SPORTS
By Robby Edwards | Photos courtesy of Razorback Communications
Defense, Team Chemistry, Petrino’s Offense Have Hogs Hoping for Rebound
The college football transfer portal resulted in 30 departures off last year’s Arkansas Razorbacks squad and more than 20 newcomers coming in, but the most notable addition may be offensive coordinator and former head coach Bobby Petrino.
Head coach Sam Pittman begins his fifth season with a 23-25 record. Last year’s 4-8 finish came after the 2021 and 2022 seasons led to a combined 16 wins with consecutive bowl victories.
The 2023 squad improved defensively under first-year coordinator Travis Williams and first-year co-coordinator Marcus Woodson.
The defense posted its best yards allowed in a decade, giving up 357.2 yards for an improvement of more than 100 yards per game. The pass defense allowed 202.8 yards per game to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference with the best University of Arkansas season total since 2011. The defense also found the end zone, leading the nation in defensive touchdowns by taking five of 17 turnovers to the house.
Offensively, the numbers weren’t as good. On the ground, the Razorbacks ran for 139 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry. In the air, the Hogs averaged 187.5 yards per game. Overall, Arkansas produced 326.5 yards and 26.6 points per game. Arkansas was 10th in the SEC in scoring and 13th in total offense. The Razorbacks allowed 47 quarterback sacks for 338 yards in losses.
Enter Petrino, regarded as one of the nation’s top offensive minds throughout his 40-year coaching career. Last year, with Petrino as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M University, the Aggies were fifth in the SEC and 25th nationally with 34.2 points per game and averaging 403.8 total yards per contest.
Pittman is happy to have Petrino on the staff, and he has high hopes for his team.
“Bobby has been a great resource for me,” Pittman said. “Not only do I think he’s a wonderful offensive coordinator, he also was a very successful head coach. There are a lot of times where I’m able to run things by him, and we decide collectively what is best.
New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino was 34-17 as head coach of the Razorbacks from 2008-11. In 2022 at Boise State, Taylen Green was one of nine Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks — and the only freshman — to register at least 10 passing and 10 rushing touchdowns
“I’m so excited about this football team, and I’m excited about the talent level,” Pittman continued. “I’m also excited about the culture, about the way these guys treat each other, the way they talk to each other, the way they go out with each other, the way they compete against each other. Over the past four years, we have been invited to three bowl games. Two of the last three years at some point in the season, we have been ranked in the top 10. I love this team. I love our coaches. Our expectations are as high as they’ve ever been for this season coming up.”
As offensive coordinator, Petrino has five starters returning, and he must replace the top two quarterbacks and six of the top seven ball carriers.
Receiver Isaac TeSlaa has 152 receptions for his career, including three years at Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan
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Senior defensive end Landon Jackson has earned multiple preseason All-SEC honors as well as second-team All-American recognition from Walter Camp
Junior defensive tackle Cam Ball started six games last year, including the last four of the season
Senior safety Jayden Johnson was third on the team with 62 tackles in 2023
Two starters, senior guard Joshua Braun (6-6, 349 pounds) and junior guard Patrick Kutas (6-5, 312 pounds), are back on the line. The other three starters are three of the top four receivers from a year ago: Andrew Armstrong, Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden. Armstrong had 56 receptions for 764 yards and five touchdowns, TeSlaa 34 catches for 351 yards and two scores, and Broden 15 catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns.
Other key returnees on the line are senior guard Ty’Kieast Crawford (6-5, 319), junior center Amaury Wiggins (6-3, 308), junior guard Josh Street (6-6, 313) and sophomore tackle E’Marion Harris (6-7, 294).
Braun was second-team All-SEC after starting 12 games with an overall grade of 70.7. Kutas started nine games before an injury ended his season. He made starts at both right tackle and center. Crawford played in nine games with four starts, and Wiggins appeared in two games.
Sam Pittman has earned three bowl invitations in his four seasons as head coach
Junior Rashod Dubinion is the top returning running back. He was third on the club with 82 rushes for 260 yards and a touchdown last year.
