With a completion percentage lower than 60.0 through five games and back-to-back uninspiring performances against SEC competition, it's fair to say Arkansas starting quarterback Taylen Green might have some confidence issues.
Hand-picked from Boise State during the offseason to lead Bobby Petrino's offense, Green's career-long accuracy and decision-making deficiencies have yet to be fixed under the play-calling guru. Since a relatively meaningless Week 1 game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Green has completed just 51.2% of his throws with three touchdowns and five interceptions.
In Arkansas' latest loss to No. 24 Texas A&M, Green finished 23-of-41 on throws (56.1%) with a touchdown and an interception, plus he was held to a season-low six yards on 13 carries thanks in part to three sacks by the Aggies.
"They just, they were messing with (Taylen)," head coach Sam Pittman said Monday. "They were running at him, running at the mesh, and they were sitting there and reading the mesh. First play of the game, and then the same play comes along and (Taylen) gets around that later in the game. The looks, I think, were a little bit difficult for him. But, he’s got a lot on his plate. I think he’ll be fine. I know he’ll be fine, but that’s what they were doing."
Tabbed as a leader by many teammates and coaches leading up to the season, Green is expected to have enough confidence when the lights are brightest to make necessary game-defining plays.
More often than not, however, Green has been forced out of the pocket due to poor protection from the offensive line or because he anticipated poor protection. According to Pro Football Focus, Green has been pressured on 41.5% of his dropbacks this season. That number is the second-highest among 27 SEC quarterbacks with at least 15 dropbacks.
"I think we’ve had so many pressures that we’ve got a lot of problems," Pittman said. "We’ve got a confidence problem. We have a quarterback that’s not confident. There’s times when he can stand in the pocket that there is one there. There’s times when he stays in the pocket and he gets hit. So probably in between. And we tried a lot of quick passing game as well."
Arkansas attempted to use quick routes across the middle to beat Texas A&M's aggressive pressure, according to Pittman, but Green often found himself outside the pocket trying to make plays with his legs.
"When people are zeroing you, which we’ve had, which means that you have to be good with six and then a seventh (rusher), the quarterback’s gotta have — you have to get the ball out of your hands," Pittman said. "That means either quick slants, rolling the pocket, rolling away from the seventh guy, rolling away from the sixth guy if you’re empty."
Now prepping for a matchup against the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Green and the Razorbacks have to start cleaning up the offensive miscues so that Petrino's scheme can fully unlock its potential. Pittman was asked if it’s fair to expect Green to make the right decisions even when he’s under pressure.
"I mean, it's not fair to ask (Taylen) to be perfect, but I think so, and he's working at it," Pittman said. "I think he'll get a lot better with it. There's a lot out there on his plate, but yeah, I think if you asked him the same question, he'd say yes. Bobby's working with him on it. I'm not really concerned about him getting better at it. I think he'll get better at it and have a good week."
Up next, Arkansas (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will face Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at Razorback Stadium on Saturday. The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ABC.
