Three big questions that can turn Hogs' season with right answer

With the football season slowly marching into existence, the heat and humidity of summer makes it finally OK to begin pondering what questions there are for a Hogs team most Razorbacks fans will hardly recognize.

Can Green top Matt Jones for QB rushing yards in a single season?

From the second Arkansas fans saw quarterback Taylen Green take off, their minds were immediately transported to a time when they swooned over the gazelle-like smooth glide of Matt Jones as he used his deceptive speed to pull away from defenders.

They dreamily remembered the frustration in the faces of defensive coordinators as they tried to stop everything they normally would for a typical quarterback while also having to figure out a way to contain Jones from breaking off huge chunks of yardage when he felt like taking off.

Green proved their visions true. He didn't exactly have the most reliable offensive line, so often he was running for his life, but when all was said and done, he posted 602 yards on the ground.

This was despite rushing a combined -19 yards against Texas, Tennessee and LSU. Green had a long of 11 yards against the Longhorns, but there were so many other mistakes and missed assignments going on in the line that his other 15 carries generated (-4) yards.

Green's 602 yards put him almost exactly on average for what Jones consistenly produced in three of his seasons. However, with what is projected to be a dramatically improved offensive line, it bears to reason Green has what it takes to top Jones' magical junior season where he broke the 700 yard barrier with 707 yards and eight touchdowns.

That meant Houston Nutt could count on over 54 yards per game on the ground from his quarterback, something current head coach Sam Pittman would love to have for an entire season.

However, if Green breaks that mark because his receivers aren't up to the task and he's having to do it all himself with his feet, it will be a record that won't matter. There has to be balance for Green's legs to be of value and the run game has to be there against the big dogs also.

Can Carmona be as good as thought to be nationally and can he spread the greatness?

There is more hype surrounding Arkansas offensive lineman Fernando Carmona than any Razorbacks offensive lineman in quite a while. The fiery Hogs guard is not only preseason First Team All-SEC, also made Phil Steele's preseaon All-American list.

Carmona was one of the few bright spots in the Arkansas offensive line last season, which is why he is basically the only piece coming back, at least that's projected in the starting line-up. One thing that sets him apart is not only is he good at his job, but he reaches into a different mental state on the field.

He's downright mean within the boundary lines of the playing field. It reaches a point where perhaps it goes too far and gets him in trouble at times, but that edge, that mean streak within him is exactly what an Arkansas team that has been seen as prey across its front needs to turn the tide.

It's easy to see on the field that the talent level surrounding him went up significantly over the offseason. There's enough there to go from bad to good.

Whether this team can push its line from good to great will depend on whether Carmona's mentality can spread across the front. If his fellow linemen learn to love dishing out punishment and approach the game as enforcers rather than barrels blocking the road, there is potential to tip the scales into the lower levels of great.

It will all depend on mentality.

Who has the recipe to become a surprise breakthrough receiver this fall?

If there is going to be a high level SEC caliber receiver on the Razorbacks this season, it is going to require two ingredients:
1) The raw, natural God-given ability to ball out on any day under any conditions against any team.
2) A strong understanding of the Bobby Petrino offense.

As it stands, there are a handful of Arkansas receivers who possess the first requirement, but the need for both limits that list to one, maybe two Razorbacks.

The leading candidate is redshirt freshman CJ Brown. He showed at moments during practice and at times in games that inside he has something special that just needs to be refined.

However, each time he got a chance to show he had control of his potential greatness, his freshman nature took over. Now, with a year to mature and grow both physically and within the mental aspects of the game, his knowledge of what Petrino is looking for his receivers to see and do throughout the game becomes an advantage.

It's all going to hinge on how Brown approaches what he has left of his summer. If he sets aside ample time for studying the offense against certain defenses and making sure he has his routes down to a point where he never has to think about when to cut, when the ball should arrive or what the read is, then it could be a big year.

He's going to have to spend so much time with Green that potential girlfriends become jealous. Those two have to be of the same mind and learn to see the same things before they happen.

There's also the need to hit the gym hard. This is the year where his body is going to change the most as far as being able to add weight without having to trade off speed in return as he fills out.

Getting up to around 200 by the time season starts to make him more solid and better able to fight through SEC defensive backs will be important. He has to stay fast while becoming not so easy to knock off his routes or tackle.

He can't afford not to approach this as a business this offseason. If, instead, he gets caught up in the usual college summer routine of sleeping late into the afternoon, playing video games into late in the night and hanging out killing time with whomever at pretty much all times in between, Arkansas fans may never see Brown break out.

This will be his best shot at blowing past the competition in the receiver room and establishing himself as a reliable starter, but that's going to take preparation and a senior level mindset. If he doesn't invest in himself, though, it will be a season wasted on single digit catches despite the raw potential.