Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman wants his quarterback to play confident in the season opener against Alabama A&M.
The Razorbacks open their 2025 college football campaign on Saturday against Alabama A&M, and it will be the first look at how much second-year Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green has improved since last year.
Green, a transfer from Boise State before last season, had a productive 2024 season when he threw for 3,154 yards and 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions, but he had moments where he looked a little shaky.
Heading into the 2025 season, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said he wants to see a confident Green take the field.
“I want him to let it fly,” Pittman said Monday. “I want him to be as confident in himself as we are. I want him to go out and run the team. That’s the expectation. That’s what he will do.
“I just want him to have great success running the offense, whatever Bobby asks him to do, and I know he will, and I have a lot of confidence in him. I want him to go play worry-free and let it fly. I think that’s what he’ll do.”
Limiting turnovers for Green a must for successful season
Green showed flashes of brilliance last season, but also had trouble with turnovers, as he lost eight fumbles and threw nine interceptions a year ago. Pittman said Green has done a better job at taking care of the ball.
“He’s been really good at taking care of the football as far as throwing it,” Pittman said. “He’s made good decisions there.”
At the end of the day, the onus falls on the quarterback for limiting his turnovers. But there are other aspects of the offense that can help out in that regard as well.
“A lot of that has to do with getting better protection as well,” Pittman said. “A lot of it has to do with wide receivers catching the football, not tipping the football, because those turn into turnovers, and a lot of times it looks like it’s the quarterback. Well, he hit a guy in the hands and it’s tipped, and they intercept it, you know, probably should have caught the ball.
“So, getting a little bit more security around him there. Bobby works on it all the time, because we have a turnover drill circuit, and so Bobby works on protecting the football along with everybody on the team. But you don’t hit the quarterback, so (you) have to have two hands on ball when the pocket gets closed in on you and those things, and we’ve worked hard on that.”
Green and the Razorbacks will take the field for the first game of the season on August 30 against Alabama A&M. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT and the game will air on the SEC Network.
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