Key piece of Christian Yelich trade will now help Sam Pittman to save his job

Raise your hand if you ever thought there would be a connection between Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman and Milwuakee Brewers superstar Christian Yelich. Me neither, but it does, in fact, exist. One player of note on the 2024 Hogs is 29-year-old freshman wide receiver Monte Harrison, who previously was a baseball prospect. He was part of the Yelich trade to bring him to Milwaukee.

Harrison went to the Miami Marlins along with Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto ahead of the 2018 MLB season. Yelich always had star potential, but was often-injured with the Fish. He then went on to win NL MVP in his first season with The Brew Crew. Seven years into his Milwauke tenure, Yelich is one of the most recognizable and marketable stars in the Senior Circuit. Harrison is a Hog!

While it is always awesome to see former baseball players get to pursue their other athletic dreams on the football field, we have to wonder if Harrison's real life experiences could help get the Hogs over the top. Pittman enters the season on arguably one of the hottest seats in the Power Four. He is an elite recruiter, offensive line coach and likable, but he has been only as good as his coordinators.

For those wanting see if Harrison can still play, check out this grab he made during Arkansas practice.

What is it going to take for the Razorbacks to go bowling and for Pittman to keep his job in 2025?

Monte Harrison tasked with helping Sam Pittman keep his Arkansas job

During SEC preview episode of False Start, my FanSided.com colleague Cody Williams and I discussed just how challenging of a year it may be for Pittman in Arkansas. I could be so wrong in this, but I have the Razorbacks going a dismal 3-9 this season and 0-for-SEC play. The only other team in the SEC I have projected to be as bad would be the Vanderbilt Commodores, but well, they are Vandy.

Right now, the only wins I have Arkansas getting are over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, UAB and Louisiana Tech in the non-conference. I highly doubt they are going to beat Big 12 contender Oklahoma State in the non-conference, so the Hogs need to pick up three wins in SEC play to achieve bowl eligibility. The big question is if are there any to be had? I think there are three potential SEC wins on the slate.

For starters, they have to beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare and Mississippi State at Davis Wade. A loss to either of those former SEC West rivals would be devastating to Arkansas' bowl chances. After that, the only other wins I could see are in rivalry games vs. Texas A&M in Arlington and at Missouri for Battle Line. Keep in mind that Mizzou and A&M are both College Football Playoff contenders this year.

Ultimately, Arkansas is going to need to pull off a massive upset of somebody far better than them to have a realistic shot of going to a bowl game and keeping Pittman employed. He has talked about embracing the hog this offseason, so perhaps he may be onto something? Focusing in on what they can control can bring out the best in this team. Look for Harrison to make an impact in some capacity.

We have seen Arkansas massively overachieve in recent seasons, so that is what it is going to take.