Apparently Malik Hornsby Experiment at Wide Receiver for Hogs Over

Listening to Sam Pittman it may have failed due to lack of wanting it to work

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Oct 11, 2022 12:23 AM EDT

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — We could have a possible reason for Arkansas' Malik Hornsby pouting on the sidelines late in the Alabama game.

He probably never fully bought into playing wide receiver.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman met with Hornsby on Monday morning. It sounded like the whole experiment of getting him to play wide receiver wasn't Hornsby's idea.

"He'll have to explain more than I can with it," Pittman said Monday at his weekly press conference ahead of Saturday's game with Brigham Young. "There was a big weight lifted off his back."

Malik Hornsby-Mississippi State — Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Malik Hornsby rolls out against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Starkville, Miss. (Matt Bush / USA TODAY Sports)

After Hornsby ended up going all the way from contending for the starting quarterback job in the spring to third team, he was about the only spark the offense had in a 40-17 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday.

Hornsby rushed for 116 yards and completed 8-of-17 passes for 234 yards with a couple of interceptions and a touchdown.

"He validated what he thought about himself as a quarterback and what the team did," Pittman said. "He wants to stay right there and be ready if needed at quarterback and not necessarily do the wide receiver-quarterback and all that stuff."

The bottom line was the whole idea didn't work. Near the end of the blowout loss against the Crimson Tide, Hornsby sat on a table on the bench area staring into space and raced to the dressing room as soon as the game ended.

Outside of an appearance after the Hogs had a comfortable lead over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last season and avoiding a blown lead against Texas A&M, Hornsby really never was put in a situation for success during his time.

"We felt like our needs were a little bit more at wide receiver than what they may be." Pittman said. "He wants to be a quarterback and that's where we're going to play him."

That may still be the case. Nobody has really shown at wide receiver they are a go-to receiver. Pittman and the coaches said since last season it was going to be by committee, which is exactly what's happened.

When Hornsby put his name in the transfer portal after the Outback Bowl, he and Pittman met. Reports of that meeting sounds like a key to him coming back was to try playing wide receiver.

All of the moving around probably frustrated him and he was getting a little tired of it. It also never really let him develop at either position.

"Even at practice, we took him away from that, and I don't think it helped him at practice," Pittman said.

Now, though, it appears he's a quarterback and we'll see how that plays out going forward.

KJ Jefferson will remain the No. 1 quarterback, but Hornsby is back to No. 2.

How that plays out the rest of the way is up for debate. With at least a couple of talking heads on the radio suggesting Monday he should be in the conversation for the starting job. There will be some conversation over that.

"He can become what we all think he can be at quarterback if we just leave him there," Pittman said. "I gave him that choice and that's what he chose and honestly I was happy he did."

Whether any other conversations have gone on is something we can only speculate about. There's no guesses here.

But at least now we may have some idea what Hornsby was pouting about. He probably was sick and tired of trying to play a position he didn't want to play to start with.

Now he'll sink or swim at quarterback.