FAYETTEVILLE -- Taylen Green returns to quarterback the Razorbacks in 2025, but few targets that he threw to in 2024 will be back.
Jordan Anthony, who is with track this spring, is the leading returning wide receiver after catching eight passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. The other returning wide receivers combined to catch 10 passes for 132 yards. Tight end Andreas Paaske caught three passes for 19 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Rodney Hill, Tyrell Reed Jr. and Braylen Russell combined to pull in 12 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown. So it's obvious that Green will have to develop chemistry with a lot of new players.
Arkansas signed five wide receivers from the transfer portal as well as two tight ends and another from junior college. The Razorbacks also signed several new wide receivers and a tight end from high school. Green talked about what is has been like working with all the new wide receivers and developing chemistry.
"It’s been really good," Green said. "Like you said, just seeing all new faces and trying to get chemistry with everybody. The different routes, and you know, really testing me on how much I know the offense, because I’ve got to be… Coaches aren’t out there when we’re throwing, so I’ve got to tell them the depth and when to cut, and even with the new quarterbacks. The tempo with three-step, five-step or anything that we do. Definitely testing me in my details in the offense, and me as a leader, too. All of them have really stuck out to me. Everybody’s just excited just to put the pads on. Everybody’s talking about one-on-ones, and of course 11-on-11, but really the one-on-ones."
The same goes with the new tight ends Jaden Platt from Texas A&M, Rohan Jones from Montana State and junior college transfer Jeremiah Beck.
"I feel like everybody’s going to see the versatility that the tight end room has," Green said. "Of course you’ve got Andreas (Paaske), he’s coming back and his role, you can see him leading the tight ends and being mature and leading the freshmen. Rohan and Jaden, how they stepped in. I want to say it’s Rohan’s third school, so he knows, with the new offensive and new playbook, he knows how to study and make sure he gets the plays right. We all have a great chemistry and a great — I’d say the tight end room is one of the most joking, laughs… They’re always laughing, always having a good time. We’ve got two international players, so it’s definitely cool to see how they interact, too."
Sam Pittman talked about the new receivers and tight ends.
"They’re really talented, you know?," Pittman said. "Hard working. With (Raylen) Sharpe and (Kam) Shanks, you think that you might be able to run a few more option-type routes. Maybe a few more screens, things like that with those guys. Ismael Cisse, he’s been really impressive. The guy we got from Stanford, along with (O'Mega) Blake. (Courtney) Crutchfield has gotten in better shape. Gotten better in the weight room as that’s come on. I know what you said there, and it’s true, but I think depth wise, we’ve got to see who’s (Andrew) Armstrong or who’s (Isaac) Teslaa. But depth-wise, I think we’re, I know we are, we’re deeper at wide receiver than we were a year ago.
"And we’re much deeper at tight end. Rohan is really, super athletic. I mean, he can fly. Jaden Platt, great addition along with Jeremiah Beck. I think there, we’re much deeper than we were. I think we can get into 12 and be comfortable. I think we can get into 13. The addition of Mike Washington at running back, big time. Braylen Russell is in the best shape of his life. I don’t know if you’ve seen him walking around, but he’s significantly leaner and in good shape. I know we lost a lot of production, but in no way am I concerned about being productive offensively."
Pittman also praised Petrino, who is his offensive coordinator and former head coach of the Razorbacks.
"If you even look at bringing Bobby back for his second year and you look at where he was here in 2008 versus 2009, they averaged 14 more points a game, and 50 more yards a game," Pittman said. "Passing and rushing was up. Turnovers went down 10 in his second year here when he was the head coach, running the offense. I think that part of it, I guess if you can’t tell, I’m really high on the people that we have offensively. And defensively, I am as well, we just got to figure out the totality of the depth on defense."
In his first season with the Razorbacks after transferring in from Boise State, Green completed 230 of 381 passes for 3,154 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Green also was second on the team in rushing carrying 156 times for 602 yards and eight touchdowns. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after leading the Razorbacks to a win over Texas Tech. Green mentioned two areas where he is striving to improve the most.
"I would say there's really two big things," Green said. "Like I said, taking care of the ball, the fumbles and interceptions, and my ability to focus all four quarters. Especially when I get tired. I've seen my ability to think about the read or think about everything that I have to go through, that's a really big thing that I have to get better at. Whether it's you're tired fourth quarter or I just had, like, a 60-yard run and I've got to be able to audible or call a different play. So that's a really big thing I'm stressing is to get my stamina up and mental toughness, I would say, just to do that."
Green put in some work to find out exactly what his new targets bring to the Razorbacks.
"That’s a really good question," Green said. "I’d say I do my research. I look them up, see the highlights, go on YouTube. When they first got here, just talk to them on a personal level, not just talk about ball. The film speaks for itself, Like I said, all the freshman… not the freshman, but all the transfers have the mentality of a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. That’s what I really like. They’re not really entitled to anything; they just want to have an opportunity and make the most of it."
Pittman chimed in on how Green and the new receivers develop chemistry including these 15 spring practices.
"Well, you have to get them out there and you have to be led, and Taylen's got to lead that," Pittman said. "They have to have the want-to enough to do it on their own. Two of the three receivers were seniors. Three of the four were seniors. You're gonna lose them, so you're gonna have to replace three of the four, no matter if there was a portal in life or not. We knew that going in. It's no different than when we replaced whomever when we got TeSlaa and Armstrong. So with the reputation of Bobby and with having Taylen coming back, I think it made us go out and get whom we wanted at wide receiver. It made it a lot easier than if we didn't have a quarterback coming back and we didn't have Bobby Petrino. I think it made a little bit easier to because we had both those things."
Arkansas will hold its third practice of the spring on Thursday afternoon. The spring game is set for Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m.
