Sam Pittman discusses Arkansas' backup QB options

Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman could be forced to lean on a backup quarterback Saturday against Mississippi State. KJ Jefferson, the Razorbacks starter, suffered a head injury in last week’s loss to Alabama, putting his status in question for Saturday.

But if Jefferson is unable to go, Pittman has a strong belief in both Cade Fortin and Malik Hornsby‘s ability to step in and hold down the fort.

“We’re very confident with (Fortin) in practice,” Pittman said Monday. “He’s done really well in the two-minute situations. He’s a good quarterback and he has experience. We also believe in Malik. So if anything happened there, we still think we have two really good quarterbacks. They’re certainly different. Even though Cade can run a little bit as well, he would probably be looked at more as a passer and Malik more as a runner. But that’s really not true. They both can do either.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Fortin stepped in for the final two drives last week against the Crimson Tide, finishing 4-of-10 passing for 35 yards in addition to nine yards rushing. A transfer from South Florida, he started two games for the Bulls this past season, throwing for 91 yards in Week 2 against Florida. A three-star recruit in the 2018 class, he ranked as the No. 47 quarterback according to On3 Consensus.

Hornsby joined Arkansas in 2020 as the No. 12 quarterback in the class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. After redshirting as a true freshman, he played in seven games this past season to finish 5-of-12 passing for 46 yards. He also added 136 yards rushing and a touchdown on 24 attempts.

Based on last week, Fortin would be the first backup quarterback in line for Arkansas should Jefferson be held out. But don’t count out Hornsby, whose speed has enabled him to get involved some in the receiving game already this season.

Arkansas and Mississippi State are set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Starkville.

Sam Pittman on KJ Jefferson’s status

Pittman had said after his team’s 49-26 loss to Alabama that Jefferson had hit his head, though he shied away from confirming Jefferson is in concussion protocol this week when asked directly.

“I didn’t say that,” Pittman said.

After leaving the game for one play midway through the fourth quarter, Jefferson returned briefly and finished out Arkansas’ final scoring drive.

But he did not appear in either of the two series following the final field goal make of the game for the Razorbacks, which cut the Crimson Tide lead to 42-26. Instead, reserve quarterback Cade Fortin played.

Pittman provided further KJ Jefferson status updates on Monday.

“He had some mild symptoms and those are things that our doctors look at,” Pittman said. “Each kid’s a little bit different of how they react. We’ve had guys back within three or four days, we’ve had guys out for 27 days. He’s kind of a wait and see, to be honest with you.”