Arkansas offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey wants everybody to believe the starting quarterback job is still very much undecided.
That’s the story anyway and he’s sticking to it.
Two days into fall camp the version of events happening on the practice field doesn’t look a whole lot like a coin flip.
Cramsey framed the Arkansas quarterback competition as a simple matter of who avoids mistakes rather than who makes the flashiest plays.
“You love to say you have a quarterback that’s going to go out there and win the game for you but no matter what you need to have a quarterback go out there and play clean and not lose the game,” Cramsey said. “That’s what we need this quarterback to do this year is to keep us clean. Keep the ball in our hands keep us moving.”
Fine. Reasonable coach speak. Except one guy did that Thursday and the other guy threw a pick.
The scouting report reads a little one-sided
Cramsey said Jackson’s whole job is precision. No wiggle room.
“He has got to be accurate at all times,” Cramsey said. “He cannot have any misses.”
That’s it. That’s the note. Be accurate.
Hill’s note is longer and comes with more patience attached. Cramsey said the freshman is speeding up his reads to the point where the decisions get worse not better.
“He’s in the mode right now where he’s trying to make such quick decisions that sometimes those quick decisions are bad decisions,” Cramsey said. “That’s a natural development. That’s the learning side of it.”
Natural development is a nice way to describe a guy who’s still figuring out when not to throw the ball.
Cramsey did throw a bone to both quarterbacks for their growth since spring under quarterbacks coach Mitch Stewart.
“Both of them have unbelievably improved in that since I met them in the spring time since coach Stewart’s been working with them,” Cramsey said. “It couldn’t be more black and white with them as far as saying this is what we need to see from you.”
Black and white is right. One guy’s note is a compliment with a catch. The other guy’s note is a compliment period.
Thursday didn’t help the case for suspense
Hill got the first-team reps Thursday and the day opened with a gift for the defense.
On the second play of team tempo cornerback Shelton Lewis jumped a medium-depth slant meant for Courtney Crutchfield and came away with a diving interception.
Cramsey said he needed film to sort out exactly what happened but the explanation lined up right where you’d expect.
“AJ tried to squeeze one in,” Cramsey said. “My coaching point to him the last couple weeks is sometimes you’ve got to go on to that next read. If it’s a little gray go on to the next read.”
He spread the notes around too.
“Great play by the DB,” Cramsey said. “Crutch has got to continue to come back and chest bump the quarterback. And then I’ve got to watch it a little closer on film because AJ trusts his arm. That’s a good thing and that also can get you in trouble sometimes.”
Trusting your arm is a nice trait right up until it isn’t.
Cramsey also brought up a Wednesday throw where Hill somehow fit a pass to tight end Ty Lockwood into coverage that shouldn’t have allowed it.
“I paused when he decided to throw the ball and I said he’s not even close to being open,” Cramsey said. “Somehow he squeezed the ball in between people for a 25-yard gain.”
A coach pausing mid rep to question a decision that happened to work out isn’t exactly a ringing vote of confidence even when the play gains 25 yards.
Jackson’s day looked like what starter’s day looks like
Jackson worked the second-team reps with receivers CJ Brown, Chris Marshall and Jamari Hawkins and had the kind of clean unremarkable practice that doesn’t generate headlines but also doesn’t generate turnovers.
He missed an early throw to Marshall under pressure from Charlie Collins then broke a solid quarterback draw the very next play.
After that he found tight end Jaden Platt on a short hitch and Hawkins on a slant before Markeylin Batton wrapped the sequence with a short run.
No picks. No pauses. No film review required.
Meanwhile the secondary kept making a case for itself regardless of who’s throwing the ball. Lewis lined up opposite presumed starter Jahiem “Joker” Johnson and safety Khmori House said the summer work is showing.
“It’s multiple plays Shelton has been out there balling from yesterday to today,” House said. “It’s attributed to the work he puts in. All through summer I’ve seen him work. I worked with him I lifted with him so I’m not surprised that he’s making plays and I’m expecting a lot more out of him for sure.”
House backed that up himself by blitzing off the edge and blowing up a run to Cam Settles.
Fifth-year senior Braeden Fuller ran the third-team offense and went 3-for-4 even with two passes tipped at the line.
He hit Antonio Jordan on a rollout then Kevin Young made a shoestring grab in the flat before linebacker Jeremy Evans closed in.
His next completion survived a tip to Young too before his final attempt got batted down by a lineman believed to be Caleb Bell.
It’s the kind of afternoon that reminds you camp still has a third quarterback in it even if nobody’s talking about him as a factor.
Cramsey can keep calling this a battle for as long as he wants. Maybe it really is undecided in the meeting room even if it doesn’t look that way on the field.
But if the Hogs are searching for drama they might want to point cameras somewhere other than the quarterback room.
Key takeaways
- Jackson’s practice reps were clean while Hill turned the ball over and got second-guessed mid-throw
- Cramsey’s public message stays “open competition” even as the on-field evidence leans one direction
- Arkansas’s secondary, led by Shelton Lewis and Khmori House, is making noise regardless of who wins the quarterback job
