Petrino ready to use different talent with old bag of tricks for Razorbacks?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When the Arkansas Razorbacks take the field against Alabama A&M on Saturday at Razorback Stadium will see an offense both familiar and entirely new.

It will be a patchwork of holdovers, fresh faces, and a recommitment to the kind of high-octane football that defined offenses in Bobby Petrino’s earlier years in Fayetteville.

At least all that's the hope right now because the number of new players with SEC experience is small and, trust me, that does make a huge difference.

After a record-breaking 2024 campaign, the Razorbacks have overhauled nearly every position on offense but carry into this season a quiet confidence. Nearly all of the playmakers either ran out of eligibililty or left for another team.

Second-year transfer quarterback Taylen Green and right tackle E’Marion Harris return as the only starters at their same spots, joined by Fernando Carmona, who has shifted from left tackle to left guard.

The rest of the offense, as second-year coordinator Petrino notes, is a work in progress, one with as many as 18 newcomers listed among the 33-man two-deep roster.

That sense of newness is not lost on Sam Pittman. He's said all preseason just how much he likes this team. We probably won't know if that's just wishful thinking or an accurate evaluation for a few weeks.

“I like our speed on the outside with Jalen Brown and O’Mega Blake,” Pittman said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconferece. “Obviously CJ Brown’s had a good camp, and Monte Harrison.”

Pittman also highlighted the contributions of new running back Mike Washington and tight ends Rohan Jones and Jaden Platt, noting the versatility and athleticism they bring to a group hungry to prove itself.

If Green stays healthy, expectations are high for the quarterback who accounted for 3,756 yards of total offense last season, the second-best in school history.

Green, though tight-lipped about any schematic surprises, is more than willing to tout the team’s hard work and collective mindset.

“Just all the firepower and all the playmakers that we have,” Green said. “Not just the skill positions, but the O-line, the tight ends, the receivers, the running backs, everybody. Just how much work we’ve put in… it’s game time, it’s prime time, so just letting it fly and having the mentality to take the ball and score every single time we touch it.”

Last year’s Razorbacks offense was relentless, opening the season with a perfect 10-for-10 on touchdown drives in a 70-0 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The attack, orchestrated by Petrino, finished 10th nationally with 459.5 yards per game, and led the SEC in explosive plays with 246 plays of 10 or more yards, third-most in the country.

This year’s team leans into those strengths, with Jalen Brown, a transfer wide receiver from Florida State, by way of LSU, eager to show fans an energized and unified unit.

“The fans are going to get to see a whole new Arkansas,” Brown said. “Very explosive, very energetic. A lot…of energy from both offense and the defensive side of the ball. I feel like, especially receiver room and on the offense, like we’re together.”

Sophomore CJ Brown, a Bentonville High School grad, echoed that sense of chemistry. He will be carrying an emotional load after losing his father a couple of weeks ago.

“I feel like this year it’s a lot closer, just as people,” he said of the receiving corps. “It feels more like family than just individuals this year. We all get along really well this year it feels like.”

The Razorbacks’ resurgence in explosive plays is especially notable.

After ranking 108th nationally in 2023 in plays of 10-plus yards, Arkansas vaulted to the top of the SEC in 2024, notching 154 such passing plays — 64 more than the previous year — and 92 rushing plays of 10-plus yards, an improvement of 43.

Only Penn State and Miami generated more explosive plays nationwide last season.

Petrino, for his part, is bullish on the improvements up front. He describes the offensive line as “much better” than last year’s, with upgrades across every position group.

The numbers back it up. The starting five averages 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds, with the potential addition of 6-foot-8, 344-pound Shaq McRoy pushing those averages even higher.

That size is a point of pride for Pittman, who famously coached some of the largest offensive lines in college football during his first stint with the Razorbacks.

“When I was here the first time, in ’15, I think we had the largest offensive line in … the world,” Pittman said. “And they were proud of that. In this league you have to be big and you have to be strong and we went out and got it.”

Those teams just didn't win very many games and zero championships, which should always be the goal. Fans don't like hearing that, but it's the standard they should hold the Razorbacks to every year.

Amid all the change and anticipation, the Razorbacks face a simple mandate: build on last year’s fireworks while forging a new identity from a mix of old hands and eager newcomers.

The team’s depth chart is dotted with players set to make their Arkansas debuts from left tackle Corey Robinson and center Caden Kitler to wideouts O’Mega Blake, Jalen Brown, Raylen Sharpe, Kam Shanks, and tight ends Rohan Jones and Jaden Platt.

Those fresh faces are joined by a handful of contributors set for bigger roles. Running back Braylen Russell and tight ends Andreas Paaske and Maddox Lassiter, along with receivers CJ Brown and Monte Harrison, are all expected to shoulder more weight in 2025.

Redshirt freshmen KJ Jackson and Kobe Branham provide depth at quarterback and guard, respectively.

Petrino’s offense, as always, is built for speed and space, and the Razorbacks have the weapons to make it work. But the real test begins Saturday, as Alabama A&M arrives in Fayetteville for a season opener that promises both uncertainty and potential.

Just don't expect to see a lot that we know for sure. The only way to determine that is against somebody in the SEC, preferably at a high level.

As the Razorbacks look to recapture the magic of last year’s record-setting attack, the tone is set by a group that understands both the opportunity and the expectation.

“It’s game time,” Green said. “It’s prime time.” For Arkansas fans, the new season brings hope — and a glimpse at a team eager to write its own story.

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