Ole Miss grabs one of Razorbacks’ defensive coaches

The assistant coach carousel is twirling fast these days.

A day after Sam Pittman fired defensive line coach Jermail Ashley, there is now a report from 247Sports that Lane Kiffin has raided the Arkansas staff.

Cornerbacks coach Sam Carter, who came with Pittman before the 2020 season, leaving Fayetteville for Oxford and Ole Miss.

After allowing 259.6 passing yards per game (9th in SEC) in 2020, the Hogs allowed just 215.1 passing yards per game (5th in SEC) in 2021. Senior cornerback Montaric Brown also led the SEC with five interceptions, the most by a Razorback since 2011.

Here’s what his bio from the Hogs’ website said about Carter:

Carter joined the Hogs from Missouri where he served as a defensive quality control and analyst for Barry Odom, now the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator.

In year one under Carter’s tutelage, Arkansas’ secondary quickly displayed its prowess as a talented ballhawking group.

The Hogs’ 13 interceptions during the season were second most in the SEC and 13th most in FBS.

The Razorback defensive backfield featured the nation’s only freshman duo to record multiple interceptions in Hudson Clark (3) and Jalen Catalon (3).

During his time at Missouri, Carter helped the Tigers’ defense rank as one of the best in the nation, particularly in the secondary, in 2019.

Missouri’s pass defense ranked sixth in the FBS and second in the Southeastern Conference allowing only 179.3 yards per game.

The Tigers were even tougher with the ball in the air, leading the nation by allowing opponents to complete just 50.3% of passes for 2,151 yards – seventh-fewest in FBS.

Mizzou had four players inside the SEC’s top 25 of passes defended, including three defensive backs in Joshuah Bledsoe, Khalil Oliver and Tyree Gillespie.

Carter was a standout, All-Big 12 safety at TCU prior to starting his coaching career.

The New Orleans native played in 49 games for the Horned Frogs from 2011-14, starting 39 including all 38 over his final three years.

As a senior, he was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, a Senior CLASS Award finalist and a Senior CLASS Award second-team All-American.