FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas went into Saturday with Ryan Silverfield saying the plan was “on having KJ Jackson as our starting quarterback.”
Jackson got the start against No. 2 Georgia, but the Razorbacks still split time between him and AJ Hill in a way that looked more deliberate than the late-game quarterback shuffling Arkansas used in its Sept. 12 loss to Utah.
This time, the game was still very much alive when both quarterbacks were rotating through series. Jackson handled Arkansas’ first two drives and took three series in the first half to Hill’s two. Jackson also led the Razorbacks’ only scoring drive before halftime, a 34-second push into field-goal range highlighted by a superhuman catch from Chris Marshall.
Jackson was back at the controls for both of Arkansas’ second-half touchdown drives as well. Sutton Smith scored the Razorbacks’ first touchdown of the afternoon, and Jackson threw his first touchdown of the season against FBS competition to Ty Lockwood to finish the scoring.
“The whole plan all along was to get KJ two series, and regardless of how those went, and then AJ, the next 2 series and then make a decision from there,” Silverfield said. “I think part of it is what we did was this past week and clearly not to the level we needed to or to the improvement we needed to is, 'OK, what plays can KJ run well and read well, and what plays can AJ run well and read well?
“And then not just give them a menu of, 'Hey, here are the 250 plays we've run in this past 10 years.' What else do you like?
And you saw, I mean, I think today, probably 20 plays that we've never run before, some were effective. Some weren't.”
Jackson turned in what was probably his strongest outing of the season, completing 20 of 27 passes for 212 yards. It wasn’t perfect - there were still a few throws he’d want back - but it was a clear step forward. He also had the game’s lone turnover, losing a fumble on Arkansas’ first drive of the second half and handing Georgia the ball in Razorbacks territory.
Hill finished 8 of 14 for 76 yards. He protected the ball better than he did in the fourth quarter against Utah, even if his numbers didn’t match Jackson’s. After the way Saturday played out, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hill gets the nod against Tulsa next week.
Silverfield said Arkansas still hasn’t settled on what it will do at quarterback for that game.
“I don't want to play the quarterback carousel game,” Silverfield said. “But if alternating quarterbacks gives us the best alternative and the best option to win football games, we will do so.”
Against Georgia, though, the carousel didn’t really change the outcome. Arkansas showed a few flashes of moving the ball, but the offense still hasn’t done it consistently through three games.
If the Razorbacks are going to have any shot at being competitive in their final eight SEC games, they need one quarterback to emerge and a steady way to move the football. Without that, conference wins are going to be hard to find.
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