Players announced for SEC Media Days, but any new narratives from Hogs?

Most people were able to guess the three players Arkansas coach Sam Pittman will be taking to Atlanta next week for SEC Media days.

Quarterback Taylen Green, defensive lineman Cam Ball and linebacker Xavian Sorey will join Pittman in Atlanta for the annual media expense-account event from Monday-Thursday at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Just by deleting a few names of players no longer with the Razorbacks and changing to some of the new faces the guess is Pittman will basically say the same things he has the last few years.

“We’re all striving to get into the playoffs, including the University of Arkansas,” Pittman said at last year’s event.

Green returns to SEC Media Days for a second straight year after a breakout 2024 that rewrote the Razorbacks’ record books. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound redshirt senior closed last season with 3,756 total yards (602 rushing and 3,154 passing).

That's the second-most in a single season in program history. His 23 total touchdowns and 13.71 yards per completion ranked him among the nation’s best, and his ability to extend plays with 91-rated speed is all part of why he's the face of the program this year.

“I just want to prove that we can compete with anyone in the SEC,” Green said in a spring interview. “We set the bar high for ourselves and I’m ready to lead this team.”

Last year, Green was joined by Andrew Armstrong and Landon Jackson. This time the spotlight falls on Ball and Sorey the two defensive players off a unit with more questions than answers.

It was a little surprising offensive lineman Fernando Carmona isn't going but the Razorbacks are sending a couple of defensive guys that can probably handle the barrage of questions they'll get.

Ball, a redshirt senior, brings both experience and production to the table. He started all 13 games last season, notching a career-high 47 tackles and showing a knack for disruption with four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

“He’s one of the most experienced guys we have,” Pittman noted in a team release. “That kind of leadership is what we need on the field and in the locker room.” .

Sorey’s arrival in Fayetteville as a high-profile transfer paid immediate dividends. In his first season, he started every game and led the team with 99 tackles, including 9.5 for loss, two sacks, and an interception.

His 7.6 tackles per game ranked sixth in the SEC, solidifying his reputation as one of the conference’s most reliable defenders.

The Razorbacks' appearance at SEC Media Days comes as the program faces a challenging schedule, widely considered among the toughest in the country.

They open the season against Alabama A&M on August 30 before jumping into the SEC schedule and a first-ever meeting with Notre Dame and all that comes in September.

It may not get tht much easier the rest of the way.

Pittman is the one who will have more of the toughest questions. Considering he's 30-31 heading into his sixth season (14-28 in the SEC), hopefully he will have some kind of answers for the many questions surrounding this team.

“We have to get better,” he has said at Media Days before. I“f you’re at Arkansas right now, everybody is doing so much more than we are. We have to get better.”

The problem is everybody's heard that before. Maybe too many times.

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