One Thing We Learned About Each Arkansas Position Group In Week One

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorbacks' 31-14 victory over North Alabama exposed some concerns, confirmed a few strengths and raised new questions with a much tougher test at Utah coming Saturday.

While it takes more than one small sample size to gauge what Arkansas will become under first-year coach Ryan Silverfield, there are quite a few new talking points moving forward.

Here's one thing we learned about every Arkansas position group from Week 1.

Quarterback

KJ Jackson owned up to his mistakes on Saturday and wants to learn from them.

After misfiring multiple times with a pair of turnovers in the first half, the junior finished off his rocky start by completing 24-of-35 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns along with 27 yards rushing.

"In fact, at halftime, he looked me straight in the eye and he said, ‘I know exactly what I did wrong and I’ll get it fixed,'" Silverfield said Monday. "And to his credit I think the second half was a cleaner set of football plays, right, in the 30 minutes that he was out there."

Running Back

If you were going to grade this position group, it has to be an incomplete.

For the most part Saturday, the rushing attack couldn't get anything going between the tackles, but were able to find some room outside.

It was almost polar opposite for them in the passing game, as Jackson completed six passes for Braylen Russell, Sutton Smith and Jasper Parker. That dynamic won't be changing soon because that is a staple in offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey's offense.

After gaining just 148 yards on the ground with one touchdown against North Alabama, Silverfield needs his top three backs to contribute consistently in both facets offensively.

"Yeah, I mean we're facing a tough Utah defense, so we've got to be creative," Silverfield said. "We've got to find ways to run the ball effectively. I’ve done this a long time, 28 years, and there have been times where you know the run games had struggled getting going.

"The next week, it's a different story. But it's going to take all parts in order to get the run game going. I kind of alluded to this a little bit Saturday night. If we can stretch the ball downfield, that’s going to open up some things, and if we can’t, and we’re not able to win the one-on-one matchups."

Wide Receiver

Just keep churning out production.

There were opportunities Saturday in the first half where the Razorbacks could've blown North Alabama's cleats off in coverage, but Jackson either missed his read or held onto the ball too long.

That changed as he found rhythm, completing passes to 12 different receivers on Saturday.

Tight End

Silverfield wants more.

While Jaden Platt, Ty Lockwood and Matt Adcock found success in the passing game, there were some things that their first-year coach needs them to work on to make the offensive run smoother.

"Yeah, I think the tight ends were where they needed to be in the receiving game," Silverfield said. "I think in the first half, we did a poor job on our backside cutoffs on things. You say, 'What does that mean?' So on any of our zone concepts, the tight end was responsible for cutting off one of those backside D-ends. I didn’t think we did a good enough job.

"They’ll be the first to admit it. So a lot of times, they’re getting washed down in there. In the second half, they did a better job with their footwork and understanding where they needed to get their hat and leverage points in order to be more effective blockers."

Offensive Line

If there was a single position group that overwhelmingly stunk up the season opener it was the Arkansas offensive line struggling to generate much of a push on the interior.

That resulted in a considerably bad Pro Football Focus assessments, including a run blocking grade of 52.3.

"We’ve got to look into that and figure out what’s our best answer going forward," Silverfield said. "But I’ve got full confidence, I really do. All is not lost. Am I disappointed with what happened? Sure. But guess what? My eyes got to go forward.

"We’re 1-0 and all I can worry about is improving. I’m not going to throw away the process and the trust I’ve had for the last 27-plus years because it didn’t go exactly what we wanted. We’ll be okay."

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive tackle Hunter Osborne talks to teammates during a timeout against North Alabama at CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. | Nilsen Roman

Defensive Line

This group has a chance to be very good based on how disruptive they were in Week One against UNA. None of the lineman, JACKs included, played more than 29 snaps on Saturday and should be relatively fresh when they take on Utah.

This week, Arkansas will be facing a lethal ground attack that will require each defender to maintain a level of discipline in their gaps to slow them down. The Utes rushed for 364 yards and four touchdowns against Idaho with six different players gaining at least 25 yards.

"Our D-line is going to [have] a wonderful opportunity preparing for these guys and have a great week of preparation," Silverfield said. "But we've got to find a way to be effective because if it starts and ends with the run game, we're going to have to find a way to stop it, and ultimately we’ve got to rely on our guys and our defensive line and our trenches.”

Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker Ben Bogle tackles a UNA offensive player during the season opener. | Nilsen Roman

Linebackers

One word can describe this group after watching them in Week One: explosive.

Whether that pressure is being stretched to the sideline by Bradley Shaw, Ben Bogle or Ja'Quavion Smith, the Razorbacks seem to be in a very good spot there even when it comes to physicality.

"Bradley Shaw has probably played the most SEC football," Silverfield said. "[Smth] did some nice things, obviously, in his first time playing at the FBS level. And then Bogle’s played some football. But it was an opportunity to go out there and he just got into a rhythm.

"[Bogle] did a really nice job, especially taking things to the perimeter and seeing what was going on. He does a great job of studying the film. We’ll see."

Bogle played just 12 snaps, but graded out as the most efficient with an 89.0 grade on Saturday.

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive backs coach Deron Wilson looks on during the season opener against North Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 at CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium. | Nilsen Roman

Cornerbacks

Outside of one coverage bust when JUCO transfer D.J. Hairston fell down on a route that allowed UNA's Xavier Johnson to scamper 59 yards into the redzone, the Razorbacks played pretty well in coverage.

"Our corner, it was actually his second play," Silverfield said. "He only got two plays. The first one, he made a hell of a slip and makes a play on the quick screen to the sideline. The next play, he literally falls down, and then the receiver is able to run free.

"Then, the safety probably could have tackled him. Our backup safety probably could have tackled him for maybe a 15-yard gain. Instead, it turned into explosive play. So, one, we've got to have better technique. We can't fall down at the corner spot. Two, the safety, if you're going to play top-down, you've got to be able to make those tackles at least clean it up and lift to find another play."

After allowing over 239 yards per game through the air, it seems that Arkansas' investment on turning the secondary around went well. They'll certainly be in for a test with Utah on Saturday night.

Safeties

If your safeties are quiet and no complaints are being heard, that means they played pretty well in Week One.

Miguel Mitchell probably received a shoutout during film sessions for not bumping Johnson off his route on the 59-yard reception.

Christian Harrison finished with just two total tackles, but did force the issue on a third down stop where he showed off quality open field tackling.

Special Teams

While they didn't have to do anything spectacular, the kickoff team put the ball through the endzone each time and the punt team only allowed one return to go for three yards.

Sutton Smith's 57-yard punt return in the first quarter ended up only counting for 12 yards after linebacker Jeremy Evans was issued a penalty for a block in the back.

"Special teams, I felt, did what they needed to do in a timely fashion, with the exception of one or two plays here or there," Silverfield said. "But things we can get cleaned up for sure. We watch the tape. We learn from it. Every single person this program can grow."

The Razorbacks and Utes are set to kickoff inside Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday night at 9:15 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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