Pittman pleased with Arkansas’ QB play in fall camp

Following Arkansas’ first scrimmage of fall camp, Sam Pittman is pleased with the play of his top two quarterbacks. While this may not shock most Razorback fans familiar with the work of Bobby Petrino, Pittman admits the Razorbacks have gotten better work from their signal-callers than he expected coming into the offseason.

For the first time since the shortened 2020 season, someone not named KJ Jefferson will be behind center for Arkansas full-time. Despite replacing the school’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, there is no uncertainty for the Hogs at quarterback, with Boise State transfer Taylen Green quickly asserting himself as ‘the guy’ on offense.

Green didn’t split any of the first-team reps during spring practice, and it didn’t take long for his teammates to realize who to get behind from a leadership standpoint. Green’s 22 starts over the last two seasons featured plenty of promising moments, but a 59.4% completion rate to go with 25 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Pittman wasn’t entirely sure what the Hogs were getting in the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Lewisville (Texas) native, but any questions he had were answered shortly after his arrival in January.

“Not what we got, to be honest with you,” Pittman said of his expectations for Green. “I knew he could throw the ball, I knew that he was fast. I didn’t know the kid. The kid is more valuable than any of the athleticism, to be perfectly honest with you.

“I think it’s the culture, the leadership – and we have (Xavien) Sorey sitting in here, too. It’s the culture and the leadership and the value that they bring… I had no idea what we were going to get in him that we’ve got. I don’t know that you can, but it’s been very, very special.”

Green’s ability to make plays with his feet is a big part of his game. He accumulated over 1,000 rushing yards over the last two seasons, with a whopping 19 touchdowns. But Pittman feels like fans shouldn’t overlook his ability to win with his arm.

“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but he’s not a running quarterback,” Pittman said. “He can run. He’s a thrower, but he can run. Guys that have his athletic ability, a lot of times get categorized as a running quarterback. This guy’s a quarterback that, if you break down now, he’s going to take off and hurt you.”

Behind Green, redshirt freshman quarterback Malachi Singleton has put together an impressive offseason to establish himself as the No. 2 guy. Though he didn’t appear in a game last season as a true freshman, the coaching staff has been pleased with the progress Singleton has made in the new offense.

As he enters his second year in the program, Green has noticed a nice development trend with Singleton in their time together.

“He’s really grown, just from the spring and into the summer,” Green said. “Just the consistency he’s had to each practice. A big thing I’ve seen him doing is when he doesn’t understand something, he’s asking questions. Say something is wrong, or he doesn’t understand a defense or something. Right after that play, he’ll turn around and ask a question, and of course Coach Petrino or myself will have an answer.

“His mentality of always seeking the answer is a thing that sticks out. He’s been really fluent in his reads and his progressions, so I’m definitely proud of him.”