The backups
After Green left the game with a knee injury, it was up to Malachi Singleton. The red shirt freshman was thrown into the fire against a top-5 team but somehow came out on top. Pittman was asked about any encouragement the coaching staff might have given Singleton, and he said, "I don't think it was one of those ‘we believe in you’ things. It's just ‘all right, bro. It's your time. Let's go get it,'" which says a lot about the confidence they have in their backups.
Singleton wasn't the only underclassman to come in clutch in the final moments of the game. True freshman Braylen Russell had two massive runs in Arkansas's final drive, and he finished with a team-leading 62 yards rushing and 7.8 yards per carry. Pittman's comments were short but to the point. "Wasn’t that something? I thought it was great."
The last backup to receive praise was kicker Matthew Shipley. He came in after starter Kyle Ramsey hurt himself on a field goal attempt. "He was perfect. He made every extra point and every field goal… After the game, I called him out with the team. I usually don’t do much of that, but the kid came in there and kicked a field goal and made it 14-13. That was big."
Pittman on what this win means
When asked about what the win against Tennessee means going forward, he balked at the idea that it will affect the team much. " will do a bunch, but that locker room there believes we’re pretty good." However, he thinks it will help heal the fanbase after so much adversity. Pittman said, "I think it’s going to do more for the state to… unite the state a little bit."