FAYETTEVILLE — It took half the season, but it appears Arkansas’ offense has identified its playmakers and found some stability.
That fact has led to a considerable leap in production when taking into account where the group was following a startling 44-17 home loss to North Texas behind Cole Kelley’s four interceptions on Sept. 15. Since, the plan for Ty Storey has been simplified to remove much of the overthinking that can often follow inexperienced quarterbacks.
Running back Rakeem Boyd has been more than serviceable as Arkansas’ feature back since coming on late against Auburn and in a starting role the previous two weeks against Texas A&M and Alabama. He rushed for 102 yards against the Crimson Tide on Saturday on 15 carries, and has also been consistent catching the ball out of the backfield.
He’s been a frequent target of Storey’s with 12 passes thrown his direction the last three weeks. Of Arkansas’ pass-catching options, his 107 yards after catch led the team entering last week, and his 13 catches ranks second on the team through six games.
“You always want to go with who’s hot,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said Monday. “…Rakeem did some really good things. Also, he ran through some guys that were unblocked and he also had some pretty good holes to run in with the offensive line.”
The emergence of tight end Cheyenne O’Grady has provided the offense a boost as well — on the field and perhaps even in recruiting. O’Grady was suspended for the first two games of the season, but has returned and accelerated what was a sluggish unit and less-than-explosive group of tight ends.
Over the last two weeks, he has been targeted 12 times by Storey and once by Kelley on a jump-pass for a touchdown against Alabama. On Monday, Craddock reiterated the importance of the tight end in Arkansas’ offense, and now, he said, six weeks in, it’s finally coming together.
“Where we were earlier in the year, we weren’t there yet,” Chad Morris added when asked about the evolution of the Razorbacks’ offense since Week 1. “We just weren’t. There was a lot of inconsistencies and we had to get some things fixed before we could start getting all of the puzzle pieces in place.”
The Razorbacks seemingly have those pieces in place, including some continuity along the offensive line with left tackle Colton Jackson back in the lineup following July back surgery, heading into a favorable three-week stretch of games. Right tackle Brian Wallace left Saturday’s game against Alabama with a sprained ankle and was replaced by freshman Dalton Wagner, but Wallace should be ready for the Ole Miss game, Morris said.
The Razorbacks have played the same five linemen the past three games.
Arkansas’ area of concern on the offensive side of the ball, however, might be its receivers, who have largely been held in check of late. Receivers Jordan Jones and La’Michael Pettway have combined for just one touchdown in the team’s last five games, and none since the Week 2 loss at Colorado State.
Since the season opener against Eastern Illinois, Jones has six catches for 36 yards. Pettway, in that same span, is averaging two catches for 21.4 yards per game. In the same vein, senior receiver Jared Cornelius has only one catch for 11 yards in the last two games, and no more than 27 receiving yards in any game this season. Freshman Mike Woods, targeted eight times the last two weeks, has shown the most promise of any traditional receiver.
"Like I’ve said all along, it’s kind of what the defense is doing to you and how they’re trying to stop you," Craddock said of the dip in receivers' production. "It opens up other people. ... It’s just kind of by how they’re playing us, trying to take us away and trying to take advantage of what they’re giving us."