Razorbacks shaping up to have loaded QB room in 2023
Following a season where Arkansas struggled mightily in games that starting quarterback KJ Jefferson was unable to play in, head coach Sam Pittman and his staff addressed that problem quickly.
Two of Arkansas' six losses came when Jefferson was unable to play due to injury. In those two losses — which came against Mississippi State and LSU — the backup quarterback that started the game didn't finish it.
The Razorbacks had a completely different offense without Jefferson on the field. Backups Malik Hornsby — who has since entered the transfer portal — and Cade Fortin were unable to get the job done in those two games, one of which (a 13-10 loss to LSU) was very winnable if they offense could've found consistency.
Fortin started the 40-17 loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 8, but Hornsby finished it after Fortin struggled early. The opposite happened on Nov. 12 against the Tigers, as Hornsby started the game, but Fortin replaced him.
Jefferson will be back for another year as the leader of Arkansas' offense, but the team needed to address the issue of the guys behind him.
So, Pittman and crew held onto four-star quarterback prospect Malachi Singleton, who committed to the Hogs on April 25 and signed on Wednesday, and they went and got North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell out of the portal.
Coming out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, Singleton is rated the No. 31 player in Georgia and the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback nationally by Rivals. As a junior, he completed 166 of 221 passes (75.1%) for 2,316 yards, 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions, while adding 1,018 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground.
"I just liked him because of his competitiveness and his toughness," Pittman said Wednesday. "He got hurt, he got a foot injury in high school this past season, but you go over and some of the teams he's playing, against Buford and all that, they're rocking him. They're knocking the heck out of him. He's getting up and doing the same to them. I thought with what we're doing with Kendal Briles' offense, I thought he was going to be perfect for what we did. He'll be a good player here for us."
As a senior, Singleton completed 22 of 43 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 197 yards and one score before his season was cut short due to an injury.
Criswell, a native of Morrilton, chose North Carolina the first time around in his recruitment, but this time he chose his home state Hogs. He committed on Dec. 10 and signed Wednesday.
"North Carolina had done a good job, and I couldn't out-recruit them in a day or a week," Pittman said. "But we got him this time, so we're really glad about that."
Playing for Arkansas was a dream of Criswell's after watching his brother Dre Greenlaw play for the Hogs, he told HawgBeat.
"When he got in the portal, he immediately contacted us and we were ecstatic about him," Pittman said. "Obviously we knew we needed to upgrade there at quarterback. He wants to play, obviously, he knows he's going to have to compete here and things of that nature, but we needed him. Just really happy that he decided to come back."
A former four-star prospect, Criswell spent three seasons with the Tar Heels, seeing action in 13 games and starting one during his sophomore season. He was 17 of 30 passing with 199 yards and one touchdown, while adding 114 rushing yards and one score on the ground during his time in Chapel Hill.
Jefferson will be back for another season in Fayetteville in 2023, and he will have a much more complete room of play callers to work with. It's safe to say the future is bright for the Arkansas quarterback room.