Hogs' AJ Green Ready to Slow Down to Take Big Leap

'Trust' most common phrase used about speedster coming into this season

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Aug 5, 2023 7:30 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 5, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There may not be an Arkansas player who has made a bigger move this off-season than junior running back AJ Green from Tulsa. It's all happened rather quietly because most of the improvement has come from Green himself.

That became clear after Saturday morning's practice. Each day leading up to when game preparations begin for the opener against Western Carolina features a different position group with that coach and selected players. Saturday it was the running backs' turn and Smith, who has now been clocked at 22 miles an hour with a GPS tracker, has been mentioned all preseason.

"This is one of the biggest jumps I've seen in an offseason," Smith said. "AJ is special. He's very fast and athletic, but now he is starting to trust himself and trust his speed. He's evolved into a college running back now. Before I had to put him in special situations because I thought, 'He might be able to do that, but he might not be able to do this.' Now he trusts himself. I'm looking for good things from him. I'm really excited about him."

He's learning when to turn off some of that speed and be patient. That allows holes to open and that's been something Green hasn't adjusted to yet. He's actually run into a few tackles, something he admitted with the media Saturday.

"All I knew was go fast, fast, fast," Green said. "(Raheim "Rocket" Sanders) told me up here not everything is super fast. You could miss something, help somebody make a tackle just by going fast. That's one of the things I related to him."

Green's statement hints at a running back room that might be the most tightly knit position groups on the team. That unit has been together a few years with Green, Sanders, Dominique Johnson and Rashod Dubinion all becoming veterans together. There is a sense of togetherness.

"From the outside it looks difficult, but for me, it is fun,” Smith said. “I’ve got 1A, 1B, 1C, and I’ve got Dominique and Isaiah on the way. It ain’t difficult for me. It’s fun. They compete. Like I say about the guys all the time, it’s fun because I know one is going in to run for 10 and the other one is thinking maybe I can run for 15. The next one is saying give it to me and I’ll run for 20. They’re not selfish at all. They all want to see each other be successful and they all want to do better. It’s a fun thing for me."

It just may be the same across the entire team, at least from what we're hearing early in fall camp. Time will tell. We hear that a lot, but the proof is what happens on the field in a game.

"We all know that if we wanted to go somewhere else, we could play," Green said. "But why do that when we have the best players right here that are going to push us to our potential? And we’re brothers. We don’t hate on each other like 'he’s getting this many carries, this and that.' We’re just pushing each other to be the best we can."

The Hogs will open the regular season against Western Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 2, inside War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.