Green provides Arkansas luxury most SEC teams don't have

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — SEC experience returning to the same team is a valuable commodity in the age of the transfer portal, especially at quarterback.

That's why as one of only six conference teams returning its signal caller, Arkansas is in an enviable position. Only LSU, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida and Texas A&M are in the same boat as the Razorbacks.

However, the value of starting experience is greatly compounded when it's combined with proven production. So, in comparison to its five SEC brethren, just how blessed is Arkansas to have Taylen Green back for a second year in Bobby Petrino's offense?

The best way to gain perspective is to see where the baseline is for Green in several key offensive categories in comparison to the other five returning quarterbacks. Perhaps no place is more obvious to start than total passing yards.

Passing Yards

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 4,052
Taylen Green, Ark. — 3,154
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 2,534
Diego Pavia, Van. — 2,293
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 1,915
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 1,864

For all the talk of what Green did with his legs and the downfalls of him getting locked in on a single receiver, it's mildly surprising to see he falls on his own tier all alone behind LSU's Garrett Nussmeier.

It's clear to see why Nussmeier is the main reason the Tigers are expected to be a Top 10 team this season and a possible contender for the SEC championship. However, the biggest stunner on this list is how little production Lagway had passing.

He is credited with single-handedly bringing Florida back from the bring of becoming a permanent doormat. It's perplexing how that happened with so little out of the quarterback position.

Of course, putting up a ton of passing yards isn't always the full picture. Some offenses just throw the ball a whole lot more.

Attempts

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 525
Taylen Green, Ark. — 381
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 299
Diego Pavia, Van. — 298
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 240
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 192

Nussmeier got his staggering stats by throwing roughly twice as many times as all of his returning counterparts except Green. However, other than Lagway and Reed, he didn't throw for twice as many yards.

It shouldn't shock anyone to see a Petrino quarterback with a relatively high number of pass attempts. Roughly 20% of those attempts were caught by Andrew Armstrong, the SEC's leading receiver.

The hard part is remembering roughly 300 passes going somewhere else. Just over a third of Green's completions went to Armstrong.

Speaking of Armstrong, one data point that hampered him throughout the NFL draft process was his lack of touchdowns. However, Green didn't throw many to begin with.

Touchdown Passes

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 29
Diego Pavia, Van. — 20
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 18
Taylen Green, Ark. — 15
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 15
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 12

He completed almost half as many as Nussmeier and the same amount as Reed, despite the Texas A&M quarterback throwing the ball 141 fewer times. It's definitely an area where Green has room to grow heading into his second season as a Razorback.

Another area of growth, which actually raises the likelihood of promise heading into 2025, is in completion percentage. There is a lot of room to change games with improvement for Green in this category.

Completion Percentage

LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 65.6%
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 64.2%
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 61.3%
Taylen Green, Ark. — 60.4%
Diego Pavia, Van. — 59.4%
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 59.9%

Arkansas is notorious for playing a lot of one score or less games and coming out on the wrong end. If Green can improve 4% in his passing, he will have just over 15 more completions.

It's quite easy to think back over the Sam Pittman era and remember where an extra 15 catches might have turned entire seasons. It could be the difference in at least two games this coming year.

One thing that is for certain is the majority of the SEC's most experienced quarterbacks are going to create headaches for defensive coordinators. Not only should they be even more improved in the passing game, but they are among the league's most dangerous runners, topping many running backs.

Rushing

Diego Pavia, Van. — 800
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 674
Taylen Green, Ark. — 602
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 547
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 101
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — (-38)

Green's 602 yards rushing pushes him close to Nussmeier as the most productive quarterback overall in the league in terms of moving the ball downfield. He was only 188 yards behind Hogs' starting running back Ja'Quinden Jackson.

And while failing to throw many touchdowns became a problem for his receivers, Green led the SEC with eight touchdowns on the ground to make things a little more even. However, it should be noted that six of those touchdowns came against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, UAB and Louisiana Tech.

Rushing Touchdowns

Taylen Green, Ark. — 8
Diego Pavia, Van. — 8
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 7
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 7
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 3
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 0

This puts Green in the top half of four of the categories so far. However, when it comes to this final category that lets everyone know how well he does at putting points on the board, Petrino has his work cut out for him.

Overall Touchdowns

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU — 32
Diego Pavia, Van. — 28
LaNorris Sellers, So. Car. — 25
Taylen Green, Ark. — 23
Marcell Reed, Tex. A&M — 22
DJ Lagway, Fla. — 12

Green finishes fourth behind a pair of other high profile dual threat SEC quarterbacks with Reed, who managed to stay relatively off the radar last season, hot on his heels. Again, Lagway comes a distant last, further pushing the question as to how Florida football coach Billy Napier won enough games to his job.

So, there is technically a double light at the end of the tunnel for Arkansas. Green not only returns for a second year under Petrino, but he also does so with plenty of room for meaningful improvement.

If he can make that move, it could make for an interesting season against a schedule loaded with Power Five teams looking to break in yet another quarterback. Even Notre Dame and Tennessee, two of the most dangerous teams from a year ago will be looking to break in fresh new faces behind center when they face Arkansas in 2025.