Razorbacks Need To Feed Studs, but Do They Have Any?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The old phrase, ‘feed your studs’ resonates with Bobby Petrino. During his four seasons with Arkansas, he never lacked for players looking for the end zone.
"I don’t think it’s about plays,” Petrino said during his introductory press conference in November. “I don’t think it’s about what you do. I think it’s about how you use the players you have," Petrino said. "How you get the ball to a Jarius Wright? Joe Adams? How you get the ball to Dennis Johnson and how you work the different situations of the game? What I love to do is utilize players, then be good at the situations of the game.”
Honestly, the list of playmakers could go on and on. But, one key cog to the situation is which quarterback will step up in order to feed the studs. Arkansas has a stable of talented quarterbacks, each with a unique skillset.
Taylen Green transferred in from Boise State after leading the Broncos to a Mountain West Conference Championship. Green was handpicked by Petrino to run the new offense and run it well.
Rising senior Jacolby Criswell, redshirt freshman Malachi Singleton and true freshman KJ Jackson will also compete for the starting job.
Green will need to find who he can depend on to catch passes. An obvious choice is second-year transfer receiver Andrew Armstrong, who led the Razorbacks in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 2023.
Isaac TeSlaa transferred up a couple of divisions in competition coming over from D3 Hillsdale College. He caught 34 balls for 354 yards and two touchdowns last season. Bruce Feldman of the Athletic, labeled TeSlaa as one of college football’s ‘freaks’ for 2023.
“A transfer from D-II Hillsdale College, where he was the Great Midwest American Conference offensive player of the year after catching 68 passes for 1,325 yards and 13 touchdowns, the 6-4, 216-pound senior has impressed his new coaches," Feldman wrote. "TeSlaa has displayed good strength for a wideout (a 315-pound bench) to go with terrific athleticism (38-inch vertical jump and a 10-5 broad jump) and excellent size and reliable hands.”
Isaiah Sategna is another option to breakout. The previous two seasons obviously haven't met expectations set for himself. However, the redshirt sophomore has an opportunity to be more than a kick returner.
The Fayetteville native caught 15 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns last season. His track speed has been talked about forever around the program but hasn’t been utilized to this point. With Petrino’s previous history of engineering offenses with speedsters on drag routes over the middle, Sategna has a chance to truly have a career season.
Running back Rashod Dubinion has been in on the passing attack with 26 receptions, 200 yards and two scored in his first two seasons. Whether it be on wheel routes or screens, the Georgia native has shown a knack for picking up chunk yardage.
While potential playmakers exist, there has yet to be a proven commodity behind Armstrong to this point. When top-250 signee Ashton Bethel-Roman was released from his letter of intent Thursday, disappointment across the state stirred Arkansas fans into meltdown mode.
There may not be any place to turn with the traditional signing approaching next Wednesday. Sam Mbake was a candidate to breakout after a tremendous spring and summer before the season. An ACL injury sidelined him for the season which led to him transferring to the JUCO ranks. Before moving on, he did leave hope for a potential return in the future.
One under the radar receiver that can be a trendy breakout candidate is redshirt freshman Davion Dozier. The Alabama native scored a touchdown in his first game before hardly seeing any other action the remainder of 2023. The 6-4, 205 pounder possesses tremendous size and speed that Petrino probably dreams about in his sleep.
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