Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pittman praises assistants
HOOVER, Ala. — University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman was one of very few coaches who gave shout-outs to his coordinators at SEC Media Days last week.
Pittman spoke about the importance of retaining all three coordinators: Barry Odom on defense, Kendal Briles on offense and Scott Fountain on special teams. He also praised the work of Jamil Walker and Ed Ellis with the strength and conditioning staff.
“We were able to keep Barry Odom, who has been very valuable to me,” Pittman said. “Obviously he was the head coach at Missouri in this league. I bounce things off of him frequently.”
Pittman went on to reiterate the value of their daily 45-minute walks and how they serve the dual purpose of burning off calories and giving the pair oneon-one time where he learns more about being a head coach.
“I love Kendal Briles,” Pittman said. “I like his swagger. I like his confidence. I like his offense. There’s so many decisions that you have to make as a quarterback, and you have to make them fast, and he’s a great teacher of that. I’m awful happy we were able to keep him.”
Fountain was Pittman’s neighbor in Athens, Ga., on Kirby Smart’s staff at Georgia, and they are also neighbors in Fayetteville.
“I’ll tell you about him: He’s loyal. He’s a good recruiter. He’s a hard worker,” Pittman said. “Our special teams will get better. I think last year, especially through the covid and not knowing exactly who you have each and every week and sometimes you lose a few players on Friday, Scott did an outstanding job.”
Pittman gave a special shout-out to Walker and Ellis.
“Those two guys have done a great job with us,” he said. “The weight room is for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason I know is for confidence. You’re building strength. You’re building weight. You’re … getting them in shape, but you’re also building that confidence, and that’s something I felt like the University of Arkansas football team needed.”