Paul Finebaum made his regular appearance on WJOX on Monday morning on the “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning” show and shared some thoughts on Arkansas and Sam Pittman.

The Razorbacks are coming off a disappointing 7-6 season, and now enter 2023 with a pair of new coordinators.

“You can’t have a conversation about Arkansas without saying how much we all love Sam Pittman,” Finebaum said. “I don’t think there’s any question, his authenticity really makes him popular and it makes it — you’re pained to criticize him, but last year was a mess.”

Finebaum said he figured Arkansas looked like a 9-3 team last season, and others figured they’d be better.

“It’s going to be a challenge for them to, I think, get over the top,” he said. “He’s built a good program. But can he build a great program and I don’t know if I can go all in saying he can until he does. And I know that may be a confusing sentence. But I feel like he’s way ahead of the game and now I feel like he’s trying to catch up, which is a tough spot for him.”