Pittman: Hogs Picking Up Petrino's Offense 'Seems Pretty Good'

Caution being taken to avoid naming someone starter, but Green definite front-runner

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — You don't have to be particularly bright to see Arkansas is counting on Boise State transfer Taylen Green at quarterback. He's getting an awful lot of first-team reps in spring practice that wrapped up a second practice at the indoor field in the football facility Friday morning.

The Razorbacks' offense is running fairly smooth, mainly because they've been working together a couple of months with the quarterbacks and receivers. That's due in part to the changes in rule in response to that transfer portal thing.

Especially with Green running things. He came in and appears to have taken charge of the quarterbacks and receivers. That's because he has been able to pick up Petrino's offense quickly.

WATCH: Razorbacks' Sam Pittman After Practice

"We've seen some out of him before with the walks and all this kind of stuff and meeting time he puts in and all that kind of stuff," Pittman said after practice. "It was different than throwing a guy in at the with the ones the first day of practice because of the rules have allowed us to do more before practice starts."

The quarterbacks seem to be getting a lot more attention as a group. It's been forever since there was a need because of KJ Jefferson. There was probably no question or competition for the No. 1 spot after the Missouri game in 2020.

"They're battling in there," he said. "Malachi (Singleton) had a better day today than he did on Thursday, (Jacolby) Cris(well) is doing well. I like where KJ (Jackson) is at and Taylen’s doing a fine job. I like where they’re at. They like each other. They’re competing hard against each other. The one thing I’m seeing a little bit more out of them this year is they all seem to possess really good leadership qualities and take ownership of their own mistakes, but yet have really good leadership skills. That’s what you’ve got to have at the quarterback position."

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Malachi Singleton with offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino in Friday morning's practice at the indoor field at the football center in Fayetteville, Ark :: Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

At one point Friday morning, Petrino and Singleton had a little one-on-one coaching. It didn't appear to be one of Bobby's famous "chewings," but was coaching. The drops seemed fewer than Thursday. 

Right now it's all about getting his offense installed and playing fast. Green has adapted quickly. Everyone has seen his speed.

""That dude can move," Jackson said. "He has a great arm, but I feel like he really can dominate you with running the ball. There were times where I had him out-leveraged whenever I was surfing. I had him out-leveraged, and he’ll still pull it and still get outside. When it comes down to it, if he really needs to, he’s going to use his speed and get those yards."

What he appears to have is quick feet and an aptitude for running the ball. There have been some really good quarterbacks for the Razorbacks over the years that had the speed, but not the knack for running. Still, Green has to earn the job, and that may not be completely settled right now.

"It’s fun watching them battle, fun having a discussion with them on the timing of routes, out routes, comebacks or a fade," wide receiver Andrew Armstrong said Thursday. "It’s overall fun. Everybody's got their different things, Malachi can throw it deep, he can run. They all can run, all can throw. There’s not really a point I can make for each one, they’re all just great."

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green looks downfield in Friday morning's practice at the indoor field at the football center in Fayetteville, Ark :: Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

They also need to get more than the one helmet with what Pittman called a "walkie-talkie" to speak directly with quarterbacks while on the field. He's not putting it on any of them right now.

"There's a dot that goes out there and the officials are looking at it," Pittman said. "You can only have one, one light going on both sides of the ball. That's gonna be a little bit more of a challenge. Right now we're not using it on offense and I didn't want to go out there and put a helmet on one guy. We only have one unit right now and that's everybody. So, each quarterback doesn't have it right now. They will in the fall. II didn't want to just put that unit on one guy and just declare the guy right now."

It's a way to keep the competition going at quarterback, which probably is an actual competition right now. Unless someone really emerges, Green will likely be the starter. At least as far as things look right now.

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