Bobby Petrino's thoughts on Arkansas football's offense at midway point of fall camp

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football has reached the midway point of fall camp, with just 13 practices remaining until the season opener against UAPB in Little Rock.

Fittingly, offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino spoke with the media Tuesday for the first time this fall, providing his assessments on the quarterbacks room and the offense as a whole.

Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks brought Petrino back to Fayetteville this offseason hoping to reignite an offense that was 69th in the country last year, scoring 27.1 points per game. In his final three seasons as Arkansas head coach from 2009-11, the Hogs ranked no lower than 17th nationally in points per game.

Here's a look at Petrino's thoughts on every offensive position group midway through fall practices.

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Quarterbacks

Petrino applauded the offseason work of Taylen Green, who has spent plenty of hours honing in his footwork and shoulder techniques, with Petrino wanting a more over-the-top release.

Like all the coaches, Petrino has been most impressed with Green's leadership, saying he had to stop the Boise State transfer from overdoing offseason workouts with the pass-catchers.

"We’re doing so much during the week that you want to stay healthy, you don’t want to over-train, They were wanting to go out on Saturdays and Sundays, we cut it back to just Sunday," Petrino said. "But, they’ve worked hard together and the ability to be on the same page, we do some reads by our receivers, give them options to break in and out or take it over the top."

Petrino also expressed confidence in backup Malachi Singleton, saying he would be comfortable running the full playbook if Singleton ever had to take the reins as the starter.

Offensive line

This is by far the most important position on the roster, and Arkansas needs a dramatic uptick in performance after the struggles of 2023. Petrino said the offensive line started slow this fall, but the unit is catching up to the Arkansas defensive line on day-to-day performance.

"I thought we would just take off right from spring and keep going from where we left off because we felt good about our ability to run the ball, felt good about our pass protection," Petrino said. "But when you look at it, that’s a really, really talented, experienced defensive line, and they were just ahead of us when we got started."

The biggest improvements this fall, according to Petrino, have come in the run game. That's a good sign with the Hogs shuffling around starters throughout fall camp, trying to find a replacement for left guard Patrick Kutas, who has missed the last 10 practices with a back injury.

Running backs

Petrino loves the variety of ball-carriers at Arkansas' disposal. He believes the Hogs have two big-body bruisers in Ja'Quinden Jackson and Braylen Russell, but Rashod Dubinion, Rodney Hood and Tyrell Reed Jr. are all threats in open space and capable receivers.

Petrino even compared Reed, who might be fourth or fifth on the depth chart, to former Arkansas great Dennis Johnson.

Wide receivers

Petrino did not throw water on the hype surrounding redshirt sophomore Isaiah Sategna, who is looking to have a breakthrough campaign in his third season with the program.

"(Sategna) is having a great fall. He's super fast. He runs with the ball really well after the catch, and he can adjust and jump and catch the ball when it's not a perfect throw. So that makes it hard to cover," Petrino said.

The offensive coordinator also said Andrew Armstrong could be a "special receiver," and Petrino is excited to see more of Tyrone Broden, who has battled turf toe through fall camp.

Outside of those top three receivers, Petrino has been impressed with Davion Dozier and Isaac TeSlaa. He also believes former MLB player Monte Harrison could make an impact. Harrison turned 29 on Saturday and has been a positive locker-room influence.

Tight ends

Petrino is pleased with the overall depth of the room, but he admit the tight ends are still working to find their identity as run-blockers.

Luke Hasz garnered most of Petrino's praise, with the offensive coordinator calling the second-year tight end a tough player who is getting his weight where it needs to be to be effective as a pass-catcher and a blocker. Petrino is also excited to work with Ty Washington after the sophomore missed all of spring with an injury.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Bobby Petrino's thoughts on Arkansas football's offense at midway point of fall camp