FAYETTEVILLE – Bobby Petrino can’t wait to unleash all 6-6 from Taylen Green in 11 days against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Little Rock.
This ranges from his cleats to the peak of his throwing motion, because for Green, it’s his wheels and wingspan that could set him apart.
Because Green couldn’t be tackled during spring practice and preseason training camp, Arkansas fans haven’t really seen him unleash a stride and speed that might remind some of Razorback star Matt Jones. You’d have to watch his highlight clips from three seasons at Boise State, where Green rushed for 1,024 yards and 19 touchdowns over the last two seasons, to appreciate his running game.
Petrino, who returned to Arkansas for his first year as offensive coordinator, said he sees Green as a passing quarterback whose running ability offers a big advantage and who has a built-in advantage with his size.
“He’s done a really good job over the summer working on his technique, his drops, his sets, keeping his front shoulder where it needs to be, and we’ve worked really hard to teach him a little more of a superior release,” Petrino said last week. “He’s 6’6″, he’s a breakaway, so his 6’6 height is his advantage. When he got here, he dropped his release angle down and was 6’6 at times.”
“I think that was a huge improvement. His technique, his throwing ability and his accuracy alone have improved significantly.”
Green said he had internalized Petrino’s sermons.
“He does a great job at indy (individual drills) by focusing on the fundamentals,” Green said. “He always tells us it starts with footwork and says, ‘Don’t throw at 6’3”, throw at 6’3. Use your whole body to throw.’
“Since I’ve only been warming up, every time I don’t do it, he tells me and he just makes it a habit. I’m strict with myself about the basics.”
Green leads redshirt freshman Malachi Singleton, true freshman left-hander KJ Jackson and another pair of redshirt freshmen in Austin Ledbetter and transfer Blake Boda at the Razorbacks’ quarterback position.
Green began working with the top unit when Morrilton High School product Jacolby Criswell was still on the roster and has remained there. Coach Sam Pittman said Green’s leadership qualities were on display from the start, so much so that the redshirt junior accompanied Pittman and seniors Andrew Armstrong and Landon Jackson to SEC media days in July.
“Taylen Green came in and took over the team,” Pittman said at his pre-training camp press conference. “After he earned the starting spot, he took over the team. It wasn’t about me, me, me. It was about us.”
Singleton said it was helpful to have Green there to help him learn the Petrino offense.
“That was huge,” Singleton said. “Having to learn a new offensive strategy is always hard at first, and you want to ask as many questions as you can to get as much information as you can so you can be on top of things on the field.”
“Personally, Taylen has done a great job. I ask all the time when I’m on the field talking about the ball, ‘What did you do here? What did you do there?’ He’s really helped me with that. In the meeting room, I’m always asking questions.”
Petrino said Green has made a great effort to build rapport with the veteran receivers in order to create the chemistry between the players on the field that is essential to playing winning football.
“They’ve worked hard on it this summer,” Petrino said. “Back in the spring, I almost had to tell them not to go out and throw on the weekend. We do so much during the week that you want to stay healthy and not overtrain.”
“They wanted to go out Saturdays and Sundays, and we cut it down to Sundays. But they’ve worked hard to be on the same page together. We read our receivers a little bit, give them the opportunity to break in and out or take it over the top. That’s something we’re constantly improving at. We’re nowhere near where we need to be, but we’re getting better.”
The Razorbacks must replace three-year starter KJ Jefferson, who left school with nearly every passing record the UA has ever had. However, after two great years leading the team under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, in which the Hogs went 16-10 and had some big wins, Jefferson regressed statistically last season under coordinator Dan Enos, who was fired after eight games. And it seemed his leadership skills were under scrutiny late in the season after the Razorbacks lost a series of close road games to LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss, then suffered some ugly home losses.
Pittman didn’t directly attack Jefferson, who transferred to Central Florida, but he made it a point to highlight Green’s connection to the team and his leadership qualities.
Green’s status as an elder statesman in the quarterback room is a reason to celebrate.
“They’re always reminding me that I’m the same old me,” said Green, who turns 22 in October. “I don’t think about it that way. But they always remind me and make some jokes, but it’s all good.”
Green said he likes the way Singleton, who did not play last year due to his redshirt requirement, is a willing substitute.
“He did a great job of just soaking it all up and asking questions,” Green said. “He would ask me questions or Coach Petrino questions and stuff like that. I always tell him to just learn from everything I do, good or bad, because I’ve been in that role too.”
Petrino stressed that he had no problem having Singleton as a replacement.
“Malachi does a great job,” he said. “He’s really, really smart. He delivers the ball on time and is accurate. I don’t think we’ll ever know how good Malachi is until they have to attack him.”
Green completed 59.4% of his passes at Boise State – up from 57.1% last season – and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 25 to 15.
Arkansas quarterbacks Feleipe Franks and Jefferson posted the highest graduation percentage in school history for three consecutive seasons, Franks (.685) in 2020, Jefferson in 2022 (.680) and 2021 (.673), before Jefferson slipped slightly to .642 last season.
Petrino said graduation rate is not a statistic that affects him.
“So many things go into completion percentage,” he said. “You can’t judge a quarterback just by that, because it starts with all 11 guys being on the same page in terms of pass defense … and then the accuracy of the routes from the wide receivers.”
“When I recruit someone, I don’t look at completion percentage. I look at how they shoot the ball, how they compete, what their decision-making looks like, and I don’t stay away from percentages.”
