Why Razorbacks must revive rushing attack for 2025 success

Without vibrant running game, Hogs will struggle to keep pace, control games in the brutal SEC

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Rodney HIll takes a handoff during a drill in practice this week in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Rodney Hill arrived to Arkansas, the talk about the running back room felt different.

Hill, a transfer from Florida A&M and Florida State, brought with him the kind of speed and vision Razorback fans have been craving.

After a huge game against Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl where he averaged over 10 yards per touch on eight carries, his presence, along with the excitement around sophomore Braylen Russell portal drama, may signal a shift.

Big run from Ex-FSU now Arkansas running back Rodney Hill pic.twitter.com/1ovX3Rf96Q

— Garrett Savage (@GarrettWSavage) December 28, 2024

In a year defined by roster turnover and the usual SEC schedule filled with landmines, the Razorbacks’ path to relevance runs, literally, through their backfield.

Hogs coach Sam Pittman, entering his sixth season, is no stranger to the value of a bruising ground game.

“Better game-planning and being able to run the football,” he said in the spring. “We can capitalize on that.”

That is a truth that has echoed through every winning Arkansas season of the past two decades.

screw it, every Darren McFadden touchdown at Arkansas in order pic.twitter.com/AsP67GREQ9

— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) April 30, 2025

While the Razorbacks have cycled through quarterbacks and offensive coordinators, one constant has always remained. Arkansas wins when it controls the line of scrimmage and moves the chains on the ground.

Nobody knows that better than Bobby Petrino. While his passing game made the big headlines during a mostly-successful four years as the head coach, it was the running game that got a lot of the key plays that weren't discussed as much.

Whether that was taking a hand-off, on a wheel route or a dump-off pass, the running backs were solid. During Houston Nutt's 10 years, the Hogs were relevant many of those because of a running game.

After a tumultuous 2024 campaign in which the Razorbacks finished 7-6 and got a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech, Pittman and Petrino began retooling the offense.

The message to players was simple that if Arkansas can’t run, everything else falls apart.

“The offensive line is responsible for five-man protection, and we’ve got to block the five guys that are coming,” Pittman said last fall. “If they don’t, you don’t have a running game, and you don’t have a passing game, either.”

The 2025 Razorbacks face one of the toughest schedules in recent memory, with early-season games against Notre Dame and Memphis before plunging into SEC play with a nightmare November.

At least it is now. Who knows if Texas and LSU will reach expectations.

But Pittman knows against such competition, a one-dimensional attack simply won’t cut it.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green is brought to the ground by a Tennessee defender at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

Last year’s Arkansas offense, at times, looked lost when forced into obvious passing situations. Defenses teed off on the quarterback, and the Hogs’ inability to grind out yards on early downs left them facing third-and-long time and again, a recipe for disaster.

That’s why the Razorbacks’ running back room, led by Hill and Russell, is the team’s most important position group in 2025.

Russell, who flashed promise as a freshman, is expected to shoulder more of the load, while Hill’s experience and burst give Arkansas a potential home run threat every snap.

Arkansas Razorbacks running back Braylen Russell during armups before a game with the LSU Tigers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

Depth is a question, but the talent is there. The challenge will be coaxing production from a rebuilt offensive line still searching for chemistry after spring practices.

Why does the running game matter so much in college football? At its core, a successful ground attack sets up everything else.

When a team can move the ball on the ground, it forces defenses to respect play-action, keeps the opposing offense off the field, and shortens the game, an invaluable tool for underdogs in the SEC.

“It’s all about keeping the defense on their heels,” wrote a former coach on Quora. “If you don’t have the threat of the running game, the defense knows it can drop eight defenders back to protect against the pass.”

In other words, a one-dimensional Hogs' offense would be inviting disaster.

SEC defenses in 2025 are built to punish teams that lack balance. The league’s top units (think Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) boast front sevens that live in opponents’ backfields.

If Arkansas can’t keep those defenses honest, quarterback Taylen Green will be under siege.

For Petrino’s offense that relies on timing and rhythm, the play-action pass is a crucial weapon. That only works if linebackers have to bite on inside handoffs, something they didn’t do with much regularity in 2024.

The importance of a running game isn’t just strategic. It’s also psychological.

Razorback fans still talk about the 1998 team, which bulldozed its way to a share of the SEC West behind a relentless ground attack when preseason expectations were at an all-time low in Nutt's first season.

“You can work hard and not be very good,” Pittman quipped at fall camp, “but if you’re physical in this league, you always have a chance.”

That blue-collar mentality is woven into the program’s DNA.

Opponents know it, too. Facing a reloaded Notre Dame front in Fayetteville and road games at Ole Miss and Tennessee, the Razorbacks can’t afford to become predictable.

If the Hogs can’t run the ball, they’ll find themselves chasing games, a position no SEC team wants to be in, especially with the conference’s reputation for clock-chewing, punishing defense.

A strong running game also helps protect a developing defense. The Hogs are integrating a wave of new starters, especially at linebacker, and controlling time of possession will be key to keeping them fresh in the second half.

“The running game gives you life,” Pittman has said. “We’re all striving to get into the playoffs, and you can’t do it if you can’t run the ball.”

The margin for error in 2025 is razor-thin. The Hogs don’t have the luxury of five-star depth at every position, and the SEC’s defensive arms race shows no signs of slowing down.

But a ground-and-pound approach with an improved backfield and an improved line gives them a fighting chance to control tempo and dictate terms to even the most talented opponents.

In practice, that means an offense that can pick up four yards on first down, avoid negative plays, and keep defenses guessing. It means using the run to set up manageable third downs and explosive play-action shots.

It means leaning on the Hog Call and the crowd when it’s third-and-short in the fourth quarter, everything that has ever made Razorback football, well, Razorback football.