NWADG College Football

35 NWA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 9.20.2020 3263 N. College Ave. • Fayetteville, AR 72703 479-521-5600 • www.BassettMix.com Good Luck This Season FRoM the teAM At BAssett Mix! • DIVORCE • CUSTODY • ADOPTIONS • PERSONAL INJURY • REAL ESTATE • BANKRUPTCY • BUSINESS • CRImINAL • PROBATE • GENERAL LITIGATION 479.531.2785 • www.teague-law.com • 700 N. 13 th Suite D, RogeRS, aR ROBERT TEAGUE, ATTORNEY AT LAW Best BestNWA.com of Northwest Arkansas the Best of Northwest Arkansas the Best of Northwest Arkansas the Leach told CBSSports.com after getting the Mississippi State job. "But you know what? They don't have six. We're in a situation now I have six or maybe seven better than that." Which gets back to the recruiting aspect in the SEC and putting together a staff that can attract the top talent from not just around the region, but the country. "Recruiting is different, players are different, size is different, money is different," Pittman said. "Everything is different in the SEC." Pittman hired five assistant coaches with previous SEC experience: Odom, offensive line coach Brad Davis and cornerbacks coach Sam Carter from Missouri; special teams coordinator Scott Fountain from Georgia; and defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc from Kentucky. Pittman also hired Jamil Walker from Georgia as Arkansas' strength and conditioning coach. "There's really not any on-the-job training," Pittman said. "If you've been in the league, you certainly have a much better understanding of how hard it is to recruit and how hard it is to get the best players and coach those players, and the demands to have success in this league." Tracy Rocker, who won the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award as a defensive lineman at Auburn in 1988, continues to work his way around the SEC. He is going into his first season as South Carolina's defensive line coach after previously holding the same position at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee. "Tracy is the perfect example of a guy you want on your staff in the SEC," said Nutt, who hired Rocker at Arkansas. "He knows what it takes to play in the SEC and how to recruit the guys who can do that." Nutt was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State from 1983-89 when the Cowboys played in the Big Eight before it added Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech from the Southwest Conference to become the Big 12. "I love Oklahoma State, and I know it's tough playing Oklahoma and Texas, but it's a different grind in the SEC," Nutt said. "In the SEC, you're playing tough teams week after week after week. It's top to bottom. There's no break. "Just look at the SEC players that are drafted every year. That tells you the difference in the SEC and every other conference." The SEC led all conferences with 63 players picked in the 2020 NFL Draft, including 40 in the first three rounds. The Big Ten, which like the SEC has 14 teams, was second in overall picks in this year's draft with 48. It was the 14th consecutive year the SEC has led all conferences in draft picks. Since 2010, the SEC has 111 first- round picks. Over that span, the ACC has the second-most first-round picks with 54. Two of the SEC first-round picks were Georgia offensive tackles coached by Pittman: Andrew Thomas at No. 4 to the New York Giants and Isaiah Wilson at No. 29 to the Tennessee Titans this year. "I don't know about all that," Pittman said when asked whether the SEC is playing on a higher level than other conferences. "What I do know is the SEC has had more draft picks than any other conference by far over the last however many years. "It's an elite league and I'm not sure anybody can hardly argue that." WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND When it comes to SEC head coaches, previous experience in the conference counts for a lot. Of the 14 current coaches, 12 have previous SEC experience: SCHOOL HEAD COACH PREVIOUS SEC STOPS Arkansas Sam Pittman assistant coach Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia Alabama Nick Saban head coach LSU Auburn Gus Malzahn offensive coordinator Arkansas and Auburn Florida Dan Mullen offensive coordinator Florida, head coach Mississippi State Georgia Kirby Smart LSU and Georgia assistant, Alabama defensive coordinator LSU Ed Orgeron Ole Miss head coach, Tennessee and LSU assistant Ole Miss Lane Kiffin Tennessee head coach, Alabama offensive coordinator Mississippi State Mike Leach Kentucky offensive coordinator Missouri Eliah Drinkwitz Auburn assistant South Carolina Will Muschamp LSU and Auburn defensive coordinator, Florida head coach Tennessee Jeremy Pruitt Georgia and Alabama defensive coordinator Texas A&M Jimbo Fisher Auburn assistant, LSU offensive coordinator NOTE Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops and Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason did not have previous SEC experience COACH NEW JOB OLD JOB Barry Odom Arkansas defensive coordinator Missouri head coach Chad Morris Auburn offensive coordinator Arkansas head coach Matt Luke Georgia offensive line coach Ole Miss head coach STAYING IN SEC Three of the four fired SEC head coaches from last season stayed in the conference as assistants: NOTE Joe Moorhead, fired as Mississippi State's head coach, is now Oregon's offensive coordinator

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