Knox says new offense under Briles is all about ‘tempo, tempo, tempo’

Arkansas’ new offense under Kendal Briles may actually be able to do what the previous one promised, according to wide receiver Trey Knox said Friday afternoon.

“It’s really, really fast,” Knox told Phil Elson and Matt Jenkins (Halftime) on ESPN Arkansas. “Faster than I ever thought it would be. The way we go down the field and the options, the routes that we get we can stop, or curl or do whatever are the big differences.”

Chad Morris promised when he was hired in December 2017 the Razorbacks’ offense would be in the left lane with the hammer down, then proceeded to stall and run it all in the ditch over two seasons.

“We’re definitely going to be moving fast … very fast,” Knox said. “That’s the key to (Briles’) offense. Tempo, tempo, tempo.”

It should actually look different just lining up.

“We’re going to be taking a lot more shots so we’re going to stretch the field, our splits are going to be wider,” Knox said. “We’re going to move people out, stretch them out and try to attack them down the field.”

For two seasons we’ve seen the Hogs not being able to consistently do much of anything right. Now the virtual learning the players are having to do may actually be beneficial.

“Our staff is doing a great job with that,” Knox said about the virtual learning. “We meet almost every day. We’re learning enough ball plays to win games. I trust and believe our staff will have us ready.”

Knox is looking at a lot of film, doing cut-ups of what the new offense does and getting an idea of it. That’s about all the players can get done now.

“That repetition standpoint is not in effect right now,” Knox said. “We didn’t get any spring ball in. We haven’t run any plays. Just knowing it on paper will get you ahead when we come back anyway so hopefully you know what you’re doing when we come back.”

He hasn’t adjusted to the camera thing well, though. One of the more personable guys on the team, Knox is learning how to deal with being in front of a camera.

“I don’t know what it is but it’s tougher talking to a camera than talking to people,” he said Friday afternoon.

Knox had a few months to get to work with new quarterback Feleipe Franks, the graduate transfer who was actually drafted by some baseball teams before college, mainly due to a 94-95 mile-an-hour fastball.

“That boy can sling the rock,” Knox said. “You can see why he was drafted.”

The players also know he’s got something the others in the revolving door at quarterback the last couple of years haven’t had — a winning track record in the SEC.

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“We know Feleipe has the experience and he’s won in the SEC, which is the hardest conference in the country,” Knox said. “I trust coach Briles will have him ready, his ankle will be allright and he’ll be able to make plays for us.”

With a talented group of receivers, Knox was a little hesitant to say it’s the best group on the offense, which is probably the most political thing.

“That’s a tough question,” when asked by Elson. “We’re all pretty talented. It’s just a depth point of view, how many bodies you have in each room and I pretty much think we’re all even. The quarterback room, the receivers room, the running backs room. We’re pretty stacked on offense.”