Silverfield 'Probably' Going To Stick With Jackson At QB, But Hasn't Made Decision Yet

FAYETTEVILLE — A quarterback battle could be brewing again at Arkansas just two games into the 2026 season.

KJ Jackson beat out AJ Hill for the starting job in fall camp in a battle many speculated wasn't that close. But Jackson's struggles through Arkansas' first two contests of 2026 had some fans calling for Hill in the second half against North Alabama and even more clamoring to see the Memphis transfer against Utah on Saturday.

Jackson wasn't pedestrian against the Utes on Saturday; he was flat-out bad, completing only 14 of 34 passes for 139 yards and an interception on a HB screen that wasn't even close to being accurate.

He also overthrew several receivers and threw a few passes in the first half that weren't within five yards of downfield targets. Had it not been for two dropped interceptions by Utah defenders, he could've thrown three picks on the night.

Only on Arkansas' first drive, where the Razorbacks took a 3-0 lead after a 14-play, 64-yard march down the field, did Jackson look comfortable. On every other dropback, he played the way he did in the first half against North Alabama: either scared to make a mistake or determined to do too much, which usually resulted in a mistake being made anyway.

It's important to remember that Saturday was only Jackson's third start and his first on the road. Nobody was expecting him to look like prime Ryan Mallett in Salt Lake City.

But they were expecting QB play that at least kept the game competitive, and Jackson didn't come close to providing it.

Arkansas didn't pull the plug on Jackson and the trigger on Hill until the fourth quarter, when Utah had a 43-3 lead. But Hill led Arkansas' only touchdown drive of the night, albeit while nearly throwing a pair of interceptions himself, the second of which bounced off a DBs hands and into the waiting arms of Ismael Cisse in the end zone.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield looks on against the Utah Utes during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hill ended the night with a garbage time stat line of 105 passing yards and a TD at an 8-14 (57.1 completion percentage) clip, which was enough for head coach Ryan Silverfield to somewhat crack the door open to a potential QB change ahead of Arkansas' Sept. 19 tussle with No. 2 Georgia in Fayetteville.

"AJ did some good things, but that's clearly not good enough," Silverfield said. "There were mistakes that were made, some incompletions... two sacks at the end that he took that were not necessary.

"Right now, you know, probably going to stick with KJ. I haven't made that decision. Obviously, I got to go back and watch the film. But there's a reason why we chose KJ to be the quarterback."

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