Pittman: 'We probably need to move the pocket a little bit more'
The Arkansas offensive line struggled with pass protection against BYU, and one fix could be moving the pocket more.
Allowing an opposing defensive line to consistently create pressure against your quarterback is never a recipe for success.
Despite having a talented dual-threat gunslinger in third-year starter KJ Jefferson, the Razorbacks elected to keep him as still as a statue in the pocket for the majority of Arkansas' 38-31 loss to BYU on Saturday.
That decision could've been because Jefferson was banged up a bit, according to head coach Sam Pittman. The Head Hog said Monday that he'd like for offensive coordinator Dan Enos — who Pittman worked with at Arkansas in 2015 — to move the pocket a little more for Jefferson.
"It’s just like when I was here before with Dan," Pittman said Monday. "He likes all these combinations. If you move the pocket, what you do for the most part is you cut half the opportunity. You cut half the field off. You’re throwing to two receivers instead of four. You can flood it and get three out there as well."
It is worth noting that Pittman added that Jefferson is doing better health-wise this week than he was last week.
Part of the issue is Arkansas' offensive line in pass protection. That group allowed four sacks and four quarterback hurries during the BYU game.
Rolling out of the pocket to create more time for wide receivers to get open could negate the pressure, but only if the defense doesn't get to Jefferson first.
"Let’s say you can’t hold up on 3rd-and-8, they’ve got some really good players over there," Pittman said. "You have to have something in the offense that’s going to make them slow down."
A staple of Enos' offense in his last stint at Arkansas was the screen game, something that was utilized to keep defenses honest and usually created big plays. That same success hasn't happened for the 2023 Razorbacks.
"Obviously we have the screen game, it hasn’t been very good," Pittman said. "If we catch the ball the other night I think we’re going to make a lot of yards on the screens.
"So you have screens, you have draws, and you have opportunities to move it. All those we have, I’m not telling you we have them in our offense to move the pocket to get 10 yards, and those are the things we have to look at."
According to Pro Football Focus, Nathan Bax and Francis Sherman — two tight ends relied on for their blocking — finished with pass block grades of 70.4 and 66.8, respectively. That, along with some technique issues on the offensive line, needs to improve for the Razorbacks to have offensive success in the SEC.
"You can work your chips, work your chips better," Pittman said. "You work with the tight end as well. That’s the easy one, because you can guarantee a chip. A back, if they blitz, you can’t, because he becomes blitz protection if his responsibility comes.
"I think we have to be prepared on both of those venues and, like I said before, I think we’ve got to move the pocket some too. I think we’ve got to get out of, ‘This is where KJ is going to be,’ in different situations. I think that’ll help, but we do 1-on-1s, we do indy and pass pro all the time. The other thing is that we can’t hold on to the ball as long as we have. He’s holding on because we’re not getting open, so that could help as well."
It's not going to get any easier for the Hogs, as they'll face an LSU team loaded with talent on the defensive line — including Harold Perkins Jr., who terrorized Arkansas with eight total tackles, three sacks and three tackles for loss as a freshman.
"Just unbelievably fast," Pittman said. "Fast. I went back and watched last year's game this morning actually, and I mean he ran down Malik Hornsby several times, so I know he’s fast.
"But with Perkins, he can do so many things," Pittman said. "He’s probably as fast as anybody they have on their team. He’s very instinctive, but he is fast, and he will hit you. I mean he’s just a really good player."
The Razorbacks will face the Tigers on Sept. 23 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The game is set to kickoff at 6:00 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
