FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman wants the Razorbacks to be in better shape three weeks out from their season opener against Georgia on Sept. 26.
In reality, that seems to be a common lament among SEC coaches, now into their third week of preseason camps after a slow buildup during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We're not in very good shape," Pittman said Tuesday. "We're not in game shape. We're in good shape, but we're not in game shape so we have to do a few things differently at practice so we can get there."
There's still time to work into game shape, but the coaches want to get there quickly.
Pittman and the Arkansas coaching staff have kept up the pressure to run on and off the field, as that kind of effort plays into the team's conditioning, and go hard in drills.
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Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said advances have been made this week with an eye on looking more fit for Friday's scrimmage.
"I don't have any concerns with where we're at right now," Briles said. "We do need to continue to work at practice to get into game shape."
Briles wants to run a tempo offense a large part of the time, which requires good stamina for the skill guys but also the 300-plus pound linemen.
"When you play at tempo, at times it can be difficult, really for all 11 guys on the field," Briles said. "Especially if you're able to move the ball and stay on the field. If you're doing that, it means you're making first downs, which is always good.
"I agree with [Pittman]. I don't think we're in game shape right now. We looked a little better today, but [the weather] was pretty nice. Our last scrimmage it was hot and it was humid and ... you saw guys dragging their tongues a little bit. I think the want-to is there. We've just got to keep striving to get them there."
Pittman said better conditioning and the establishment of mental toughness are keys at this stage of camp with interspersed live tackling and some mano-a-mano drills.
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"I think you can find out a lot about a man if he's in a one-on-one situation and there's no one to blame," Pittman said on Tuesday. "We've tried to put them in a lot more one-on-one situations to see how they react. If they get beat, I want it to bother them. If they win, I want them to be happy about it.
"So, we've done quite a bit more physical one-on-one, winner-loser type situations so we can see who can handle getting beat and come back. Will they come back the next time and win the rep or at least compete for the rep?
"So it's been a physical two days, to be honest with you. It's been a lot of one-on-one, man-on-man. Football is just a bunch about who wants to whip somebody else's tail. That's what we're trying to get done in individuals."
Defensive coordinator Barry Odom, speaking on the broader topic of whether the players have bought into the coaching staff, brought up things that come up in the daily grind.
"We also understand there's going to be some adversity," Odom said. "How do we respond? How close can we get before this first game happens? Because there's going to be adversity in that first game. How are we going to respond from it? What are we going to do when things don't go your way?
"All those things. It's never a, 'Put a check mark by it. We've arrived. We've done that.' It's an ongoing process, but I know this; the way that practices are structured, the way that Coach Pittman has brought this plan into reality, if you go out there and you're not really in -- and two feet in -- you're going to get exposed really quickly."
Pittman set the groundwork for this week just after Friday's scrimmage.
"It's a two-hour practice every [day]," he said. "It's a go-get-it week once again. We may tackle once other than the scrimmage, but it would be on a limited basis.
"It's going to be a major workweek. We're not worried about their legs and all that stuff right now. We're worried about getting in shape. Then after that, we have another four [practice] week and then two fives. So we probably won't back off until at least another two weeks."
Senior quarterback Feleipe Franks -- asked about the offense's execution, establishment of tempo and making pre-snap reads with receivers -- said things are going well. He also sounded like a coach in the making.
"Me personally, I think I'm a little over-critical sometimes, not only of myself, but of just perfection within a play," Franks said. "But I think we're doing really good. We're taking steps. We're stacking good practices on top of good practices.
"I think that's all that matters right now. Like you said, how the execution is going, that's what we need to be focused on right now. Can we execute every play at a high level? And right now I think that we're getting better and better each day. We're at the start of week 3 and I think that we're just continuing ... We're better than Week Two. Today's practice was better than than the start of week 2. So I think we're headed in the right direction."
