Notebook: Mullen on Pitts' status, Pittman news, facing Odom

No. 6 Florida (4-1) could be without star tight end Kyle Pitts when it hosts Arkansas (3-3) on Saturday.

Pitts is questionable for the game after suffering a concussion against Georgia, taking a targeting hit from safety Lewis Cine midway through the second quarter. Pitts has 24 catches for 414 yards and set the single-season school record for touchdown receptions by a tight end (8) against the Bulldogs.

He’s one of three Gators on the injury report this week.

“Kyle will be questionable this week, concussion, so he'll be questionable for the game,” UF coach Dan Mullen said Monday. “Jeremiah Moon went out with a foot injury, I think he'll be doubtful for us to play this week, and then Stewart Reese will be questionable as well, he had a shoulder issue.”

Two plays after Pitts left the game, redshirt junior tight end Kemore Gamble caught a 24-yard touchdown — the first of his career. He finished with three catches for 51 yards, and sophomore Keon Zipperer also made a 39-yard reception.

“Kyle is a great player. They know it. We feature him. You look, he goes out and Kemore has a great game. Zip has a catch and a long run afterward, he did a great job blocking. They executed really well out there on the field,” Mullen said.

“To me, those guys have just got to come up and we’re going to run our offense. It’s their opportunity to go make plays, their opportunity to go show what they can do out there on the field. Every year you have that next man up mentality.”

UF still has Brenton Cox Jr. and Khris Bogle at BUCK with Moon out, while Josh Braun replaced Reese as the starting right guard against UGA. Mullen liked what he saw from the freshman lineman who was previously committed to the Bulldogs.

“I think it was huge,” Mullen said of Braun’s play. “He’s a guy that's taken advantage of some opportunity this year due to injuries and some other things of preparing himself the right way.

“He’s a very intelligent guy, came in with a great work ethic; has taken advantage of the opportunity of being out there on the field. When his number was called, he was ready to go step in the game and play.”

Arkansas announced Monday that first-year coach Sam Pittman has tested positive for COVID-19.

He is asymptomatic and isolating at home, but won’t be able to coach against Florida. Mullen, who contracted the virus last month, opened his press conference with prayers for Pittman.

“Having gone through it, I hope he has minor symptoms kind of like I had,” Mullen said. “It really wasn't a tough ordeal. I know a lot of people have had a tough time dealing with it, and then obviously the seriousness of it for a lot of other people and families out there. So, our prayers with him and I hope he recovers quickly.”

Pittman, the former offensive line coach at Georgia, is an SEC Coach of the Year candidate for his turnaround at Arkansas. He inherited a 2-10 Razorbacks team and has them at 3-3 this season, including a 21-14 win over Mississippi State that ended a 20-game SEC losing streak.

“He obviously knows how to win. He’s got them playing hard, believing,” Mullen said of Pittman. “I think he’s come in and done a great job of putting the guys in position to do what they do well. One of the keys is creating a winning mindset. And if you see this year, they play with that winning mindset and have been really successful.”

“They have some really good defensive guys. They play to the strength of their secondary and they’re one of the top interception teams in the nation. They’re physical, good tacklers. Linebackers are two excellent players. Excellent, excellent football players. And then they have disruptive defensive linemen up front on the defensive side of the ball. They fit the offense in. I know they’re going to run the ball well. And, obviously, Feleipe [Franks] is running the offense pretty well.”

Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom will serve as the interim coach Saturday.

Odom spent four seasons as Missouri’s coach before his firing last year. He led the Tigers to an 8-5 record in 2018, defeating Mullen and the No. 13 Gators on homecoming, 38-17.

“I know Barry really well. Barry’s obviously been a head coach in this league, understands the league,” Mullen said. “Good coach, good motivator. Tough guy. He’s not going to walk in on a stage that is going to feel awkward or different for him. I can guarantee it.

“I know Barry as a professional is also going to give that message that Sam gives. They’re not going to change the personality they have as a team if Barry’s out there just having to manage the game. They’re not going to change the mindset that Sam’s already built here and what the program’s about.”

Pittman’s positive test leaves the potential for an outbreak on the Razorbacks football team. Mullen said there have been no contingency plans made yet with Arkansas regarding the game.

“No, not at all,” Mullen said. “You certainly hope for Arkansas they’re able to get through it. That’s kind of how the year is right now. So, hopefully it’s a very isolated deal for them and for their team. We went through it. It’s a really hard deal for the team with everything going on.

“Hopefully they’re able to get through it. If not, we got to try to jumble some things around. I’m sure they’ll let us know here pretty quickly. We’ll go out and play whoever we have to play.”