Texas Longhorns vs. Arkansas Razorbacks: Offensive Players to Watch

The Razorbacks hope to have two of their best playmakers return healthy this week against the Longhorns after suffering injury in recent weeks.

Oct 19, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green (10) passes as LSU Tigers defensive end Paris Shand (0) defends during the second quarter at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

There's no doubt that the Arkansas Razorbacks will be met with one of its toughest opponents of the season and the latest renewed rival with the Texas Longhorns. The Hogs offense has had an extra week to prepare for the second-highest-rated defense in all of college football, as the Longhorns have only allowed an average of 251 total yards and around 12 points per game.

On the other hand, Arkansas has done an impressive job of rebuilding its roster by replacing last season's lead playmakers with another duo that has already guided the Razorbacks to more wins this year. Starting quarterback Taylen Green, a transfer out of Boise State, has been a dual-threat athlete who can sling the ball and rush it into the end zone if needed. His right-hand man is running back Ja'Quinden Jackson, coming in from Utah, who is currently fourth in the conference in average rushing yards per game with 84.6.

But Texas might just get lucky when it heads to Fayetteville on Saturday, as both Green and Jackson have been questionable with injuries for a couple of weeks. Green recently went down against Ole Miss in the program's last contest, while Jackson has been absent ever since the LSU game back on Oct. 19.

In his most recent media availability, head coach Sam Pittman announced that they expect Green to return against Texas, as he has been practicing throughout the bye week, and the same goes for Jackson. Even if both players see the field, coming into this game straight off an injury might not be the best choice, especially with the amount of physicality that the Longhorns defense brings.

The potential return of Green and Jackson would be an advantage not to be overlooked, combined with the agility of returning senior wide receiver Andrew Armstrong, the Razorbacks' offense could unleash a three-headed monster against Texas.

1. QB Taylen Green, Jr.

As a redshirt sophomore last year, Green appeared in 13 games with 12 starts for Boise State, throwing for a 57.1% completion rating for 1,752 total yards. He also knows how to use his legs for some rushing offense, going for 436 yards and nine rushing touchdowns on 78 carries.

Now with Green starting for the Razorbacks, he's already nearly surpassed all of those numbers in just nine games. He currently totals 2,214 passing yards and has thrown 11 touchdowns alongside rushing for 411 yards on 105 carries with five touchdowns.

His best performance of the season came against Mississippi State back in October, where he threw his second 300+ yard game of the year and calculated a 79.3% completion rating, solidifying five touchdown passes for the Razorbacks. However, the following week, Green suffered a knee sprain early versus Ole Miss, only being able to record 10 completions out of 14 total passes, and Arkansas fell in a heavy 63-31 loss.

2. WR Andrew Armstrong

One crucial returner for Pittman and the Razorbacks this season was sixth-year redshirt senior Andrew Armstrong. The wide receiver transferred in from Texas A&M Commerce at the beginning of the 2023 season and made an immediate impact. He started in all 12 games for Arkansas and led the team with 56 receptions, 764 total receiving yards, 63.7 yards per game, and five touchdowns to earn a Fourth-Team All-SEC selection from Phil Steele.

Armstrong came into his final season as a Fourth-Team Preseason All-SEC pick from Phil Steele and as an Honorable Mention Preseason All-SEC from CFN. His decision to return to the Razorbacks has only allowed him to extend his resume, to which now he owns a 36-game reception streak and recently recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game against Ole Miss, having six catches for 135 yards.

He currently leads the team in most total receiving yards with 857 from 55 catches and averages over 100 yards per game. Prior to the beginning of the season, Armstrong made it evident that he wanted to become a leader for his guys, and that's exactly what he's done.

"I think one of the major things is becoming a leader this year," Armstrong said in a press conference on March 7. "Because I feel like if I bring everyone else around me and things like that, everyone can be great, good, do whatever they can do on the field to the highest ability they can. Because I feel like there’s no leadership in the room. Everybody just goes out there and does what they do. So I feel like being a leader is one of the biggest things that will allow me to bring into my game this year."

3. RB Ja'Quinden Jackson

Another strong pickup from the portal by Pittman was former Utah running back Ja'Quinden Jackson. The Dallas native originally started his college football career at Texas as a freshman in 2020, being redshirted and seeing no action before transferring to Utah the next year.

When he opted into the transfer portal, Jackson said he faced some backlash after suffering a low ankle sprain that turned into a tendon coming off the bone. Now healthy and fully settled into his role at Arkansas, Jackson has been a crucial set of legs for Green to rely on to get the ball down the field.

Prior to suffering an ankle injury against LSU, Jackson averaged 5.7 yards per carry and still leads the team in total rushing yards with 592 on 104 attempts and 10 touchdowns despite having missed both the Mississippi State and Ole Miss games.

If he proves to be back on track come Saturday, the Texas secondary will need to have its sights set on stopping Jackson's run game in order to halt any sort of scoring opportunities for Arkansas.

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