FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman stood near the quarterbacks’ group Sunday morning, watching redshirt freshman KJ Jackson as the Razorbacks continued fall football camp.
Jackson, a left-handed passer from Montgomery, Ala., is drawing praise from the sixth-year coach.
“I believe in [Jackson] wholeheartedly,” Pittman said July 17 at SEC Media Days. “I believe he’s the quarterback for us in the future. We’re not going out and looking for somebody else when Taylen Green leaves. We got him. He’s on campus and we believe in him.”
Pittman is high on his No. 2 quarterback because in the spring there was a question if he was going to be the first to replace starter Taylen Green if needed.
Madden Iamaleava had appeared to make a two-horse race coming out of the turn for the season. Then he hightailed it out of town to return to his native Southern California and transferred to UCLA.
Pittman just turned to the guy he’s liked since landing him.
Jackson, rated a four-star prospect by several recruiting services, is entering his second year in offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s system. The Razorbacks are using fall camp to get him more practice reps with the starting unit.
Pittman said this approach mirrors last year’s camp, when then-backup Malachi Singleton benefited from similar exposure and later helped nail down a surprising win over Tennessee.
“It helped us doing it that way last year with Malachi,” Pittman said Thursday. “Where, when he went into the Tennessee game, not only did he believe he could do it, everybody around him on both sides of the ball believed he could.”
During Sunday’s “fastball start” drill, Jackson rolled left and completed a 12-yard pass to transfer receiver Andy Jean, throwing accurately while on the move. Pittman has said Jackson is expected to have a firm grasp of the playbook in his second year and that he is “ready.”
Jackson is competing with returning starter Taylen Green and Florida State transfer Trever Jackson for snaps. True freshman Grayson Wilson is working with the third team.
Arkansas’ offense is also undergoing changes under Petrino, who returned to Fayetteville as offensive coordinator. Petrino has emphasized improvement in the second year of his system. The Razorbacks finished 7-6 last season and are looking to improve on that this year.
The offensive line is seeing competition at multiple spots. Kobe Branham and Keyshawn Blackstock are rotating at right guard, while Shaq McRoy is working at right tackle. Running back Mike Washington, who led stretches Sunday, appears to have secured a leading role. Pittman said the staff “expect[s] a lot out of him.”
On defense, linebacker Bradley Shaw has stood out in drills. The 6-foot-1, 237-pounder has shown a high motor and strong pass-rushing ability. The Razorbacks are returning several defensive starters and are experimenting with different linebacker packages.
Special teams are also a focus in camp. Freshman kicker Scott Starzyk is working inside Razorback Stadium.
“I’m pleased where he’s at,” special teams coordinator Scott Fountain said. “He’s young, so you never know how a freshman’s going to react. But I think his personality is a lot like Cam Little’s.”
The Razorbacks have 22 practices remaining before their season opener against Alabama A&M on Aug. 30.
Jackson’s emergence as a key figure in fall camp comes after a high school career at St. James School in Montgomery, where he was ranked No. 18 at quarterback nationally by 247Sports. He chose Arkansas over offers from Kentucky, Louisville and Missouri.
The Razorbacks will continue practices with the fourth one in four days Monday morning. We’ll hear from the wide receivers group and position coach Ronnie Fouch afterwards.
