Sam Pittman doesn’t want to mess around this fall. The weather, however, has altered his plans just a bit.
Pittman and the Arkansas football team opened their first regular-season practices Friday morning at 6:40 a.m. on campus. Part of the reason for the early start? The temperatures. The high was expected to reach 98 degrees by Friday midday.
One of the biggest areas of work Friday morning, at least during the portion that the media was able to watch, was pass catching. Three of Arkansas’ top four expected wide receivers are in their first year in the program in Isaac TeSlaa, Andrew Armstrong and Tyrone Broden. Even among returners, the most experienced don’t even have a full season of top-six rotation experience.
That group may hold the key to the offense. Quarterback KJ Jefferson is a known product and, at worst, the second best signal-caller in the SEC. By our ranking, he’s tops. And running back Rocket Sanders is in the same boat. Only Ole Miss’ Quinshon Judkins could even state a case for superiority in the league.
With those two in the fold, Arkansas’ offense should be solid. But how dynamite it can become hinges largely on the wideouts. Between the signs they showed in the spring and the little drop-off witnessed Friday morning in the fall, the worst that group should be is average.
And that’s a great sign on a first day.
Catch or no catch from Arkansas WR Isaac TeSlaa?
Full video: https://t.co/HOwLBHfHSp #WPS pic.twitter.com/d0UvM1GWPe
— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) August 4, 2023