SEC Media Days sits two weeks away and Arkansas football still reads like a mystery novel nobody’s finished writing.
Nearly every spot on the depth chart has gotten the microscope treatment this offseason and the answer keeps coming back the same way.
The Razorbacks have a group of guys who’ll work hard and carry themselves the right way.
That’s nice. It’s also not a two-deep.
New coach Ryan Silverfield spent his first offseason preaching the same message he leaned on during six years at Memphis. Accountability first. Preparation second.
Everything else follows once the culture takes hold. Every program that hires a new coach ends up with its own version of that speech and Arkansas is no different.
The Hogs are getting theirs right now, one practice report at a time. Nobody can see the important parts of practices so we just have to take their word on it.
Quarterback race still wide open
The clearest example sits at quarterback, where redshirt sophomore KJ Jackson and Memphis transfer AJ Hill are still working through a competition that isn’t expected to settle until August.
Jackson barely threw the ball a season ago. Hill barely played behind the Tigers’ starter.
Neither guy walks into the job with much of a résumé, which sums up most of this roster pretty well. It also raises question marks for the few fans that appear to be paying attention.
The defense carries its own uncertainty.
Silverfield brought in Ron Roberts to run that side of the ball after Arkansas finished among the worst defenses in the Power Four last fall. It’s kinda been an annual problem.
Then the program lost its defensive line coach to the NFL just months into the rebuild. New coordinator, new position coach, new faces up front.
That’s not a knock on anybody. It’s just a lot of new for one offseason.
Simulations all over the map
Meanwhile the computer models have started running full season simulations and spitting out records that swing wildly depending on which one you trust.
A couple have Arkansas landing around seven wins, which isn’t impossible given the softer non-conference slate. It’s just not something worth building a preseason column around.
It’s sort of like trying to help the Hogs sell tickets and generate some excitement based on hopeful guesses.
A first-year coach, a brand-new quarterback room and a defense learning a new scheme usually adds up to a bumpier ride than a spreadsheet wants to admit.
None of that means doom for the Hogs. It means fans should brace for a season that gets figured out on the fly rather than one that’s already been solved in July.
By the time Arkansas kicks off, expect a lineup card with names nobody was talking about back in the spring.
That’s just how first years under a new staff tend to go.
It’s exactly what SEC Media Days will spend four days trying to untangle.
Key takeaways
- Arkansas heads into SEC Media Days with unresolved questions at nearly every position
- The quarterback battle between KJ Jackson and AJ Hill won’t be settled until August
- Season simulation models project wildly different outcomes, including some as high as seven wins
