KJ Jackson didn’t hide from his rough day.
The Arkansas quarterback stood in front of reporters after Saturday’s 31-14 win over North Alabama and took the blame for a shaky first half.
He finished the night 24 of 35 for 267 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 27 yards on 10 carries. The final score looked fine. The path there didn’t.
Jackson opened the game hot, hitting receiver CJ Brown on a quick throw for 16 yards on the very first snap. That was about as easy as things got for a while.
The Razorbacks’ offense sputtered and had crossed the goal line just twice by the break.
Right before the half came the low point. The Hogs sat comfortably in position to add points when Jackson tried squeezing a throw into the end zone.
North Alabama’s Trevion Butler stepped in front of it for the pick. Coach Ryan Silverfield didn’t sugarcoat it afterward.
“Prior of half, you certainly can’t make that decision to throw the ball in the end zone when you already have points,” Silverfield said. “There’s plenty of check-downs that are available and you saw what happened when we threw the ball to the running back out of the backfield. Good things happen.”
Jackson agreed with his coach without any pushback.
“I forced that one and I can’t do that,” Jackson said. “I can’t do that especially when we’re in field goal range and we have points. I know better than that. Coach Cramsey and coach Silverfield have been in that position plenty of times and I got to check the ball down.”
Second half looked a lot cleaner
His numbers at the break told the story. He’d thrown for 131 yards and two scores mixed in with that one turnover on 22 attempts.
Arkansas needed a different look after the break, and it got one.
Something clicked once play resumed. Jackson connected on nearly every throw the rest of the way, adding 136 yards and a score without giving the ball away again.
He pointed to one specific play as a turning point.
“I didn’t start how I wanted it to of course,” Jackson said. “But there were bright spots too. Made some plays. I was happy to see myself make some plays.
“I was happy to see the offense make some plays. Sutton had an amazing play on a little check down. He made a linebacker miss and it turned into a big play.”
Jackson, listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, said the fix moving forward comes down to trusting his checkdowns instead of forcing throws downfield.
“I’ve got to be better at taking the check downs,” Jackson said. “Jasper Parker, the tight ends, they were open underneath a large part of the day. So just going through my reads and getting to the end, checking the ball down.”
Anyone who watched the Razorbacks practice this spring and fall saw this coming in some form.
Jackson would string together a handful of sharp plays, then follow them with one nobody in the building could quite explain.
Saturday’s end zone interception fit that same pattern the Arkansas coaching staff has been managing since the offseason began.
Silverfield still believes in his guy
Jackson and his coach agreed the Lions lined up in ways the Hogs hadn’t fully prepared for.
The ground game never got going and neither did the deep passing attack.
Penalties piled up too. None of that stopped Silverfield from backing his quarterback without hesitation.
“I’ve got so much faith in him because of the type of young man he is,” Silverfield said. “Right now he’s probably watching the film before he comes in here.
“He’ll be texting me at night. He’ll be calling me and saying, I’ve got this, what do you think about this? And that’s what I love about the young man.”
Silverfield even reframed how he views Jackson’s debut, calling it his true second career start while still treating it like a first-time experience.
“No doubt in my mind that he’ll be ready to come back and improve every single day,” Silverfield said. “And I hope a young man like that, who really, that’s his true second start, but I’m calling this a first time starter, like he’s going to improve every single game. I can’t wait to watch him grow.”
That growth gets tested fast.
The Razorbacks travel next to face No. 21 Utah on the road, with the game airing on ESPN Saturday night starting at 9:15 p.m. Central from Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Arkansas proved it could win an ugly game at home.
Whether Jackson can shake that flash-then-flub habit on the road remains the real question hanging over the Hogs’ offense.
