Thomas: ‘We’re very confident in our offense’
Following Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman's decision to relieve Dan Enos of his playcalling duties on Oct. 22, wide receiver's coach Kenny Guiton was hired to fill in as interim offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
As such, some changes to the slower, more methodical offensive attack the Razorbacks were running under Enos were to be expected.
Linebacker Jaheim Thomas talked about what he's seen from the new-look offense during the bye week.
"Yeah, I would say a lot of tempo, just a change of energy," Thomas said. "I would say we're just very confident in our offense."
The comment on an increase in tempo is noteworthy, as Guiton has a lot of experience in those types of offenses with his previous time as wide receiver's coach under Kendal Briles at Houston (2017-18) and most recently Arkansas (2021-present).
An increase in tempo isn't the only change to the offense, though. Cutting down on the overall amount of plays was a key going into the bye week, something starting quarterback KJ Jefferson talked about on Tuesday.
"I mean, guys don’t have to think as much," Jefferson said. "Guys can be confident in the games that we are calling . Calling plays that we are good at or we had success on and try to get guys to play faster and play more confidently rather than thinking a lot, playing slower, and scared to make a mistake.
"So the plan has been good so far. We cut down, trimmed down on some of the playbook so some of the guys can play faster and just move forward and be able to play confident."
Following the firing of Enos, Pittman didn't mince words on the lack of motivation on the offensive side of the ball.
"I think a lot of coaching has to do with enthusiasm, spirit, wanting to run through the wall for different people," Pittman said. "We just never really had that on the offensive side of the ball."
According to Jefferson, motivation and energy hasn't been an issue under Guiton's leadership.
"It's been great," Jefferson said. "Everybody is bought in. Everybody is excited to go out there and play for Coach Guiton. He's excited as well to have an opportunity like this one he has coming up. Everybody is excited. Everybody is buying into the process of what he's trying to get done with the offensive side. Everybody is bought in. It's been a great environment."
Guiton played the quarterback position from 2010-13 at Ohio State. There, he threw for a combined 893 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Having that experience and perspective pays off dividends now that he's coaching the quarterbacks for the Hogs.
"We kind of worked with him on the things we were doing with Coach Enos as far as quarterback drills and everything, so he’s learning as well different drills and different things we do. It’s been fun so far," Jefferson said. "Like I said, he’s played the position before so he kind of knows some quarterback things that he brought and we’ve added to our toolbox and had a great outlook on different things from the quarterback perspective and what we’re seeing.
"An easy way to be able to dissect what the defense is trying to disguise or what the defense is trying to get into. He’s been a great asset to the quarterback room. We’ve been coachable. We’ve took his coaching. Like I said, we’re all around, we’re learning from Coach Guiton. Not as a receivers coach, but as our quarterback coach and as a offensive coordinator, and he’s learning from us as well. It’s just all around a great team effort."
Arkansas' leading wide receiver — Andrew Armstrong — talked about Guiton's move to the offensive coordinator position and what it meant for him and the receiver group. After Guiton's coaching role change, assistant coach Derek Kief was promoted to wide receiver's coach.
"I'm really happy for both of them," Armstrong said. "Coach Kief coming up and being the wide receiver's coach and Coach Guiton becoming the OC. That's a life-changing thing for both of them. I'm really happy for them, and I know they're grateful for the opportunity as well. It's still the same. We still go through our receiver drills. Just making sure that... Nothing was lost as much, you know."
The senior wideout has caught 43 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns this season, and could put up even more production now that Guiton is making the decisions on offense.
"He's handling it good right now," Armstrong said. "He's not panicking like you would think a new coach or anything like that would do in this time that we're in here in the middle of the season. He shows a lot of poise. He's very calm. Like KJ said, he makes sure everything is right. If it's wrong, we just do it again and move on to the next thing."
Armstrong went on to say that Guiton's former experience as a starting quarterback is pretty obvious, especially when they're in the film room.
"The way he describes certain zones and certain defenses, you just know that he knows defenses inside-out," Armstrong said. "He points out a stud, or what side the nickel is going to play on. Things like that. He just knows exactly what he’s talking about. You can tell he played quarterback at a high level."
Guiton and the rest of the new-look offense will have their first chance to prove themselves when they travel to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday to face the Florida Gators (5-3, 3-2 SEC). The game is set to kick off at 11:00 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.