FAYETTEVILLE -- It was a unique college football Saturday for Houston Nutt.
Instead of being on the sideline as a player or coach, or in a studio in New York working as a television analyst, Nutt experienced pregame tailgating for the first time as a fan when the University of Arkansas played Kent State at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
"I haven't been to a tailgate in my life," Nutt said with a smile. "I want to sample some food."
It was a happy homecoming for Nutt, 65, who was an Arkansas player, assistant coach and head coach.
Nutt attended the premiere of "Resurgence" -- a documentary film on his first Razorbacks team as head coach in 1998 produced by Hogs+ -- on Thursday night at the Jerry and Gene Jones Center.
On Friday night, Nutt was among nine inductees into the UA Sports Hall of Honor at the Walton Arts Center.
Nutt, a Little Rock native who now lives in McKinney, Texas, capped his return to the UA by attending Saturday's game and being honored on the field along with the other Hall of Honor inductees between the first and second quarters.
Nutt said the best part of the weekend was being with his former Arkansas assistant coaches and players.
"It's just a great feeling and I tell you, it brings out the emotions," Nutt said. "It gets emotional."
About 50 of Nutt's former players joined him on the stage at his invitation when he was the final speaker at the Hall of Honor ceremony.
"That's what it's all about," Nutt told the crowd with his players standing behind him. "That's what you miss the most as a coach.
"I haven't had a team for 12 years, and you missed the relationships. You miss those guys. I'm really appreciative of them."
Grant Garrett, a senior center on the Razorbacks' 1998 team that went 9-3 after back-to-back 4-7 seasons under Danny Ford, said it's no surprise so many players showed up to support Nutt.
"Houston is recognized for his success on the football field, but I think his legacy is that over time he was the builder and shaper of young men," Garrett said. "That's really the effect he had on our group.
"I have no doubt he had that effect on every team he ever coached. There's not anybody that ever played for Houston that wouldn't go to war for him."
Nutt had a 75-48 record coaching the Razorbacks from 1998-2007, including 42-38 in the SEC. He was SEC Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2006.
"Houston had a hell of a run," said Clint Stoerner, who started at quarterback for Nutt in 1998-99. "He won at Arkansas. He didn't do it at Alabama or Tennessee or Florida or Georgia. There's something to be said about that."
Nutt's overall record as a coach at Murray State, Boise State, Arkansas and Ole Miss was 135-96 in 19 seasons. He had a combined 10 bowl appearances -- eight with the Razorbacks and two with the Rebels -- and twice led Murray State to the Division I-AA playoffs.
"Every time a Houston Nutt-coached team took the field, as a fan and as a player, you felt like you had a chance to win that game," Stoerner said. "At the end of day, the Arkansas Razorback program was in a really good place when he was the coach."
Nutt, a star quarterback at Little Rock Central, said he got to play for "the greatest coaches in the world" at Arkansas with Frank Broyles and Lou Holtz and at Oklahoma State for former Razorback Jimmy Johnson in football, then as a basketball player at Arkansas for Eddie Sutton and assistants Gene Keady and Pat Foster.
"There's nothing like a coach," Nutt said. "I couldn't be them, but I could take something from each of them."
Nutt thanked Broyles, who as Arkansas' athletic director hired him as coach from Boise State.
"I wanted the Arkansas job more than the other 13 candidates," said Nutt, who in the end edged Tommy Tuberville to be the Razorbacks' new coach. "I felt this awesome responsibility."
Nutt hadn't previously been able to tailgate because he was playing at Arkansas and Oklahoma State from 1976-80, then began his coaching career in 1981 as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State.
After Nutt was fired at Ole Miss in 2011, he worked at CBS Sports for 11 years before retiring prior to the start of this season to spend more time with his family, which now includes two grandsons.
"Now I know what all the fuss is all about," Nutt said of being a grandparent. "It's a magnet for me. I can't wait to see those grandsons."
Nutt ended his speech on Friday night with a phrase that became familiar to Arkansas fans and which he said to the Razorbacks in the locker room before they beat Southwestern Louisiana 38-17 in the 1998 opener.
"I want to leave you with this," Nutt told the crowd to cheers at the Walton Arts Center. "There's lots of lions, there's tigers, there's bears, but there ain't but one Razorback."