Junior Var’keyes Gumms is back at tight end after playing in 11 games with three catches for 26 yards. Sophomore Isaiah Sategna returns at receiver after catching 15 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
Portal additions include quarterbacks Taylen Green (6-6, 221) from Boise State and Blake Boda from Coastal Carolina University; tackles Keyshawn Blackstock (6-5, 315) from Michigan State, Fernando Carmona (6-5, 314) from San Jose State and Joe More (6-5, 306) from Syracuse University; centers Timothy Dawn (6-2, 306) from Baylor and Addison Nichols (6-5, 327) from University of Tennessee; running backs Ja’Quinden Jackson from University of Utah, Rodney Hill from Florida A&M and Tyrell Reed Jr. from Hutchinson Community College; receivers Khafre Brown from University of South Florida and Jordan Anthony from Texas A&M; tight end Andreas Paaske (6-6) from Eastern Michigan University; and kickers Matthew Shipley from University of Hawaii and Kyle Ramsey of Abilene Christian.
“When you look at the makeup of the team, it’s always going to start with the offensive line,” Petrino said, “and I feel like the guys we got out of the portal and the ability they have helps right away. The other guys are doing a great job, too, in our starting five. We’ve got to develop some depth there. Right now, I think we have eight guys we feel good about and some young guys who keep getting better.”
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At Boise State last year, Green completed 121 of 212 passes (57.1%) for 1,752 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 436 yards and nine touchdowns on 78 carries.
“When I got here, coach Pitt said, ‘Go get us a quarterback,’” Petrino said. “We scoured the portal and traveled around the country. I really liked Taylen. I liked his video, what other coaches said about him, and then I went out and met him. The thing I was most impressed with in talking to him, I could see him picturing the plays and formations in his mind. I’ve always felt that’s one thing a quarterback has to be able to do. And I liked his motivation. When he turns it on with that stride and speed he has, he can really run.”
In the Mountain West Conference Championship Game, Green earned Offensive MVP honors after completing 12 of 15 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 90 yards and two scores on eight carries, leading Boise State to its record fifth MWC championship.
“We’ve had good work at quarterback,” Petrino said. “Taylen has been the guy with the (first team). He’s earned that himself from the minute he got here to how he conducts his business, how he leads, how he studies, how hard he goes.”
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Green is expected to take over at quarterback after KJ Jefferson transferred to University of Central Florida. Jefferson left Arkansas as the career leader in completions (626), completion percentage (65.1), passing yards (7,911), passing touchdowns (67) and total touchdowns (88).
Brown played in 12 games with six starts at USF, making 27 receptions for 435 yards and five touchdowns. Paaske played in seven games with three starts at EMU, catching four passes for 39 yards. As a sophomore, he played in 13 games and made 10 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Another receiver of note joining the program is freshman Monte Harrison, a former four-star prospect in 2014. He will be 29 years old when the season starts. He was selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft and made it to the majors. Harrison appeared in 32 games for the Miami Marlins in 2020 and nine in 2021, then nine with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022.
Ja’Quinden Jackson is a former quarterback who switched to running back at Utah. As a junior last year, he carried the ball 161 times for 797 yards with four touchdowns and three 100-yard games. He had 19 carries for 129 yards in the win at Baylor and eight carries for 55 yards against Northwestern in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Hill played at Florida State before transferring to Florida A&M for the spring semester. In 12 games at FSU last fall, he produced 190 yards and a touchdown on 50 carries and added five receptions for 83 yards. Boda played in three games as a backup at CC. Reed had 833 yards and 13 touchdowns and four 100-yard games at HCC.
Carmona was honorable mention All-MWS at SJSU after starting 12 games with an overall grade of 81.5. Nichols played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman backup at Tennessee. Blackstock played in four games last year at Michigan State, and More played in three games at Syracuse while Dawn did not see any playing time at Baylor.
Shipley served as both kicker and punter at Hawaii. As a senior last year, he was 14 of 18 on field goals with a long of 51 yards. He also punted 60 times with a 39.5-yard average. Ramsey, a junior, was 14 of 15 on field goals, including 7 of 7 from 40-49 yards out, at ACU.
