The official word is Arkansas football has a quarterback battle on its hands, but it looked Taylen Green’s job to lose in Thursday’s spring practice opener.
As far as first impressions are concerned, Green stood out from the pack in his debut in front of onlooking media inside Walker Pavilion.
The Boise State transfer did not dazzle with an array with highlight plays, but his leadership, confidence and command of the offense jumped off the page.
According to top target Andrew Armstrong, Green has displayed all of the above traits behind closed doors as well.
“He’s trying to get everybody going,” Armstrong said. “He’s reaching out and trying to get people up there and throw with the quarterbacks.
“Everybody’s coming in and trying to learn the plays, having group discussions about it. He’s definitely filling that role and trying to be a leader.”
Green (6-6, 223) completed 9 of 11 passes in 7-on-7 drills, which included a deep-ball touchdown to Tyrone Broden, a big connection with Luke Hasz and a well-placed slant to Armstrong.
There were some missed throws sprinkled in throughout the practice, but the overall accuracy from Green was a promising start after he posted a 57.1 completion percentage a season ago at Boise State.
Quarterbacks are not to be touched in practice, but chances are the defense would not have been able to get its hands on Green regardless on a number of plays he made with his legs.
With long strides and deceptive speed and athleticism, Green — who rushed for 436 yards and nine touchdowns last season — has the ability to escape pressure and keep a defense honest on the ground.
“His speed [stands out],” said defensive end Landon Jackson. “That dude can move. He has a great arm, but I feel like he can really dominate with running the ball.
“There were times when I had him out-leveraged whenever I was surfing and he’ll still pull it and get outside. When it comes down to it, if he really needs to, he’s going to use his feet and get those yards.”
Arkansas will be right back to work Friday morning for its second of 14 practices ahead of the annual spring game on April 13.