Arkansas football opens the 2024 regular season when it faces UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock (Ark.) Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
New faces in key places will be one of the most intriguing storylines to follow against an FCS opponent — aside from the return debut of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, of course.
Here are the Top 5 Most Important Hogs to Watch Against UAPB under the lights in Little Rock:
5. OL Addison Nichols (RS-So, 6-5, 329)
Full disclosure, we could have simply placed every offensive lineman on this list of top 5 most important Hogs to watch against UAPB because Arkansas will only go as far as the big boys up front take them.
Fernando Carmona and Keyshawn Blackstock are critical additions as bookend tackles in charge of containing SEC defensive ends, but Nichols is the lineman who will physically touch the ball on every offensive play.
Remember how snapping issues impacted timing and offensive flow in prior seasons? While Nichols worked at center in practice at Tennessee last season, he has not taken a rep at the position in a game.
Will his exchanges with Taylen Green be on point? Is he ready to elevate from reserve to starter in the SEC?
Nichols has looked solid through the spring and fall, but his first real opportunity to make his presence felt is Thursday against UAPB.
4. LB Xavian Sorey (RS-Jr, 6-3, 225)
Arkansas lost its top five linebackers in terms of production last season. Brad Spence, who showed flashes in limited action in 2023, is back and expected to make a leap, but Arkansas had to hit the portal for reinforcements.
Xavian Sorey was a massive transfer addition and comes with high expectations as a former five-star prospect who spent three seasons at Georgia.
Sorey has only accrued 22 tackles in his career — Arkansas will need him to triple that, at minimum, this season — but he started two games for the Bulldogs last year, including five solo tackles against Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Will Sorey be a Drew Sanders type of addition to the defense? Those expectations are lofty, but if he can step in and fill the void left behind by the departure of Christopher Paul or Jaheim Thomas, Arkansas feels a lot better about where it stands at the position.
3. OL E’Marion Harris (RS-So, 6-7, 300)
Coming out of spring ball, Arkansas appeared to be all set with a starting offensive line that looked cohesive, in sync and much improved from a disastrous 2023 season.
Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, the boat was rocked right away in fall practices when returner and projected starting left guard Patrick Kutas was sidelined with a back injury.
After a period of mixing and matching to find the right combinations, Arkansas finally landed on E’Marion Harris, who emerged from the pack with a strong camp and has received ringing endorsements from Sam Pittman and Bobby Petrino.
Harris filled in admirably for the injured Ty’Kieast Crawford in the 2022 Liberty Bowl, and appeared saw a handful of snaps over six games in 2023, but will now be taxed with holding down the fort at least until Kutas is back to full health.
2. CB Marquise Robinson (SR, 6-1, 192)
Arkansas’ second cornerback spot opposite Jaylon Braxton remains up for grabs heading into the season with Marquise Robinson, Jaheim Singletary and Kee’yon Stewart all in the mix.
Singletary and Stewart have some built-in advantages as second-year players in Travis Williams’ defense, and both started multiple games for the Razorbacks last season.
However, Sam Pittman made it sound like Robinson has the inside track to get the first look against UAPB after coming on strong in camp.
Will Robinson just be the first up on a cornerback carousel, or does the South Alabama have the chops to lock the position down and give Arkansas a formidable 1-2 punch in the secondary alongside Braxton?
1. QB Taylen Green (RS-Jr, 6-6, 230)
With a new quarterback in a new offense under a new coordinator, it is hard not to put Taylen Green at No. 1 in the top 5 most important Hogs to watch against UAPB.
Fair or not, there is a lot of pressure on Green, and his individual success correlates in a big way to how things shake out for this offense under Bobby Petrino.
On one hand, Green’s career numbers at Boise State don’t jump off the page, his accuracy issues on intermediate and deep throws are well-documented, and he temporarily lost his starting job last season. With that in mind, having some pause is fair and justifiable.
On the other, there is a reason Green was handpicked by Petrino to be his guy at the position. He looks the part, has the tools and is a clear team leader with legitimate upside.
On paper, Green is a bottom-tier quarterback in the SEC. Considering all factors, the potential is there for him to be middle-of-the-pack, or better, under Petrino’s guidance.
Here are Green’s numbers in his first two season-openers:
- 2022 vs. Oregon State – 19-28, 155 yards, 1 INT, 11 carries, 102 yards, 2 TDs
- 2023 vs. Washington – 19-39, 244 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 5 carries, 31 yards