SEC Coach Uses Wild Dating, Elvis Presley Analogy to Describe Recruiting Challenges
Arkansas will return to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium to play a true home football game for the first time in more than a month this weekend. The Razorbacks will host Mississippi State on Saturday.
This unusual quirk in the 2023 schedule, which included a neutral site game against Texas A&M at Dallas’s AT&T Stadium, has prevented Arkansas coaches from hosting recruits at games for the past month. Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman made a hilarious analogy in explaining to reporters what it’s been like to go that long without hosting recruits.
“Let’s face the facts,” Pittman said. “In order to keep your girlfriend, and you don’t see her for five weeks and she’s had the chance to see this guy, this guy, and this guy, she’s going to leave you, unless you’re whoever. Elvis Presley or whoever.”
Here’s a clip of Pittman's remarks:
"In order to keep your girlfriend, and you don't see her for five weeks, and she's had a chance to see this guy and this guy, she's gonna leave you, unless you're Elvis Presley"
— Tyler Cass (@TVTylerCass) October 18, 2023
-Sam Pittman on the challenge of not being able to host recruits for a month straight pic.twitter.com/uL2YNI2WyY
“We have to get them here. We’re trying to get them here,” Pittman continued. “We have to get back with them and get around them. I commend our coaching staff and the kids who are staying with us because they are loyal and the belief they have in the football program, but it’s hard.”
Pittman didn’t indicate whether he’d dress up in a high-collared, sequined jumpsuit and style his hair into a pompadour when he next meets with recruits. If so, one of those players will hopefully have his phone camera ready.
But he and his staff have plenty of work to do in keeping and attracting high school players who have expressed interest in playing at Arkansas. Over the past month, those recruits have surely talked to “this guy” and “this guy” in the fierce competition among rival SEC schools and other programs located in the South.