Freshman QB May be Bobby Petrino's Latest Development Project for Fall

Left-hander from Alabama clearly won't be front-runner, but it's easy to get idea he's in plans for future

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jackson during Red-White spring game on April 13, 2024, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Michael Morrison-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Nobody is really expecting freshman left-hander KJ Jackson to roll out as Arkansas' starting quarterback in August down in Little Rock. That's clearly going to be Taylen Green after spring practice. He's gotten most of the reps with the first team and has basically taken over as the leader of the team.

This draws back memories of 2020 when KJ Jefferson was targeted for the future and spent an entire season learning behind senior transfer Feliepe Franks. Jefferson was former offensive coordinator Kendall Briles' development quarterback and it all paid off big-time in a 2021 season that resulted in nine wins with a win in the Outback Bowl in Florida.

You have to wonder how much Jackson fits that role for new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino this year. When he had Lamar Jackson at Louisville, he started the first game of that season against Auburn, but the Cardinals lost. The future Heisman winner only started eight games that year, but was the MVP of the Music City Bowl after the season.

While the Razorbacks' Jackson may have a lot of untapped potential, you don't look at him and think Heisman right now. He could learn a lot more from Green, who can teach him things off the field as well. Petrino will handle the classroom teaching, including how to watch film and break down weaknesses in defenses.

Malachi Singleton also fills a role similar to that, but Jackson is taller and had as good of an arm during spring practice. Singleton also got a lot of coaching during spring drills from Petrino, but he tends to do that with nearly everybody out there. Right now, he may be the first one brought in if something happens with Green.

But fans will want to keep an eye on another KJ that excited everybody for three years, but really didn't win that many games as a starter. His running style trying to power over defenders was something fans loved to see but it probably ended up limiting what he could do later in seasons.

Now Petrino has an experienced guy to start running the offense this year. The raw talent from Jackson is obvious. Throwing a raw freshman to the defenses in the SEC may be a little too much to reasonably expect a lot of big results. Singleton has some experience, but really hasn't seen the field that often and appears to be the first player up for Green.

The bigger question is how does the offense come together. The quarterbacks appear to have some depth that's good quality. The running back situation seems to be stable. There really is a need to find a go-to wide receiver and tight end is a question mark and the hope is there for a drastically improved offensive front, but they haven't done it in a big game yet.

Those answers won't come until September. We won't even talk about the defense here with has lots of high hopes from fans and "solid" projections from the media. That's really secondary. As we're seeing in the NFL Draft this weekend, rounding up offensive players is more important these days with the rules. You have to score points.

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks break through late to get key win to open home series against Florida

• Calipari, Razorbacks add another 5-star to Hogs' roster

• Pittman brings linebacker back home to Arkansas

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