Sam Pittman on ex-Auburn staffer he hired as Arkansas DC: ‘Love the guy’

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had high praise for former Auburn football LB coach Travis Williams, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Razorbacks. At SEC Media Days 2023, Pittman claimed that Williams is the kind of player who can talk recruits out of joining the transfer portal.

“He was so positive,” Pittman said of the interview process with Williams (h/t 247Sports’ Nathan King). “He had a reputation before I even went in there as a recruiter. In the world of portal, you better have some guys that can recruit — because if you can’t, you’re going to gone. I felt so at ease that if I hired him, he could help me replace somebody if they did go in the portal. He might be a reason that somebody does not go in the portal, if that makes sense, just because of what kind of character and what kind of man he is. I love the guy. He’s a wonderful, wonderful person.”

Williams coached on the Plains for seven years and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator for Auburn football ahead of the 2019 season before following Gus Malzahn to UCF to be the Knights’ lone defensive coordinator. The Columbia, South Carolina native was hired by Pittman to be the Hogs’ defensive coordinator in December.

Arkansas players sing praises of former Auburn football LB coach Travis Williams

Pittman wasn’t the only person from the Arkansas football program to praise Williams. Razorbacks defensive lineman Landon Jackson similarly talked about his love for Williams during SEC Media Days 2023.

“I love him,” Jackson said. “Every day we’re going into meetings, he has a little DJ system set up in the meeting room. He has everybody crunk before practice. The energy just flows into practice. I honestly think his energy alone brings so much to our defense. I really like working with him.”

What’s clear from all this talk is that Williams is a locker room glue guy that the Tigers need to consider hiring as soon as there is an opening on Hugh Freeze’s staff.