Despite the fact it was, at times, a rough freshman campaign for Connor Noland for Arkansas in baseball, there are many that think his future is on the mound, not behind center.
There is a prevailing thought among many pundits out there he got too far behind in spring practice and won’t be able to crack what is becoming a large group in the quarterback room come August.
Some are too young to remember when Barry Lunney, Jr., was spending his springs pitching, then starting out so far down the depth chart in the fall no one counted on him.
And every year he ended up starting before the season got too far along.
In today’s world of college football, I’m not sure spring practice is as critical for quarterbacks and other skill position players as it once was. Some have told me the summer workouts are more important.
It’s interesting how many of these two-sport players seem to do pretty well. There’s a pretty logical reason that many don’t get at all.
A lot of folks don’t seem to remember Chad Morris actually prefers two-sport players.
“If I have players that are dead equal and one plays one sport and the other plays two sports, I’m going to go after the two-sport first,” he said before his first spring practice with the Razorbacks back in 2018.
He was answering questions about Noland, then a signee, playing two sports. He correctly sees more positives than negatives in players handling two sports in college.
“I feel like that does a couple things,” he said then. “One is it develops an overall, well-rounded skill set. Two, it shows me that this young man can be coached in different ways. Every coach that he deals with in a different sport coaches him a little bit different.”
Like some other coaches the Hogs have had over the years, playing quarterback in Morris’ offense requires maybe more ability above the shoulders than below. Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock confirmed that to me back in the spring.
The ups and downs Noland had in baseball has matured him in ways that didn’t happen during the disastrous 2018 football season.
Frank Broyles, Lou Holtz, Ken Hatfield and Danny Ford didn’t have big years with dumb jocks at quarterback. Houston Nutt had Clint Stoerner and Matt Jones, then came as close as the Hogs have in the SEC of winning a title with Casey Dick. Bobby Petrino won the most games in one season in his time with Tyler Wilson in 2011.
In football, the biggest arm or fastest legs usually don’t win championships unless they also have a huge football IQ combined with a level of maturity that is not common.
Often you get that when a player can handle two sports and juggle a classroom load.
“I want players that play multiple sports,” Morris has said.
My guess is we haven’t seen the last of Noland in football. It’s just a hunch, but he’ll have his timing and rapport down with the receivers and offense by August.
Don’t fall for guesses he’s done playing football.
He didn’t come to Fayetteville to only play baseball.
