The Change
The Razorbacks fought through three weeks of questions concerning our offensive line before the match up against LSU. It was evident they weren’t getting any push and looked out of sorts protecting KJ Jefferson as well. Against LSU however, Arkansas was able to establish the line of scrimmage which allowed the Razorbacks talented backfield to make some plays on the ground. If there is any friend to a Quarterback, it’s his offensive line, and the play action pass, and neither of these played favor to the offense in weeks 1-3.
This is quite underwhelming from what fans were used to seeing the past two years. Arkansas acquired Dan Enos in the off-season after quite the conundrum with former coordinator Kendal Briles. Arkansas finished the 2022 season at 15th in the country averaging 470 yards a contest and Briles offense also finished 35th in points per game.
The Struggle
Thus far in the 2023 season Arkansas ranks 32nd in points per contest and 71st in yards. Of course, four games in it’s unfair to compare stats. As mentioned before the offensive line play had been lackluster, especially against BYU. KJ was uncomfortable in the pocket, and the line of scrimmage belonged to BYU most of the night. As harsh as it sounds, it could have been credited to the fact half the starters on the line were injured. Pittman and Kennedy did what they could and moved guys around to make ends meet, but it was clearly not working.
The Adjustment
Moving forward to the LSU game, the Hogs had an opportunity to take a step in the right direction with the offense and they definitely did. The Hogs put up 31 points and 426 yards on LSU last week. Enos and his offense are slowly adapting to each other. It would be foolish to think it wouldn’t take time for this offense to mold; an almost entirely new offensive line with two new starting receivers, as well as a freshman tight end. The offense isn’t a well oiled machine just yet, but if they continue trending in the right direction, it could be very soon.
Leave a Reply