Green Flashes Yet Another Quality Hogs' Pittman Loves

Despite possessing fabulous athletic skills, Arkansas' coach coach craves one major improvement from his QB

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green looking up a scoreboard against the UAB Blazers at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

Sam Pittman touched on yet another quality Taylen Green possesses during his press conference earlier this week while also expressing a bit of frustration with what he hasn't seen.

Well, he's seen it plenty in practice, Pittman insisted, but he needs that to transfer to game day. What he needs is for his quarterback to be more consistent in the passing game. In a word, he wants accuracy.

Green made some great throws the last three weeks but missed badly on several that a major college QB should complete in his sleep. Pittman isn't going to publicly berate the guy he needs the most, however.

"He’s going to miss a pass. He’s going to miss Saturday, too," Pittman said, referencing the Hogs' next game at Auburn. "All we can go off is how they perform at practice, and he’s fantastic in practice."

Green, the junior quarterback who transferred from Boise State last winter, completed just 11-of-26 passes for 161 yards and no touchdowns in a closer-than-expected 37-27 win against UAB last weekend in the season opener at Razorback Stadium.

Green also threw a bad interception on the Hogs' first possession, which led to UAB's first touchdown and a 10-0 lead. He salvaged the afternoon by improving a bit as the game wore on and ran 17 times for 96 yards and two TDs, including the final score with just under 4 minutes left to provide the final cushion.

Green is acknowledged as the Hogs' team team leader, not just on offense but for both sides of the ball and in the daily locker room. Asked if his passing struggles affected that leadership when Arkansas trailed UAB 10-0 or 17-10, Pittman thought not.

"Oh, I don’t think it bothered him much," he said. "I talked to him several times. It bothers you, but you’ve got to flush it fast and get back out there."

That ability to remain calm and collected — let's call it emotional maturity — is yet another attribute that winners share.

"I think because of who he is and his leadership skills and all that, I think he lets things go a little bit faster than someone (who) maybe wasn’t built like him mentally," Pittman said.

Green will need that resiliency when facing a hostile crowd of 88,000 fans in Auburn and for the remainder of the SEC slate.

Now if he can gain greater consistency and accuracy when firing the football, the Hogs' offense might be just dangerous enough to steal a victory on the road this week.

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