Arkansas Razorback Fall Camp: 3 Key Elements

Friday, August 4, 2023 marks the beginning of Arkansas Razorback Fall Camp for fourth-year head coach Sam Pittman. After following this team throughout the offseason, three key elements stand out as crucial to the team’s success.

Offensive Chemistry

With a new offensive coordinator, one of the main concerns is going to be whether your personnel gels with each other in the new system. It helps when you have a senior quarterback who is a natural leader. KJ Jefferson expects to take these changes in offensive scheme in stride. Being able to lean on his leadership is a valuable attribute of this offense.

“This system is very pro style”, says Jefferson. “It’s a lot slower than how we been in the previous years. Also just being able to — in this offense, it’s a lot on the quarterback. I have a lot more freedom to do different things, audible different plays, stuff like that.”

The introduction of many new players via the transfer portal was interesting to see play out in Spring. I doubt that KJ Jefferson will have any problems getting the ball to those guys. With a change in scheme such as this, sometimes the new concepts can take time to install and perfect. Some teams take more than just an offseason to do this. Nonetheless, Fall Camp will show how far along the installation process of this new offense really is.

This Razorback offense appears to have undergone a lot of change in the offseason. Effective changes in scheme, formations, and play style don’t just happen overnight. Developing quality chemistry and flow between personnel during Fall Camp leading up to the start of the season will surely be one of the top objectives for offensive coordinator Dan Enos.

DBs and LBs

Something the Razorbacks have struggled with for a few seasons now is depth in the defensive backfield. Coming off of sporting one of the lowest-ranked Power 5 pass defenses last season, new defensive coordinator Travis Williams is looking to improve our standing.

Utilization of the transfer portal has helped fill some spots in our DB and LB rotations. The addition of transfers Antonio Grier (USF, All-AAC) and Jaheim Thomas (Cincinnati) will prove vital to fielding a dominant group of linebackers. During Arkansas Razorback Fall Camp, it is important that sophomore linebackers Chris Paul Jr. and Jordan Crook emerge as playmakers, showing that the linebacker group is two-deep in the new 4-2-5 scheme.

At defensive back, bringing back starters Dwight McGlothern and Hudson Clark is huge for the Razorbacks. Little is known about exactly when Quincey McAdoo will return after his accident during the offseason. Hog coaches and fans alike are more concerned about his healthy recovery than his immediate playing status. Malik Chavis and LaDarrius Bishop also return, and I’ll be looking for them both to establish themselves as key rotators with this team.

Quite a few transfers have been brought in to fill in gaps at positions where the Hogs struggled last season. Transfers Kee’yon Stewart (TCU), Lorando Johnson (Baylor), Jaheim Singletary (Georgia), and Alfahiym Walcott (Baylor) are going to play plenty of snaps. This is a very exciting group of transfers to bring in at once. Add the return of 2022 redshirt Jaylen Lewis and a few true freshmen such as TJ Metcalf and Dallas Young, and the Razorbacks have much more defensive back depth than we’ve seen in previous years.

It is important that the DBs and LBs showcase their depth in Fall Camp. I want this group to be the best we’ve seen in Fayetteville in at least a few seasons. Keep a close eye on these position groups during Fall Camp.

Offensive Line Competition

It is pretty clear that seniors Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer will start on the line for the Razorbacks this season. The other three starting spots are sort of up for grabs. The addition of some transfers and presence of a lot of young players leaves these spots as a question mark going into Arkansas Razorback Fall Camp.

The main thing I want to see is lots of competition for these spots behind leadership from Latham and Limmer. Joshua Braun (Florida) is a transfer who is the most experienced out of the remainder of the group. Devon Manuel, Patrick Kutas, Andrew Chamblee, and E’Marion Harris are all young players who are looking to prove themselves and earn playing time this season. Ty’Kieast Crawford is a senior who will be fighting to take one of the starting spots.

This position is vital to offensive success. Without a good offensive line and a few quality rotators, you can kiss outscoring good offenses goodbye. Frankly, teams without good offensive lines usually aren’t very good. Being very competitive during Fall Camp will do a lot for my confidence in this group. Sam Pittman and OL coach Cody Kennedy will be focusing on the O-Line during the month of August.

The Hogs’ season will begin on Sept. 2 against Western Carolina at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. That’s about thirty days out. If you’re going to pay close attention to the Razorbacks in Fall Camp, these three elements should give you a solid place to start.

It’s safe to say that head coach Sam Pittman is looking to field a great football team this season. “I like the hunger of the team, and we’ve got some work to do on ourselves. I really like this team,” Pittman said. That sounds optimistic, but the next month of practices will show a lot about just how good this team can be.