RPO on Offense Probably Will Still be Used by Hogs, Just Different

New offensive coordinator Dan Enos has evolved his system to match personnel he finds.

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Feb 6, 2023 1:58 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you expected a return to Arkansas' offense similar to what Dan Enos was doing in 2015, stop.

It's highly doubtful that's going to happen.

While some are convinced there won't be this run-pass option stuff as often (in other words, the coach calls the play and it gets run come hell or high water or 10-man front), it's probably going to be there.

He won't be trying to adapt Razorback quarterback KJ Jefferson to whatever his system is now, but doing what the senior can do best.

"Whether it was here or Alabama or Maryland, they’ve always run on offense around their personnel and their talents," Hogs coach Sam Pittman said last week. "All that starts at the quarterback position."

That's how the football works these days at every level with some very isolated and limited examples (mostly at lower levels). Coaches have to figure out what their guys can do best and do that.

"We’re going to evolve and we’re going to use the talent that we have," Enos said last week. "Try to get them the ball and try to find creative ways to be efficient on offense."

How he figures out what to do with Jefferson will be interesting. Oh, Pittman would love to run the ball 20 straight times and shorten the games.

While that may work against some of the teams on the schedule this year, it's probably not going to consistently work against SEC teams. Most of them get better players than the Hogs and everybody has highly-paid coaches that aren't complete idiots.

"The RPO world has kind of brought on a whole new realm of the game that we didn’t do a lot of," he said, referring back to his 2015-17 time with the Hogs.

Those teams didn't do a lot of that. Everybody does it and the Hogs will this year, too.

But it will be different that what everybody saw under Kendal Briles.