Hogs 2023 Offense Mirrors Production of Chad Morris Led Offenses

Any Hogs fan from the last decade is familiar with the turmoil that the team faced during the Chad Morris era. During his near 2 year tenure, Morris led the Razorbacks to their only ten-loss seasons in program history. Headlining those teams were some abysmal offenses, the worst we’ve seen them put on the field. Until now. 

Year-over-Year Differences

Last season, the Hogs had one of the best offenses in the country, especially when it came to their rushing attack. Leading that effort was Sophomore running back “Rocket” Sanders. Sanders tore defenses apart for 1443 rushing yards, just shy of the 1567 yards that Quinshon Judkins put up for the SEC rushing title. Behind him, the Hogs had 3 more backs waiting in the wings, each with ample weaponry to disassemble SEC defenses. 

Beyond that, the Hogs also saw an impressive outing from veteran quarterback KJ Jefferson. Jefferson dealt with injury for a portion of the season, derailing what looked like one of the better performances we’ve seen from an Arkansas passer. When he did play, he forced defenses to account for both his presence in the passing game and his size and strength on the ground. 

Ideally, any team that returns all of those players and sees improvement at all other skill positions should see improvement, especially when those improvements come through the transfer portal. However, that hasn’t been the case. In nearly every measurable way, this Hogs offense has taken a considerable step backwards. 

Additionally, they are averaging the same number of passing touchdowns per game, while averaging one less rushing touchdown per game.

What Changed?

First and foremost, control of the offense has changed hands, from Kendal Briles to Dan Enos. Briles, now running the TCU offense, ran this team under a slightly different scheme, with Enos running the Pro-Style offense. However, the offense that seemed to work for Enos’ first tenure so well has not suited this team well. It seems rather apparent, then, that things have not transitioned well from Briles’ up-tempo, physical play calling. 

It might seem easy to see that and place the blame in his lap, but this Arkansas offensive line lost a considerable amount of experience. The offensive line said farewell to 3 veteran blockers last year, returning only Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer to the starting lineup. Despite having 36 starts going into this season, even those 2 have fallen well short of expectations.

Even then, when you watch film of this team, the players that led this high-powered offense last year seem to be lost. In Jefferson’s efforts to slow down his style of play into the new offensive schemes, his defensive reads have been lacking, and he’s had to force a few more passes than previously. This has resulted in him throwing for more interceptions through 6 games this year than he has in any other year in its entirety. 

On the ground, the Hogs have been even worse. Their 111.5 yards per game rushing are among the bottom in the nation. More than that, their last 2 performances have resulted in 42 and 36 yards rushing against Texas A&M and Ole Miss, respectively. Each of those totals is the lowest for the Razorbacks since they faced off against LSU in 2018. The 1.1 and 1.2 yards per carry averages are their worst since then, as well.

How does this compare to Chad Morris-led teams?

The 2018 and 2019 seasons posted some of the worst metrics of any Arkansas team yet. With no offensive identity, no big playmakers, and no clear leadership, that team looked lost. The 2023 Razorbacks have playmakers, they have leadership, and they seem to know what their identity is, yet they’re performing similarly to those squads. 

For extra perspective, this year’s Razorbacks have the benefit of having one of their best defenses and special teams units we’ve seen in over a decade. They’ve added 28 points to their point total on the season, raising their averages by 4.7 points per game. 

Cam Little has also made 9 field goals this season through 6 games, compared to his 13 field goals in all of 2022 and the 14 and 19 posted by the Hogs in the entirety of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The team’s inability to get consistent first downs has resulted in them settling for a high number of field goals.