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FAYETTEVILLE — With less than two weeks until Arkansas kicks off the season against Rice, Malik Hornsby has pulled away with the backup quarterback job.
Hornsby came into the offseason as the second guy in the room according to offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, and Sam Pittman confirmed that he’s maintained that standing throughout the fall following the team’s second scrimmage Saturday.
The staff had hoped redshirt junior John Stephen Jones, true freshman Lucas Coley or walk-on redshirt freshman Kade Renfro - a transfer from Ole Miss - would emerge as the No. 3 quarterback and push Hornsby for the backup job, but that has yet to happen.
“He’s No. 2,” Pittman said. “There’s not anybody, in my opinion, right now that’s that close to him as a (No.) 2 quarterback.”
The former three-star quarterback out of Missouri City, Texas, signed with Arkansas over the likes of Texas A&M, Baylor, Purdue and North Carolina as the Razorbacks’ second-highest rated commitment in 2020.
Arkansas starter KJ Jefferson has walked a mile in Hornsby’s shoes, backing up Feleipe Franks last season after redshirting his first year. He described his relationship with the young quarterback as similar to the one he had with Franks a year ago.
“I would sum it (up) as how Feleipe and I were last season with the questions and just being around each other,” Jefferson said. “(We’re) interacting with each other on different plays or different schemes the defense is running and what we're seeing.”
The Razorbacks are no strangers to turmoil in the quarterback room, and last year with Franks was an outlier for the program of late. While the hope is to have Jefferson start throughout the season, the staff doesn’t seem worried about a nightmarish drop-off should Hornsby’s number be called.
“I think whenever we get into live games and he’s able to use his feet and somebody’s not tagging him and the play’s down, I think he’ll be a really good quarterback for us,” Pittman said. “I don’t know that we’ll run the same exact offense with him in the game because we want to use his attributes.”
Though he wasn’t able to show it on the field as a true freshman, elite-level speed and a growing confidence in his throws made on the run could toss a wrench in Briles’ offensive schemes.
Myron Cunningham got to see first hand what the redshirt freshman brings to the table, who told media that a “show” would be understating the impact he has on the field.
In Saturday’s scrimmage, Hornsby got an extended look with the first-team offense because Jefferson was limited in his reps and he accounted for four touchdowns. He scored on runs of 80 and 8 yards, plus added 45- and 15-yard touchdown passes.
“He's a guy who if you let him get in the open field, he's electric,” wide receiver Jaquayln Crawford said. “He has a cannon. He can throw it as far as anybody, as hard as anybody. He can put a ball in tight spots. He's a guy who has what it takes and can be a really big weapon in this offense.”
The defense wasn’t able to tackle him, but his speed and quickness made it tough to even get a hand on him. Defensive end Zach Williams, who is making a splash in his own right, gave insight into just how difficult it is to defend Hornsby after the scrimmage.
“Malik is a fast little bugger,” Williams said. “I mean, you have to be outside of him, like if you’re not he’s just gonna out-run you and put you in a blender.”
