KJ Jackson’s first start for Arkansas was supposed to be the moment the long wait ended. Instead, Saturday opened with a harsh reminder of how fast the job can turn.
After sitting for three years before finally taking over as the Razorbacks’ starting quarterback, Jackson spent much of his Week One debut fighting through stalled drives, poor reads and costly turnovers. The first half was rough enough that it didn’t leave much room for debate about how much he had to clean up.
But Jackson didn’t stay there.
He came back after halftime with a much steadier approach, finishing the final 30 minutes with only one incompletion. He wasn’t pushing the ball all over the field, but he settled into the kind of safer throws that can rebuild confidence after a pick just before the break.
One of the best examples came on his touchdown throw to Jaden Platt. Jackson put the ball right where it needed to be against one-on-one coverage, and the catch helped stretch Arkansas’ lead to three scores.
A few drives later, he showed better command on third-and-10 by looking off running back Jasper Parker before finding Chris Marshall for a 19-yard gain, two yards beyond the marker.
"There’s some things that he probably got away from. His first read may have been a down the field shot and it wasn’t there immediately or just saying ‘Let me let it rip,'" Silverfield said.
"You never want a quarterback just to say, ‘I’m going to let it go and hope.’ That’s the last thing you want.
"There’s other times, hey, first read’s not there, second read’s not there, I need to take my check-down and instead it was maybe not trusting the pocket and getting out of there or the protection wasn’t what it needed to be."
Silverfield’s read on Jackson’s struggles leaves room for a few explanations. It could have been the pressure of being the guy for the first time.
It could have been hesitation while waiting for a play to develop. It could also have been the line not giving him enough time to sort it all out.
What Silverfield spent the offseason emphasizing was simple enough: protect the football, handle the two-to-four minute drills and create scoring chances. Jackson did some of that, but the full picture is harder to pin down without knowing exactly what was being called through the coach-to-player communication.
"I think there’s a combination of so many of those things that have occurred, whether it was a decision by the quarterback, the protection not being what it needed to look like, maybe a receiver wasn’t open on a deep shot down (the field) or just, hey, I’m going to try to get it to my check down," Silverfield said of Jackson’s decision making process on Saturday.
"So it’s that fine balance, it truly is, of where do we need to get this thing. There’s no simple or right answer, I guess. I’ve got great faith because he can come to the sideline and even before looking at the iPad be like, yup, I should have hit the check down or ‘man, I knew he was going to be open on the post and I should have just let it go.’"
That confidence matters. It can carry over to the field and make a quarterback play with a little more freedom, a little more edge. And with Utah showing some issues in coverage, there’s a path for Jackson to find better results in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
Arkansas also has to get its offensive line settled down after being blasted for poor pad level at the point of attack. If that happens, Jackson may have a real chance to turn the ugly opener into something much bigger against the Utes.
Idaho already showed a blueprint for bothering Utah. Its underneath passing game helped keep the defense off balance and made the game tighter than expected well into the middle and late stages of the second quarter.
That success through the air, especially on RPO plays, opened up running lanes and let the Vandals get more aggressive with the play calling. Idaho averaged 10.8 yards per completion and used that to fuel one of its two scoring drives.
Arkansas now has a chance to lean on a physical offensive approach that could help Jackson settle in as the starter while also slowing early momentum in the Morgan Scalley era at Utah.
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