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“On offense, we have a lot to improve on,” Pittman said. “We think we addressed that in the portal with four offensive linemen and three portal running backs. Obviously, we went out and got a quarterback as well. Our wide receiver group is returning, but I think the most improved part of our football team this spring was our offensive line. I’m excited about that group.”
Sophomore cornerback Jaylon Braxton earned Freshman-All SEC honors last year despite missing the last two games with an injury
Senior defensive tackle Eric Gregory has made 32 starts in his career
Defensively, coordinators Williams and Woodson have more to work with. Six starters return, including three on the line and three in the secondary but no one in the middle.
Back along the front are 6-7 senior end Landon Jackson, junior tackle Cam Ball and senior tackle Eric Gregory.
In the secondary, sophomore Jaylon Braxton is back at cornerback and seniors Hudson Clark and Jayden Johnson are back at safety.
Landon Jackson earned first-team All-SEC honors from league coaches after leading the team with 6.5 quarterback sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, and recording 44 total tackles. His 13.5 TFL were sixth in the conference.
Gregory started all 12 games and made 16 tackles with 2.5 TFL a year ago. Ball played in 11 games with six starts and recorded 32 tackles.
Running back Rashod Dubinion was the Offensive MVP of the 2022 Liberty Bowl with 112 yards and two touchdowns
Senior Hudson Clark started at multiple positions in the secondary last year, but is expected to start at safety this season
All-SEC guard Joshua Braun transferred to Arkansas last year from Florida, where he played in 26 games
Clark, who is on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List, tallied 51 tackles with 4.5 TFL, four pass breakups, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Johnson started all 12 games and recorded a career-high 62 tackles with an interception and three pass breakups. Braxton earned Freshman All-SEC honors after playing in nine games with six starts and leading the team with eight pass breakups, while making 20 tackles to go with an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
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Other returnees are senior tackle Keivie Rose, sophomore safety/nickel TJ Metcalf and sophomore cornerback Jaheim Singletary. Rose played in 12 games with two starts and made 15 tackles with 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. Metcalf played in all 12 games and made 15 tackles. Singletary played in 10 games with four starts and had 17 tackles with four pass breakups.
In the middle of the defense, at linebacker, the only returnee from the final depth chart is sophomore Brad Spence. He played in 11 games with one start, recording 16 tackles with 1.5 TFL, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Portal newcomers include linemen junior Danny Saili from Brigham Young and senior Anton Juncaj from University of Albany; linebackers senior Stephen Dix from Marshall University and junior Xavien Sorey from University of Georgia; and defensive backs senior Anthony Switzer of Utah State, senior Marquise Robinson of South Alabama University, junior Miguel Mitchell from University of Florida and senior Doneiko Slaughter from University of Tennessee.
Saili played in 10 games last fall as a sophomore at HCC before transferring to BYU for the spring. At HCC, he made 21 tackles with four sacks and 7.5 TFL. Juncaj was an AP first-team Football Championship Subdivision All-American after helping Albany win the Coastal Athletic Association title and reach the semifinals of the playoffs. He led all of FCS with 15 sacks and was third with 21.5 TFL while making 55 total tackles.
Dix played in all 13 games at Marshall and was third on the team with 67 tackles. Sorey played in 11 games with two starts at Georgia, finishing with 19 tackles.
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In the secondary, Switzer was honorable mention All-Mountain West at USU after recording 85 tackles with three sacks and 8 TFL. Robinson had 36 tackles, 2.5 TFL and three interceptions in 13 games for the Jaguars. Mitchell started eight games and played in 11 at Florida, making 37 tackles. In 10 games at Tennessee, Slaughter had 32 tackles with one sack.
“Defensively, we were much improved from (2022),” Pittman said. “(We had the) fewest yards allowed since 2010, best defense since 2014 and led the nation in defensive touchdowns with five. We have to finish the season. We did not do that well. We have to figure out how to finish, win the close games. We lost five games by a touchdown or less. We have got to figure that out. We feel like we’re well on our way to getting that accomplished.”