NFL
By: Randall Slifer
College Football kicked off last weekend, and Arkansas starts its season this Saturday versus Alabama A&M. If the Arkansas Razorbacks want to be serious about this upcoming season, they need to handle this game with poise and command, with Taylen Green hopefully sitting in the 4th quarter.
Now, this is not to take away from Alabama A&M. Alabama A&M has a new coach, Sam Shade, who won a national championship for Alabama and was a safety for the NFL for close to a decade. They also had an incredible offensive lineman drafted in the top 150 of the 2025 NFL Draft, and look to have another offensive lineman prospect in Tyrell Lawrence.
The Arkansas Razorbacks have a chance to showcase the new additions on offense and demonstrate a familiarity with a defense that has a lot of players returning from last year. Let’s take a look at the top three things I am looking to see in week one for the Arkansas Razorbacks:
The offensive line is cohesive
The offensive line may be the most improved unit on the Arkansas Razorbacks, and it is pivotal for their success this year. Fernando Carmona is moving to guard, and they added an excellent left tackle in Corey Robinson II from Georgia Tech to take his spot. Caden Kitler is another transfer from UCF who will excel at the center position as well.
The big question mark is on the right side of the offensive line. E’Marion Harris has shone during the offseason and has earned his role on the right side of the line. Shaq McRoy is a redshirt freshman transfer from Oregon, who was hopeful for a starting role coming to Arkansas. McRoy lost significant weight to get in shape, and he may need more time to adjust and prepare to start.
Kobe Branham is a local player from Fort Smith, Arkansas, who seems to have earned a starting role at guard. This will complete our offensive line with Kobe Branham anchoring the right guard position and E’Marion Harris at the right tackle position.
This offensive line will have two games before Arkansas plays the 21st-ranked Ole Miss. Still, I expect the line to start quickly and early against Alabama A&M. Pittman can install many different sets for the offensive line, with run blocking and pass blocking, to get the line to full speed quickly and allow it to congeal better for week two against Arkansas State.
Braylen Russell & Mike Washington play well.
Arkansas Razorbacks potentially have a trident (cue Brooklyn 99 reference) of a run game in Braylen Russell, Mike Washington Jr, and Taylen Green as all serious threats in running the ball. Braylen Russell is a true sophomore who had some great carries as a freshman last year behind Ja’Quinden Jackson.
Mike Washington Jr is a transfer who has made it to the SEC from the University of Buffalo, to New Mexico State, and now to the University of Arkansas. Mike Washington Jr may have had the best offensive offseason, scoring touchdown after touchdown in scrimmages and gaining massive yards. He has garnered significant attention, and the state of Arkansas is eager to see what he has in store when the season begins this Saturday.
Alabama A&M’s biggest weakness coming into this game is the ability to defend the run. Alabama A&M’s scrimmages showed weakness in that spot, while Arkansas has shown its offensive strength in the run game. Arkansas can work on the connectivity of the offensive line run blocking with the different abilities of Braylen Russell and Mike Washington Jr, and force future teams to respect the run game in its entirety.
Taylen Green operates in the pocket.
Taylen Green is a 6’6, 236-pound dual-threat monster whose rushing ability is both elusive to evade defenders and strong enough to break tackles. Taylen Green will always have the threat of his rushing ability, but defenses will need a reason to not throw nine defenders in the box the majority of the time.
There are reasons why Taylen Green will be better at operating the pocket this year. As discussed above, the offensive line has vastly improved from last year. Taylen would escape the pocket quicker than he should at times, because there was not complete trust in the offensive line. This would lead to erratic throws on the run or scrambling that led to broken plays. Taylen Green excels at scrambling and creating plays out of nothing, but winning the big games requires being composed in the pocket and delivering first downs when they matter the most.
Bobby Petrino can use this game to help Taylen identify pre-snap looks and allow him to progress through his plays, to get Taylen Green more comfortable seeing the field, and gain confidence that his offensive line will keep him upright for more than two and a half seconds. These first two games should serve as excellent preparation for Taylen, as they will help him prepare for the tough schedule ahead, while also not taking this game lightly and delivering an efficient passing game.
The key points to this game are its heavy offense, which has changed the most from last year. The defense should look better than the offense overall, while the offense shows what they have worked on all offseason. The most significant question mark has been our new wide receiver room. If our offensive line and two running backs look like they are ready to be a serious threat, then it will make it much easier on Taylen Green and the pass-catching rooms, because defenses will need to account for the trident of the run game.
Arkansas plays Alabama A&M in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday at 3:15 pm. BetSaracen (Arkansas’ Betting App) has Arkansas favored with a spread of 39.5 and an over/under at 59.5. Arkansas covered the large spread in their opener last year, and if they do the same this year, it means the offense came out ready. As always, Go Razorbacks!
