There is no question that KJ Jefferson is the not just the leader of Arkansas’ offense, but the entire team. The redshirt senior is primed to run the Razorbacks’ offense for a third straight season in 2023.
But what happens if Jefferson gets hurt and has to miss a game?
The native of Sardis, Mississippi, missed two games in 2022, both if which featured an Arkansas loss. In those losses — at Mississippi State and against LSU — the quarterback that started the game did not finish it for the Razorbacks.
After seeing that his backup quarterbacks were unable to step in and win games, head coach Sam Pittman went into the transfer portal and brought North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell back home to Arkansas.
A native of Morrilton, Criswell spent three seasons with the Tar Heels. During those three seasons in Chapel Hill, Criswell was just 18 of 31 passing for 204 yards and one touchdown, and he added 133 yards and one score on the ground. He appeared in 14 games and started one for the Tar Heels.
To be fair, he sat behind some very talented quarterbacks in Sam Howell, who is now a quarterback for the Washington Commanders, and Drake Maye, who is an early contender for the Heisman Trophy award next season.
Though competition is always on the mind, Criswell will be sitting behind another very good quarterback in Jefferson. While that’s not always easy, the redshirt junior is a key piece to the puzzle that Arkansas seemingly didn’t have last year.
“I think this, you look at a kid coming in, and Jacolby hadn’t played a whole lot of ball over at North Carolina,” Pittman said after Saturday’s Red-White scrimmage. “To be where he is and what he’s done, I mean, he’s thrown some stuff in practice that was like crazy good.
“I think he’s just going to get better and better, so yes, I think part of the question would be can we beat an SEC team with him at quarterback, and the answer would be absolutely, in my opinion. So he was very, very valuable to us to bring in.”
Last year, Arkansas relied on Malik Hornsby — who has since transferred to Texas State — and Cade Fortin to try and win the two games Jefferson didn’t play in. While Fortin is still on the team battling with Criswell for the backup quarterback spot, it does feel like Arkansas is much more fit to win a game should anything happen to Jefferson.
Criswell started the spring with a learning curve as he was joining a new system, in a new environment and around new players. Now, it seems like he’s fitting right in and providing Jefferson with a boost via competition.
“In the quarterback room, it’s iron sharpening iron in there,” Jefferson said. “My spot is up for grabs just like, I mean anybody…So anytime I come in, I’m ready to work, learn from each other. We all learn from each other. So we just created that environment.
“It’s a brotherhood and when we step out on the field we’re all competing with one another and we’re trying to be that top guy. Just bringing Jacolby in just adds fuel to the fire. He’s a great guy off the field and on the field, as well. So I want to learn some things from him, he’s taught me some things too.”
He had his fair share of small struggles to start spring ball, but by the time the last few practices rolled around, Criswell was looking very sharp. As mentioned by Pittman, Criswell was making very good throws in tight windows and he ran as the No. 2 quarterback more often than not during team drills.
During Arkansas’ Red-White scrimmage on Saturday, Criswell was 8 of 12 passing with 87 yards, one touchdown and an interception, which was tipped by Antonio Grier and landed in the hands of LaDarrius Bishop.
Arguably the best throw from Criswell all day was a 60-plus yard bomb right on the money for Sam Mbake, who scored a touchdown. The play ended up not counting because they called it dead at the line of scrimmage and said Criswell would’ve been sacked, but that didn’t negate how beautiful of a throw it was.
After an interesting recruitment that featured Pittman coming in late and falling just short for Criswell’s commitment, the Head Hog got the former four-star recruit the second time around. While he probably won’t make a big statistical impact for the Razorbacks in 2023, Criswell might have been the most critical transfer addition for Arkansas over the offseason.
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