FAYETTEVILLE — One of the more intriguing players in Arkansas’ quarterback battle is Connor Noland.

The Greenwood, Ark., native is the only player on the roster who has started a game under center for the Razorbacks, but he's actually missed the first two practices of spring because he’s also a pitcher on the baseball team.

With no conflicts during the week, Noland made it out to football Tuesday and Thursday to start what has become an annual tradition of transitioning between the two sports and it has gone well for him so far.

“I’ve grown up and gotten better at going back and forth,” Noland said. “This last time I thought I was going to come back for the first day and have a real tough time throwing the ball, but it was a lot more natural than normal.”

Noland is slated to start the second game of Arkansas’ series against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, so he took it easy Thursday. That meant he only threw some screens and other shorter throws in an effort to take care of his arm for the start.

Instead, he was seen going through the motions behind his fellow quarterbacks during drills, opposed to standing around and watching.

“For me to be successful, I have to get mental reps because I’m not going to be able to throw the ball out there,” Noland said. “That’s going to be a big thing in helping me grow as a quarterback.”

Luckily for him, Noland is not too far behind his teammates because the team is still in basic install mode and focusing on fundamentals. It helps that he spent some time in the offseason studying his film from last season to improve the mental side of his game.

Every bit of work he gets on and off the field this offseason will be critical for Noland as he finds himself competing with not one, but two graduate transfers, as the Razorbacks brought in Ben Hicks from SMU and Nick Starkel from Texas A&M.

“I love when they bring in new guys and we get new faces in the quarterback room,” Noland said. “That’ll be a lot of fun, and we’ll have a lot of high competitors and great competition in there.”

On the diamond, Noland is still working his way into baseball shape. Because he was playing football, he didn’t get to go through fall practices and he estimates he’s around 80 percent in terms of where he’d like to be as a pitcher.

Despite having a shorter time to prepare for the season and not being 100 percent in baseball mode yet, Noland was still named the Saturday starter by head coach Dave Van Horn before the season.

However, he said he’s still trying to assert himself as the No. 2 starter in the rotation. After a really good first start against Eastern Illinois, Noland has allowed five earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out only three batters in seven innings across his last two outings.

“I just have to get a better feel,” Noland said. “I’m getting used to being out there on the mound and pitching in that environment, but I think I’m getting there.”

Juggling the two sports, it’s quite possible that Noland is the busiest student-athlete on Arkansas’ campus right now. A reporter asked him Thursday night when he has time to study and he joked, “That’s a good question.”

In addition to playing and practicing for both sports, there are also football meetings he has to attend. Most of those are in the middle of the day when he’s at baseball, so he has to watch him on his own whenever he gets time.

If he’s stressed or struggling with time management, Noland sure didn’t show it when talking with the media. He credited it mostly to his experience in high school, as he’s been doing this since his freshman year - granted at a smaller scale, as the 6A-West is not quite the same as the SEC West.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Noland said. “It’s been a new challenge and I’m having a (good) time doing it. Right now it’s been enjoyable and I’m progressing through it.”

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