VIDEO: How Arkansas football QB Taylen Green is developing chemistry with new receivers
Arkansas football QB Taylen Green will need to develop chemistry with multiple new receivers during spring football, which begins March 10.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football will have a better offense in year two under Bobby Petrino.
It’s a statement that’s turned into a borderline cliché for the Razorbacks and their offensive coordinator.
Head coach Sam Pittman mentioned the jump in the middle of the 2024 season. Quarterback Taylen Green doubled-down before spring practice started in 2025, and offensive lineman Fernando Carmona expressed his excitement about another year in the system before the Hogs’ beat Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl.
So, why is there so much optimism for the offense in Petrino’s second year back at the university?
“I think and I believe that we’ll be a lot better on offense, more consistent, more explosive, because our quarterback understands not only what we’re doing, but what the conference is all about,” Petrino said Tuesday at a spring football press conference.
“How you have to get the ball out of your hand. How you have to see things and know what you’re doing just because of the pass rush that you’re going to get and the tight coverage that you’re going to get. So I think he’ll take a huge step forward, and as your quarterback goes, your offense usually goes.”
Arkansas has to replace eight starters on offense. No receiver who caught more than 10 passes last season is still on the roster, and the offensive line is again shuffling bodies to try and find the right combination.
But according to Petrino, having his signal-caller back for a second season makes all of those adjustments easier. Green is no longer learning on the fly. He is the mentor on this team, helping guide the younger players and transfer newcomers through the playbook and what they expect to see on Saturdays in the SEC.
“Taylen knows the offense. He’s much more comfortable in it,” Petrino said. “Last year sometimes it was every day was a new day — new coverages, new blitzes, new this. Now he understands defenses a whole lot better and that’ll allow him to operate our offense way better.”
There are other sources for optimism. Petrino believes the Arkansas offensive line this year is more talented and deeper than the 2024 version that made strides but was still a general weakness in the SEC.
The former head coach is also high on his running backs, and he singled out New Mexico State transfer Mike Washington multiple times in his press conference. Washington has taken a ton of reps with the starters in spring practice.
But Green is the foundation, and the senior quarterback isn’t settling. He and Petrino grade every single play in games and practices with extra focus on his decision-making. Cutting down turnovers and being more efficient in avoiding sacks are two pillars of his development.
The quarterback-and-coordinator duo are excited to show their progress in four months when the regular season opens against Alabama A&M on Aug. 30.
“I would say my confidence level is higher, but at the same time, I’ve got a lot to get better at and that’s what I’m really focused on,” Green said. I’m not really content. Especially, you know, the year I had last year was good, but I could have done way better, and Coach Petrino is the first one to say that.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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