As first impressions go, Auburn redshirt freshman Hank Brown sure delivered a good one in his first start at quarterback last week.
After throwing for four touchdowns, Brown and the Tigers should get a tougher challenge on Saturday when they host Arkansas in each team’s Southeastern Conference opener.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said the Razorbacks’ skill level is most apparent in the secondary.
“They’re going to challenge you,” Freeze said. “They are going to get up (and) press you and will bring a mixture of quarters, man and some three but they disguise it pretty good. In all of them, they’ll get up and press you, so it’s going to test us. How do we handle getting off the ball in press technique?”
The Tigers (2-1) saw a version of press technique against California two weeks ago — Freeze called it “press bail” on Monday — and it didn’t go well. The Golden Bears held them to 286 total yards and picked off four passes in a 21-14 upset win.
Auburn, however, responded with a decisive 45-19 victory over New Mexico last weekend.
Meanwhile, Arkansas (2-1) also is coming off a non-conference home win, although its 37-27 decision over UAB was a lot tougher than some might have expected. The Razorbacks didn’t take the lead for good until a 16-yard touchdown run by Ja’Quinden Jackson in the third quarter.
Jackson was the offense’s savior with Taylen Green struggling to hit passes, going only 11 of 26 for 161 yards with an interception. Jackson rushed for 147 yards on just 15 carries, earning praise from coach Sam Pittman.
“He makes extra yards when he carries the ball,” Pittman said. “We’ll block it up some but he always seems to be making somebody miss or running over somebody. Got really good vision back there.”
The Utah transfer has rushed for at least 100 yards in all three games this year, enabling Arkansas to gain more than 200 yards on the ground in each of the first three games.
