Sam Pittman breaks down Arkansas’ quarterback play in scrimmage

Sam Pittman came away pretty impressed with his quarterbacks after Arkansas’ first fall scrimmage over the weekend.

KJ Jefferson is the entrenched starter and arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. But the entire unit had positive play during the scrimmage, giving Pittman impressive depth at the most important position.

The Razorbacks head coach broke it all down following Arkansas’ intersquad scrimmage.

“KJ played well,” Pittman said. “Like I said, I don’t know that we had a whole lot of time early but when he got time he threw the ball accurate, did a nice job. He had a touchdown in the red area that I called back. They tagged him and he got all mad at me. He said ‘they didn’t tackle me’ and he’s probably right and I was wrong … But he ran the offense well, he’s a veteran.”

Pittman made sure to point out Jefferson’s performance Friday, citing some of the best thrown balls he’s seen from his quarterback.

“He threw the ball as well as I’ve  ever seen, crazy accuracy,” Pittman said. “And when he had time to throw today he did a nice job.” 

North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell also performed well. While he has to take a backseat to Jefferson, he could easily be the guy in 2024.

“Jacolby had some sparks you know, I think Jacolby is gonna be a guy that you’ll see be a much better player,” Pittman said. “He can run over 21 miles an hour. But he’s got an incredible arm and he was very accurate as well. And Cade Fortin came in, he was a third that came in and maybe statistically had as good of a day as any of them. Malachi (Singleton) had a big throw, another one too down on the sideline.”

Overall, the quarterbacks were in control, according to Pittman.

“But I thought they ran an offense where I thought they were in control of it,” Pittman said. “And I thought they were accurate and smart. I think  we had one interception, is that correct? And that was after I blew it dead because I thought we had a sack there.”

If Arkansas is going to compete in the SEC West with the likes of Alabama and LSU, Jefferson needs to be at the top of his game. Pittman seems confident there.

Last season, Jefferson threw for 2,636 yards, 24 touchdowns, five interceptions, a 68% completion percentage, 640 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.