For the first time since he became the head coach at Arkansas, Sam Pittman is looking at having a true quarterback battle in the spring.
Three-year starter KJ Jefferson elected to hit the transfer portal over the weekend and find a new home for his final season of eligibility. The Razorbacks quickly filled the hole with Boise State transfer quarterback Taylen Green before Jefferson even officially announced he's transferring.
"We knew that (Jefferson) was going to go explore other colleges and we certainly were happy that he spent his years with us and what he did with us, but that was kind of understood that was what he was going to do," Pittman revealed Wednesday.
Jefferson sits atop the Razorback record books in plenty of the quarterback categories, but it's safe to say that a change of scenery was needed for him after a 4-8 season for the Hogs in 2023.
While Arkansas has a pair of talented scholarship quarterbacks in Jacolby Criswell and Malachi Singleton returning for first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, Taylen Green wasn't brought to Fayetteville just to ride the bench.
"We had about five guys that we were on of quarterbacks in the portal," Pittman said. "Bobby and I both wanted Taylen Green. That’s the guy that we decided to go after. Fortunately we went after him."
As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, Green threw for 1,752 yards and 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He carried the ball 78 times for 436 yards and nine touchdowns as well.
He capped the season off with a 226-yard and 2-touchdown performance through the air while adding 90 rushing yards and two scores on eight carries against former UNLV and former Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom in the Mountain West Championship on Dec. 2.
"Obviously, I think we all know about his game that he had in the (Mountain West) Championship," Pittman said. "He’s what we’re looking for athletically ... I love his leadership. The quarterback’s job in my opinion is to make everybody around him, including the defense, better. I think he has that leadership. He’s got that aura about him that I think he’s going to really make everybody around him a better football player."
In his second season with the Broncos (2022), Green went off with 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air to just six interceptions. He added another 586 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
At 6-foot-6, 221 pounds, Green has the size to go with his impressive ability to evade defenders. He fits a similar mold to that of incoming four-star freshman KJ Jackson, according to Pittman.
With the four scholarship signal callers in Green, Criswell, Singleton and Jackson, Pittman and Petrino are going to have to see plenty of reps before making a decision on QB1.
"Well, we've got to get the most reps so Bobby can see them live," Pittman said. "So, we probably will start early. Two-spotting, it doesn't have to be ones and freshmen and then twos and threes, it can be ones and whoever you want to look at on this field. We may or may not do that, but I'm assuming. It's helped us in the past. I'm assuming we will.
"Obviously that battle, we've got three guys there in a battle. And KJ will get in here, and he'll jump right in the middle of them, too. Each guy has to earn what they get, but we have to give them an opportunity to do that as well. So, we've got to figure all that out. We haven't talked about that. I don't even know if Bobby knows that we two-spot or not yet."
A former four-star out of Morrilton, Criswell was 17-27 with 143 passing yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt junior this fall. Singleton is a former four-star prospect out of Kennesaw, Georgia, who didn't see the field as a true freshman in 2023.
As for Jackson, another four-star, he wasn't recruited to Arkansas by Bobby Petrino, but the new offensive coordinator liked what he saw on tape.
"When he saw KJ Jackson, he said man this guy is athletic," Pittman said. "He’s smooth. He’s got a quick release. He’s very accurate. And I said well if you like the tape, you’re going to love the kid. We went on a home visit and what a wonderful family. He’s 6-5. I mean, he’s a big man that can run and has a very, very strong arm."
Spring practices should give a more clear picture of who the Hogs are going to rely on at the quarterback spot in 2024.
