HawgBeat - What Razorbacks had to say about Kenny Guiton after Florida win
Arkansas interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton was praised by Sam Pittman and players after the Florida win.
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For the first time in his coaching career, Arkansas interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton called a play in a college football game just moments after 11 a.m. CT at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
That first play was a 25-yard completion for redshirt senior quarterback KJ Jefferson that began a 39-36 overtime win for the Razorbacks that saw the offense total 481 yards and three touchdowns.
"Congratulations to Kenny Guiton," head coach Sam Pittman said after the game. "He did a great job. To have the most yards we've had all season in a bye week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday practice was a credit to him and the players and the coaching staff. Obviously, we're really excited about the win."
Saturday marked Arkansas' first ever victory in Gainesville and it also put an end to a six-game losing streak — a stretch that featured historically bad play from the Razorback offense under the leadership of former offensive coordinator Dan Enos.
Arkansas' receivers coach since 2021, Guiton stepped up as interim play caller and he did exactly what the Hogs have needed to do all season: what works in practice.
"What Kenny did, I thought he ran what we practiced," head coach Sam Pittman said after the game. "And, (that's a) big deal. We didn’t run a whole lot of different runs today, but we got back to the old stretch play that we were good at, we’ve been good at, and Rocket (Sanders) got some yards on it today."
A big day from Jefferson was a good sign, as the third-year starter had been having a down season. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 255 yards and two scores will adding 92 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Jefferson's success could be attributed to simply having Guiton make him feel comfortable with the play calls.
"I thought he played his butt off," Pittman said. "I think third-and-five, Kenny rolled him to the right, I think it was down there, I don’t know if we got a field goal out of it, but we got the first down on a third-and-five and it was just a little half roll to the right and the guy was wide open. It just hit him. Some things like that, we could have been doing for a while."
Jefferson shared a moment with Guiton after the game that displayed what can only be described as pure joy from both of them.
"I’m just excited for him," Jefferson said. "We really couldn’t even just talk. We just hugged each other … We were just hugging each other. It was a really surreal moment. I’m proud of him. He took advantage of his opportunity today. I felt like all went out there and played our hearts out for each other and also for him as well."
Returning to the field was junior running back Rocket Sanders, who rushed for 103 yards to become the team's first 100-yard rusher this year. A knee injury has kept Sanders out of all but four games this year, but he looked fine in Guiton's more up-tempo offense Saturday.
"The way he did things this week was outstanding, so it was like I know he felt different after this win but I felt different," Sanders said. "He trusted in us this week, we trusted in him like it was no change, you know, in the offense. The only thing that was changed was the tempo thing. Definitely a big shout out to him."
Arkansas' defensive players probably wanted to see some offensive success more than anyone out there. That group has busted its butt for most of the season and fallen just short due to inconsistent offensive output. On Saturday, it was the offense that picked up the defense late with an overtime touchdown pass from Jefferson to Tyrone Broden that ended the game.
"We always knew our offense had it in them," linebacker Chris Paul Jr. said. "We always had the confidence in them. Just staying behind them and let them know they have guys behind them, like they’re behind us as well, because they had our back a couple times today, too, if we’re being honest.
"So just talking with those guys and let them know, ‘Hey, we still got confidence in y’all no matter what’s going on in the outside world.’ I think that kind of brought confidence to them to have the performance they had today."
Arkansas is now 3-6 overall on the season with three games to go. The Hogs will have to win out if they want to play in the postseason, and after Saturday's performance, winning out might not be as far-fetched as it once seemed.
"Our fans, they haven't left us," Pittman said. "They'll be back out there, but I want to play really well for them. We'll have a good week. This will be easier to have a good week. We do keep them accountable for everything that they're doing, we'll get better.
"Bumps and bruises, we’ve got a bunch of them, so we’re going to have to get healthy for next week. Isn’t that something? We’re 3-0 in bye weeks. We haven’t been beaten in a bowl. We stressed that to our kids, that the formula, the remedy, the whatever for bye weeks and for long lengthy (layoffs), we’ve lost one game in the beginning of the season.
"And they’ve played Cincinnati, some good teams as well. So we sold that this week and they bought into it as well. And with the change at OC, they bought into that too. Give the kids and the coaches all the credit. As good a win as I’ve been a part of, ever, to be honest with you."
Arkansas will return home for a matchup with the Auburn Tigers next Saturday at 3 p.m. CT inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
