What Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman, QB KJ Jefferson said at 2023 SEC Media Days

NASHVILLE — Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman jokingly thought for a moment Wednesday he was going to get Garth Brooks' autograph during SEC Media Days. To Pittman's chagrin, the person asking him a question wasn't the musician but rather a reporter named Clark Brooks.

When Pittman wasn't joking with reporters about their names or his beer of choice after a victory — "I like an old Hamm's beer, but you burp a lot afterward" — the fourth-year coach and some of his players addressed several storylines concerning the upcoming 2023 football season.

Here are four takeaways from Arkansas' turn at SEC Media Days:

Expect KJ Jefferson to throw the ball a lot more

Quarterback KJ Jefferson has given an arm and his legs to the Arkansas football program the last two seasons.

He's thrown for 5,324 yards and 45 touchdowns against nine interceptions during the last two seasons for the Razorbacks. He's run for 1,304 yards and 15 TDs during the same span.

This season, though, the senior, one of 14 returning starters, most likely will rely more on his arm and leave the running to Rocket Sanders.

With aspirations of playing beyond college, Jefferson said he's spent the offseason working on becoming a passer rather than a thrower.

"Extremely excited, just passing the ball and not running the ball so much," he said. "Taking the running-the-ball workload off me, (allowing) me to be a true quarterback and just run when I have to.

"For the next level you're going to have to sit back in the pocket, step back and deliver the ball."

Why won't Jefferson run as much?

Part of that has to do with new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who held the same position with the Razorbacks from 2015-17. During two of those seasons, he helped direct the offense to top-10 standing in program history in total yards and yards per game. He was hired in January to replace Kendal Briles, who left for TCU.

Part of that has to do with Sanders, who ran for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

"His extra study off the field has gone through the roof," Pittman said of Jefferson. "He believes in Dan. I know Dan believes in him as well as I do. I think it's going to be his best season. Whether we run him quite as much as we have in the past, I don't know. Maybe we throw the ball a little more."

What about the defense?

Barry Odom departed Arkansas to become head coach at UNLV. Pittman hired two men to replace him: Marcus Woodson and Travis Williams.

Woodson was the defensive backs coach at Florida State the last three seasons. Williams played at Auburn and once served as its co-defensive coordinator. He most recently was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Central Florida.

Williams' reputation precedes him.

"I imagine we'll see more aggressive but I don't want to be that aggressive," Pittman said. "Man, they were Cover 0 a lot. So when I interviewed him I said, 'Hey, man, I want to go after people but every now and then, can you leave a guy in the middle of the field back there?'

"That's just his nature and his style."

Changing his outlook on the transfer portal

Pittman said his philosophy regarding the transfer portal, from which his team gained 19 players, has changed.

"This spring I said, 'Hey, I don't want to nobody to leave,'" Pittman said. "If you think about it, your worst player might be friends with your best player and you're running his best friend out. You've not only lost the worst player on the team, you've lost the best player on the team.

"We're not trying to lose anybody. But I think the portal has benefitted us, if that makes sense. I think the window is way too long. We are trying to address that as coaches, as the NCAA as an SEC group."

MORE ON THE RAZORBACKS: Sam Pittman, Arkansas football live updates at 2023 SEC Media Days: Live coverage

No CIGAR: Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Sam Pittman thought Garth Brooks was asking a question

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas coach Sam Pittman talks KJ Jefferson, new hires, 2023 season