AJ Hill Says Familiarity is His Secret Weapon in Hogs QB Battle

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The quarterback battle in Fayetteville has gotten a lot of ink this offseason. It figures, considering so many of the team's hopes rest on the winner of the job.

AJ Hill told the team's official podcast that his familiarity with head coach Ryan Silverfield and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey's scheme is where he has an advantage over redshirt sophomore KJ Jackson.

"I know KJ has the experience over me, but I feel like I just know the playbook a little bit better just because I've been in the system a year now," Hill said. "I mean, we've both been competing, so I feel like this quarterback battle is just going to go all the way into the season.

"So, I mean, we both got each other back. We're both making each other better. So, that's all that matters at the end of the day."

Hogs’ QB battle will come down to who can handle pressure of everything Cramsey throws at them over the next few weeks. https://t.co/djHR1j80up
— Arkansas Razorbacks on SI (@RazorbacksOnSI) August 11, 2026

Of course, that's not to say Hill isn't grinding. He's been in the weight room a lot this offseason.

"About 6'5", 240 now," Hill said. "Yeah, you got to put on some weight. Been in that weight room, Coach Frank."

As far as refining his game, Hill is focused on getting through his reads faster. In limited playing time last year, Hill lacked confidence in the pocket and seemed to allow pressure to slow his processing at times.

"Really, just my thing was getting through my reads a little quicker this spring," Hill said. "It was sometimes where I would get stuck on my first couple of reads, and my progression would be a little slow.

"So, really just trying to pop through those reads, get my feet in the ground quicker, and then just get the ball out a little faster."

Battle between KJ & AJ may not be as close as coaches are leading on. #wps https://t.co/ZTDp2V6hG8
— Arkansas Razorbacks on SI (@RazorbacksOnSI) August 9, 2026

Hill said he always knows where to go with the football in this offense, an encouraging sign. He said he's confident in his ability to diagnose defenses at the line and make pre-snap adjustments, as well.

Making the right protection calls and knowing when to audible are an underrated part of a quarterback's job.

"I always got to start with the backhand," Hill said. "Got to start with the safeties and the corners, see what the shell is, and see what type of rotation I'm going to get. Then I'll go down to the nickel, see if he's trying to inch in and blitz, and then I'll see basically the alignment with the safeties, see if they off-balance a little bit. If they off-balance, I know they're going to bring some type of nickel blitz or wheel blitz to the boundary.

"So really, just a lot that goes into it, and then sometimes the front does matter with protection because we got certain protection rules that we got to abide by. So seeing the front a lot, it depends on. It most definitely messes with the protection a little bit. So, I got a chance to override the protection at any time. If the offensive line sees something, they can't see the whole field like I see. So if I see something, then I can override them and change it. So, it's a lot that goes into just one play. You have to do it for like 70, 60 plays a game. So it's really good, but it takes a lot of studying, a lot of time just trying to get it down. You got to do it over and over to get better at it."

Hogs’ players, coaches are building momentum while others still have questions to answer ahead of first scrimmage. #wps https://t.co/JgC8KhY0e3
— Arkansas Razorbacks on SI (@RazorbacksOnSI) August 9, 2026

Hill said he's done the work to make his job easier from a pre-snap perspective. Now, he's got to build chemistry with his new team. With an almost completely new receiver room, getting extra work has been paramount.

"Everybody, really, the whole receiver room, we've just been killing it this spring and summer," Hill said. "I mean, just building the chemistry, throwing on Saturdays in the morning, people coming up here to get extra work. I mean, you're just never going to catch this facility just empty. Everybody working.

"So, I mean, we just always in the playbook. Over the breaks, like spring break, Fourth of July break, we still working. Coaches got to really tell us to chill out on working out. That's how bad we want it. So, I mean, we really just working overtime here. And the receivers, they've been doing a great job getting the playbook down and just doing everything they need to do to be successful in the offense."

For all of the speculation and projection that comes in the Summer, we really won't know how the team will look until the players suit up and hit the field against North Alabama in September. Just taking the field is something Hill is looking forward to.

"But whenever Coach Silverfield got that job, and he called me, I knew that was our guy," Hill said. "Because just being at Memphis and then going straight from Memphis to SEC, that's a big jump. So, I'm really just grateful for the opportunity, and I will never take it for granted. So running through that hall, seeing that Razorback logo on my jersey, it means a lot."

Whether or not Hill wins the quarterback job, he's sure to be an integral part of this Razorback team. Can't wait to see him sporting that logo.

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