Arkansas enjoys revitalized offense under new coordinator Dan Enos

Dan Enos is making a strong case as the best off-season coaching hire in the SEC — which is saying a lot considering that Jim McElwain already has led the Florida Gators to an SEC East title in his first go-around in The Swamp.

Enos, the first-year offensive coordinator under Bret Bielema at Arkansas, has the Razorbacks playing the most complete football in the conference right now, winning four straight and five of their past six. The Hogs’ lone loss during that stretch came to No. 2 Alabama in a contest that Arkansas led until near the end of the third quarter.

With just about all the same pieces in place as last year (save for leading rusher Jonathan Williams), Enos has transformed the Arkansas offense into the most balanced squad in the SEC. Under the former Michigan State quarterback, the Razorbacks are third in the conference in both rushing and passing offenses (and No. 2 overall in total offense).

Bielema wasted little time in landing Enos after the ex-Central Michigan head coach resigned from the Chippewas at the end of last season. Enos’ program enjoyed moderate success in Mount Pleasant, but was mostly spinning its wheels in place with middling six- and seven-win seasons. He finished 26-34 in five years, but the consensus in Central Michigan was that it was time to part ways.

Let’s just say that Arkansas owes the Chippewas a nice thank you card or gift basket for allowing Enos to head south.

Here’s a look at how the Arkansas offense breaks down under Enos and Bielema to form arguably the SEC’s most-formidable offense.

Quarterback – Brandon Allen is the biggest beneficiary of Enos’ arrival in Fayetteville. The quarterback’s senior campaign is turning into a special one filled with gaudy numbers and gritty overtime wins. Allen has already surpassed last year’s 2,285 passing yards with 2,617 this season — good for second overall in the SEC behind Dak Prescott of Mississippi State. Allen trails Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly for touchdown passes by only one with 22 scoring strikes. The Hogs’ signal-caller, however, is tops in the conference in quarterback rating (163.18). If Allen can throw for about 400 yards in his final two games, he can supplant Clint Stoerner and Ryan Mallet for second all-time among Razorback quarterbacks for career yards with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,500. And while that seems like a tall order, it’s worth noting that Allen has thrown for 400 yards twice this season.

The difference between the 2014 version of Allen and this year’s model is Enos’ tutelage. The former Michigan State quarterbacks coach has developed some of the better quarterback talent that has come through the collegiate ranks of late. Enos worked with Drew Stanton and Brian Hoyer while with the Spartans in East Lansing, as well as with Central Michigan’s Ryan Radcliff (9,922 career passing yards, 65 TDs). Allen has adapted nicely to Enos’ spread offense, and thrived in a system that loves to run play-action and utilize screen passes while still being able to air it out to its receivers. Allen’s 9.22 yards per pass attempt is the highest in the SEC.

Running Backs – The loss of Jonathan Williams — he of 2,321 career rushing yards — to a season-ending foot injury proved to be not as debilitating as initially thought. Of course, having Alex Collins as your second option certainly helps. The junior has filled in more than admirably for Williams with his third 1,000-yard rushing performance and a career-high 1,209 yards on the ground. At his current pace, Collins, should he return to Fayetteville for his senior year, will need about 1,000 yards to pass Darren McFadden as the Hogs’ all-time rushing leader. All told, the Arkansas run game ranks No. 32 in the nation, remarkable considering the Hogs are without Williams and Collins’ back-up, Rawleigh Williams III, the team’s second-leading rusher who was also lost for the year with a neck injury.

Enos has experience with developing running backs, as well. As Michigan State running backs coach, Enos worked with Javon Ringer, who rushed for 4,398 career yards with the Spartans. If Collins goes down with an injury, Arkansas will be in trouble as Kody Walker (254 yards, 4 TDs) is one of the last remaining healthy ballcarriers.

Here are the rankings for the SEC’s offenses this year, with balanced Arkansas leading the way:

Wide Receivers – The Arkansas wide receiving corps might have been among the most underrated entering the 2015 season. As with the running backs, the Hogs wideouts are without their No. 1 option, with Keon Hatcher also sidelined with a foot injury. Players such as Drew Morgan have come up enormous this season, especially in overtime wins over Auburn and Ole Miss. Morgan already has more yards than Arkansas’ leading receiver from last year (Hatcher, 558 yards). Enos and Allen like to spread the ball around in the air, hitting 14 different pass catchers this season. The Hogs average 266.3 YPG, and have jumped as a unit from ranking No. 11 in the SEC last year to No. 3 this season under Enos’ guide.

Tight Ends – Enos gets a lot of credit for turning around the offense, but when it comes to tight ends, they’re Bret Bielema’s forte. Tight ends led Wisconsin in five of Bielema’s seven seasons at the helm of the Badgers and the trend appears to be continuing in Fayetteville as the Razorbacks currently have nine players listed at the position on their 125-man roster. Hunter Henry is the leader of the group that’s as adept at sealing edges as they are hauling in passes. Henry has 490 yards on the season, ranking him No. 18 in the SEC among all receivers and No. 1 among tight ends. He only has one touchdown on the season, but is complimented by fellow junior tight end Jeremy Sprinkle, who has added two huge touchdowns in the Arkansas wins, the biggest coming against Auburn in overtime. Sprinkle and the Hogs’ tight ends are young, big and plentiful and are a vital cog in the Bielema’s offense.

Offensive Line – None of Arkansas’ success is possible without the Razorbacks offensive line. Another staple of any Bielema squad, the Arkansas offensive line is the biggest in all of football, NFL included. The O-line has allowed the Razorbacks to run for more than 200 yards an SEC-high six times this season, five of which have come against conference foes. Last year, they accomplished that feat just once in SEC play. While Bielema gets a lot of the credit for the Hogs’ line, it must be noted it was Enos that developed offensive tackle Eric Fisher. The Central Michigan lineman was taken No. 1 overall in the 2013 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Arkansas offense never quite clicked under last year’s offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, and many questions were raised at the beginning of the season as to whether Bielema’s and Enos’ styles could mesh in Fayetteville. The opposite has been true and the Razorbacks now boast the most-balanced offense in the SEC. It’s a winning recipe and one that can potentially bear the same fruits that saw Wisconsin go 68-24 with the Badgers with four 10-win seasons under Bielema — at least until Enos gets another shot to become a head coach somewhere.