FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas football left guard and offensive captain Fernando Carmona said Tuesday center Caden Kitler huddled the offensive line together right after last week's 41-35 loss at No. 17 to Ole Miss for a pep talk.
Kitler transferred over the winter from Central Florida and Carmona called him "money" for his pre-snap calls and positioning teammates in the right spots so far.
"He put his arms around us, and we all put our arms around each other," Carmona said. "He's just like, 'Man, we're having so much damn fun playing this game. I'm extremely grateful for all of you guys,' and we all gave our two cents.
"It's a true blessing to be able to play with this group and for it to be my last year and this be the group that I finish off with."
The starting combination of left tackle Corey Robinson II, Carmona, Kitler, right guard Kobe Branham and right tackle E'Marion Harris played all 74 offensive snaps at Ole Miss.
Favorite meal
Cam Ball took to social media to share his dinner at the Catfish Hole restaurant, the site of Sam Pittman's weekly radio show. Though seafood is its namesake, Ball ordered a different protein.
"Hands down, I just ate one of the best steaks of my life," he wrote on X.
Ball gave a scheming grin when asked by host Chuck Barrett if he had kept up his own cooking. Ball said he barbecued a month ago and mostly put his "tongs on the shelf" when the season began. Still, he also said he cooked a ribeye not too long ago.
"Man, I'm just waiting for the invite," tight end Jaden Platt said, smiling. "Just let me know. I'll be there."
"He must not know the prices of meat around here," Ball joked to the crowd. "So (if) he brings it, I got him."
Ball, a noted pit master who learned from his father, Charles, has said he has plans to turn Ball's Barbecue into a bigger entity at some point and Coach Sam Pittman said on the show he has told Ball he would be an investor in that enterprise.
Defense meets
Ball said during Wednesday's "Sam Pittman Live" radio show that the Arkansas defense held their own meeting Sunday and evaluated mistakes made during last Saturday night's loss at Ole Miss. A day earlier, Ball told reporters the defense was going back to basics by simplifying calls and alignments.
"Mainly, holding myself accountable," Ball said of this week's mindset ahead of Saturday's game at Memphis. "Because if I cannot, then I can't really tell anybody else what to do. Just pulling guys along, letting them know it's a long season. It was just one game and we've got plenty more to go."
6th years
Memphis' game notes point out that Coach Ryan Silverfield has the third-best record among major college head coaches who began their jobs for the 2020 covid-19 season.
Silverfield has a 45-21 mark, which is two wins behind both Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin (47-18) and Texas-San Antonio Coach Jeff Traylor, the former Arkansas assistant head coach and running backs coach, who is 47-22. Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz is next with a 41-24 mark, followed by Florida State's Mike Norvell (35-27), Baylor's Dave Aranda (33-31) and Arkansas' Sam Pittman (32-32).
Drinkwitz is from Alma and Norvell played collegiately at the University of Central Arkansas.
Greg Schiano at Rutgers (29-34) and Old Dominion's Ricky Rahne (22-31) were also hired in the same cycle.
First play
Platt's connection with Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino isn't new news. The pair were part of Texas A&M's 2023 offense and Platt made 2 catches for 52 yards and 1 touchdown in their one year together.
Now reunited, Platt has started Arkansas' three games this season and opened Saturday's loss with a 34-yard catch on the game's first play. The redshirt sophomore finished with 3 catches for 53 yards, hitting single-game and single-season records in one game.
"We practiced that play so many times during that week," Platt said Wednesday Pittman's weekly radio show. "To hear it called for the first play, it really helped boost my confidence. Coach Petrino trusts me out there and I tried to prove to him that I can do it. I think I can do it.
"Coach Petrino, I think, is the best offensive mind in college football."
Platt is fifth on the team with six catches and is still looking for his first touchdown. The four teammates above him in catches have all caught multiple scores. Of Arkansas' 68 receptions through three games, the tight ends total 11.
Family time
Despite the transfer portal being a fixture of college athletics and Platt among many new faces for the Razorbacks, he labeled the Razorbacks a close family.
"You're not just teammates, especially here," he said Wednesday during the "Sam Pittman Live" radio show. "We're all there for each other no matter what happens. ... Always checking up on each other, always making sure we're good. Because ultimately, our well-being affects everyone else's well-being. ... We have one heartbeat."
Ball said many people may not realize how much time coaches spend away from their own families.
"So we don't take it lightly when we say family, because we are a family," he said.
Roster sizes
The roster limit has been expanded to 74 for SEC games this season, but Arkansas will not be subject to that cap for Saturday's game at Memphis.
"This is unlimited here," Pittman said after his Monday news conference. "We can take whatever we want, but we won't take more than maybe 80."
Series history
Arkansas' game at Memphis on Saturday is the first in the series since Oct. 10, 1998 -- a 23-9 win for the No. 20 Razorbacks in Memphis. But the Tigers lead the all-time series 3-2.
The Tigers won the first three meetings: 22-6 in 1992, 6-0 in 1993 in Little Rock and 16-15 in 1994 in a return to Memphis. The Hogs began to catch up with a 27-20 win in Little Rock the following year.
New score
The Razorbacks' 41-35 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday was a "scorigami," meaning it was a unique score in Arkansas football history, per the X account Razorigami.
Arkansas has had back-to-back scorigami'ss to bring its total to 693 unique scores.
Per the Razorigami account, Arkansas has scored 35 points on 17 occasions and has a 14-3 record in those games, and has allowed 41 points eight times and is 0-8 in those games.
Call crew
Joe Tessitore will have the lead call on the ABC telecast for Saturday's game at Memphis, with former Florida quarterback Jesse Palmer on analysis and Katie George working the sidelines.