Kenny Guiton shares biggest changes in Arkansas wide receiver room
Weather isn’t the only thing that changes from season to season. Arkansas wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton claims his unit looks like a new group in fall camp.
“Big difference. In spring, we were all trying to figure each other out,” Guiton said on Tuesday. “See exactly what we were supposed to be doing out there and where we fit in and the competitive nature throughout the room. Kind of learning each other, to be honest.
“Learning what gets to each guy, what may get a guy going. Learn when a guy is doing his best job and when he’s not, and when I can get him going. Now, we’ve made it to where we all know each other. We’re all in there competing. It’s a competitive room, and everyone is just seeing everyone’s best.”
Guiton has no shortage of competitors under his wing. Arkansas returns Bryce Stephens, Sam Mbake, Isaiah Sategna and Jaedon Wilson while adding transfers Andrew Armstrong, Tyrone Broden and Isaac TeSlaa.
Despite the immense talent, Guiton’s returning wide receiver group is largely unproven. Arkansas lost its top two receivers from last year to the NFL this offseason. The most experienced returning wideout is Bryce Stephens, who recorded just 109 receiving yards last season.
As for the transfers, they do boast valuable experience, even if it’s not in the SEC. Standing at 6-foot-7, Broden recorded 32 receptions for 506 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns at Bowling Green last season.
Not to be outdone, TeSlaa was named the Great Midwest American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Hillsdale College football MVP after hauling in 68 passes for 1,325 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022.
New leader, new results
More important than any player, Arkansas has a new leader on offense: Dan Enos. The program added Enos this offseason after the 55-year-old offensive coordinator spent the previous two seasons at Maryland as the Terrapins’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Guiton has already been impressed by Enos’ vision for Arkansas’ wide receivers.
“Just a smart guy, you can tell he’s seasoned, been through it before, knows what to expect, knows what first-day mistakes are going to happen,” Guiton said. “He knows what’s going to happen before it happens, so just one of those coaches to learn from because he is a vet.
“He knows the answers for everything before it happens, and that’s one of those things that I’m trying to learn as a guy that played quarterback, coaching wideouts now,” Guiton said. “I just want to know those answers because you’ll know once we get guys with the one play, their answer is going to be this, come back with this. And it’s like so cool to learn because it’s like he sees it already happening.”
Arkansas fans can see Enos’ product for themselves on Sept. 2, when the Razorbacks take on Western Carolina in their season opener.