins would be a great season for the Razorbacks, but I don’t see that happening at the moment."

• Who will take over for Feleipe Franks at quarterback?: Sophomore KJ Jefferson enters fall camp as the leader in the clubhouse, but the Razorbacks also have high hopes for freshman Malik Hornsby, a two-way threat who coaches there believe has a chance to become a star.

• How will the loss of Mike Woods affect the receiving corps?: Losing Woods to the transfer portal and ultimately to Oklahoma was a blow for the Razorbacks. While Arkansas will need some of its young receivers to step up, leading receiver Treylon Burks does return after catching 51 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns.

• What area on defense does Arkansas most need to improve? That would be sacks. The Razorbacks must find a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks after a mere 14 sacks in 10 games last fall. That number tied Arkansas with Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt for next to last in the SEC.

• Can the Razorbacks improve their 3-7 mark from a season ago? That certainly seems doable, despite a tough start to the conference portion of the 2021 campaign. Arkansas opens with Rice and follows that up with a home game against Texas before entertaining Georgia Southern. After that, it’s three straight games against Texas A&M, Georgia, and Ole Miss. The Razorbacks were competitive in most of their SEC games, and host Auburn, Missouri, and Mississippi State—three games just possibly winnable on Arkansas' home field.

• What will be Arkansas’ strength? Despite the loss of Franks, the Razorbacks believe their offense has a chance to be more explosive. As far as a strength, however, fans look to the offensive line. All five starters return for the Hawgs, including left tackle Myron Cunningham, who has muscled up to 330 pounds.