By DON KAUSLER JR.

A Big 12 football official showed up at Arkansas’ practice Monday and started throwing yellow rags, penalizing the Razorbacks for false starts and holding infractions.

Just kidding. But penalties were no laughing matter Saturday night when Arkansas lost 38-31 at home to BYU. It was flag day at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Razorbacks were flagged 14 times – their most penalties since 2011 – for 125 yards. Seven were for false starts or offensive holding. Four were on the Razorbacks’ last drive, which reached the red zone with approximately 80 seconds left, but a penalty nullified a first down and pushed Arkansas to midfield.

“It’s hard to win any game when you have 14 penalties,” fourth-year Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said Monday. “Obviously, I don’t know if I’m going to get fined. I obviously didn’t agree with all the calls and all that kind of stuff. … In a nutshell, if we took half the penalties away, I think we would have won the game.”

The penalties wiped out 165 yards in gains. Redshirt senior guard Brady Latham, a team captain, committed 4 of the penalties, including 3 in the fourth quarter.

If the Razorbacks (2-1) couldn’t defeat an unranked team at home, how can they win their SEC opener at 6 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN) at No. 12 LSU (2-1)?

The Tigers looked sloppy in the second half of a season-opening 45-24 loss to Florida State, but they have regrouped. They looked ferocious last week in a 41-14 victory at Mississippi State. They are led by the SEC’s best quarterback (Jayden Daniels), best wide receiver (Malik Nabers) and best defensive player (Harold Perkins Jr.).

Nabers caught 13 passes for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns last week; Andrew Armstrong leads Arkansas with 18 catches for 197 yards and 3 TDs in 3 games.

No wonder Arkansas is a 17½-point underdog.

Now let’s snap the ball before we’re flagged for delay of game. …

FIRST DOWN

 Prayers for Brooks: Before addressing any questions, Pittman opened his Monday news conference on a sobering, emotional note. He talked about Greg Brooks Jr.

The senior defensive back transferred to LSU 2 years ago after playing his first 3 college seasons at Arkansas, including 2 under Pittman. Brooks did not make the trip last week to Mississippi State because of a “medical emergency.” Later Monday, it was revealed that Brooks underwent surgery Friday to remove a large brain tumor.

Pittman said his players will honor Brooks with how they play.

“It’s amazing, you have to continue to play hard, you have to play in honor, just like LSU did last week, in honor of Greg, and there’s certainly a big part of that on our team,” Pittman said. “We’re very competitive, we want to win, we want to do all that, but tragedy’s put in our life, we have to honor those times, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Brooks was not offered a scholarship by former LSU Coach Ed Orgeron. Pittman was disappointed but not angry when Brooks transferred to LSU to be closer to home.

“He was a wonderful teammate here, and I could not think of one negative thing to say about him or his family,” Pittman said. “So it’s tough. Our kids know it as well, but all we can do is represent him in the way that we play.”

Brooks experienced vertigo early in preseason camp. Last week, he was dizzy. An MRI showed the tumor.

Pittman described Brooks as a great person.

“Caring, loving, smiles all the time, competitive, great teammate, great person, family,” Pittman said. “That was easy, by the way, because that’s who he is. Was able to talk to mom on Monday, I guess it was, and we’re just continuing to pray for him. …

“I mean this with all my heart: He’s a wonderful, wonderful kid, and that didn’t change when he decided to go back to his home state of Louisiana. We have prayed and will continue to pray every day for his health.”

On Wednesday, Pittman shared his favorite memory from Brooks’ time at Arkansas. It was in 2020 when the Razorbacks won 21-14 at No. 16 Mississippi State to end a 20-game SEC losing streak.

“Greg picks a pass for the first touchdown of the game and takes it all the way back for 7,” Pittman said. “It kind of sprung us into that win, and I’ll never forget that and the look on his face after that pick-6.”

Brooks reportedly is recovering well. LSU Coach Brian Kelly visited the player Sunday in the hospital.

“He was pretty clear about playing again this year,” Kelly said with a chuckle. “That’s Greg Brooks.”

SECOND DOWN

 Injury updates: Star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders injured a knee in the Razorbacks’ season opener and missed the next 2 games. He has practiced this week, but Pittman did not sound hopeful on Monday when he was asked if he knows if Sanders will play Saturday.

"No, I mean, really no is the answer," Pittman said. "I don't know if he's going to be able to play or not. In all honesty, it's probably too early to tell on that injury. We're going to have him out there a little bit today and kind of see where he's at, but to be honest with you, the answer is probably no at this point. Not no, he's not going to play, but no we just don't know."

On Wednesday, Pittman sounded more optimistic.

“I don’t have an update on his status,” Pittman said. “But I can tell that he’s ran really well. Ran well (Tuesday) and is progressing faster than what I thought he might. But I don’t know whether he’ll be able to play or not.”

Another injury is stalling Arkansas’ offense. Devon Manuel, a 6-foot-9, 310-pound redshirt sophomore, entered preseason camp as the starting left tackle, but he has yet to start a game. He shared snaps with Andrew Chamblee in the first 2 games. A stinger sidelined Manuel in the BYU game.

