NWADG College Football

13 NWA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 9.20.2020 Overstreet's Jewelry Since 1948. I N C. 103 NE 2ND | BENtoNvillE, AR | 479.273.5424 oN thE BENtoNvillE SquARE www.overstreetsjewelry.com Member American Gem Society Football Fall and Fun... the damn ball." Clearly Pittman realizes how important a strong running attack factors into a balanced offense and the role the big dudes up front play. Pittman hired Brad Davis, a protege, to handle the offensive line for the Razorbacks. Both of them, who don't shy away from the grind necessary for a quality front, are also thought of as coaches with whom players build lifelong relationships. Witness Pittman's presence at the former Razorback Ragnow's NFL Draft party a few years back when he was already coaching at Georgia. And the exchanges he had with ex-Georgia linemen and first-round NFL Draft picks Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson this year. Davis was asked if he heard about the former Razorbacks lobbying for Pittman. "It's no surprise and quite frankly, it's obvious with this school, but I can't tell you … how many different kids that he's impacted from different places that have also reached out to me about him," Davis said. "It's amazing. Players and coaches for that matter. "When you bring up Coach Pittman's name, there's a smile, there's a warm feeling that comes into the room. The conversation changes when two people realize they have that common connection to Coach Pittman. He has positively affected so many people's lives that you really can't even measure. He's just a good man and he's the right guy for the job." Many college analysts believe offensive line coaches are smart guys, though their "toughness" persona is often played up the most. "You can't be dumb and coach the offensive line, I know that," Stinchcomb said. "You can see that a mile away. But I'll tell you what I do think is interesting, and this stood out with Coach Pittman, is that the old-school model, you'd see a lot of hard-line O-line coaches that you wanted to play for but you didn't want to be around them. And Coach Pittman has found a way to kind of transcend that." Stinchcomb thinks the style of tough-guy offensive line coaches who demanded players "bring their lunch pail" to work, then didn't bond off the field with them was not necessary. "Coach Pittman, and I think that's something else that really stood out, those guys … clearly you've heard them say it, guys that played for him genuinely liked to play for him," he said. "Not just respected him, because there's plenty of coaches out there that you can respect and not necessarily like playing for them. "I think he has both. I think he was able to do both. And it seemed like they genuinely liked being around him. Stuff like that, it can be special. … To have your players respect you, to be able to get the job done and have them like being around you, that's like hitting for the cycle." NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Coach Sam Pittman calls the hogs, Monday, December 9, 2019 during an introductory press conference at the Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville.

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