"He’s practiced the first 2 days," Pittman said Wednesday. "In my opinion, he’s yet to let it go. He’s got to let it go and get back to where he was to help us, so I don't know if he’ll be available full speed or not. If he won’t, then we won’t play him unless he’s full speed. He’s not there as of today, so we’ll have to figure that out."

Pittman said the Razorbacks need Manuel, the only Louisiana player on the Arkansas roster, back as soon as possible.

"He wants to play," Pittman said. "I want him to play. All those things. He’s trying his butt off. He’s just still a little bit more beat up than I was hoping he would be. That’s why I’m not giving up on him this week, because I know how bad he wants to get out there."

THIRD DOWN

Jefferson vs. Perkins: Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson was injured and did not play last year in a 13-10 loss to visiting LSU. Backup Malik Hornsby instead was disrupted by edge-rushing linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., the Tigers’ freshman phenom.

Perkins wreaked havoc, compiling 3 sacks for 27 yards in losses and forcing 2 fumbles, while being used as a “spy” to focus on Hornsby.

Much of the Razorbacks’ game plan Saturday will focus on slowing Perkins down.

"We probably need to move the pocket a little bit more," Pittman said Monday. "We can't just stand back there and let people blitz-a-thon or bull us."

That’s what BYU did last week. The Cougars sacked Jefferson 4 times, with 2 of the sacks resulting in fumbles.

Screen passes and draw plays also are counter attacks to fast and aggressive defenses, Pittman said.

Perkins’ role this year seems to have changed. He lined up primarily as a middle linebacker in LSU’s opening 45-24 loss to Florida State and was nearly invisible as he dropped repeatedly into pass coverage. He played 28 coverage snaps and 7 pass-rush snaps.

That role was modified in the Tigers’ next 2 games. He played 22 coverage snaps and 27 pass-rush snaps against Grambling and Mississippi State.

That’s a total of 50 coverage snaps and 34 pass-rush snaps this season vs. 163 pass rush snaps and 130 coverage snaps last season. He has only 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 quarterback hurries and 5 total pressures.

“They’re playing him a little bit differently, and they’ve got a different defense,” Pittman said. “He hasn’t rushed as much as he had in the past, but really his plays against us he was a spy. He was a spy, and when Malik broke, he went and ran him down. I don’t know if that’s what they’re going to do with KJ or not. I would assume not. I think they’re going to play their defense.”

What makes Perkins special?

"Just unbelievably fast," Pittman said Monday. "Fast. I went back and watched last year's game this morning actually, and I mean he ran down Malik Hornsby several times, so I know he's fast. …

"He can do so many things. He’s probably as fast as anybody they have on their team. He’s very instinctive, but he is fast, and he will hit you. I mean he’s just a really good player."

Kelly raved this week about Jefferson.

"He can extend plays with the size that he brings to the position," Kelly said. "He breaks so many tackles, keeps plays alive. It forces from a defensive perspective to stay in coverage and then when he gets out, it's getting him on the ground.

"He brings a huge dimension to what goes on from a defensive structure standpoint. You have to be so sound fundamentally. He breaks down the play, and all kinds of things can happen after that. So it'll be a great challenge that we have this Saturday with him."

Freshman Alex Sanford of Oxford, Miss., has been playing the role of Perkins on the Arkansas scout team defense, Pittman said Wednesday.

"He’s the closest thing we can get to him," Pittman said. "We just ask him to do whatever’s on the card. Whatever Perkins does. But he’s done a really nice job. Obviously, you can’t duplicate that type of speed, but he’s done a nice job with it."

FOURTH DOWN

Unsocial media: Pittman was asked Monday how difficult it is to move on to the next game after a tough loss.

“Hard,” he said. “It’s hard. It’s not a job. It’s my life. It’s what you do. … The kids, same way. It’s hard.”

That got Pittman rolling on his opinion of opinions that critics voice these days, often on social media.

“It used to be like, ‘You’ve got to do better,’” Pittman said, launching into a 2½-minute monologue. “Now, it’s like. ‘You suck,’ or ‘You’re fat.’ … Now the comments have nothing to do with what happened in the game. … It’s not just me. It’s all the kids. I think it’s a time when it’s harder to recover from losses – if you’re a social media person.

“You know, your best friends will say, ‘Man, you’re going to get ’em this week,’ and then they’ll say, ‘Oh, by the way, stay off social media.’ So you’re going, ‘I have been.’ Then you’re going, ‘What’s happening?’ The kids are the same way. It’s hard.

“You want to please the people who are employing you, the team, your wife, the state, the media, and you can’t always do that. That’s the hard part about our job, and I would imagine the hard part about being a student-athlete.

“We all have feelings, and when you let people down, you’re already beating yourself up, and then somebody starts beating the hell out of you with it. … I think it’s a little bit harder to recover.

“But they’re going to recover as I do. When I get to that meeting today, it’s all going to be about LSU.”

Footnote: Pittman’s handle on X, formerly known as Twitter, was @CoachSamPittman. That account no longer exists. According to hawgcountry.com, Pittman deactivated the account Wednesday.