FAYETTEVILLE — One of the most famous acts in the history of music was the Jackson Five. I grew up on it in the early 1970s. I can still sing some of the songs, including "ABC."
Sadly, the Arkansas football team is one short of its own Jackson five. The Razorbacks have four with a chance to contribute, although some of them are still trying to master more than just the ABCs of the playbook.
Bijhon, Colton, Kendrick and Koilan are the Jacksons with the Hogs. Three manned starting spots in Saturday's scrimmage and the fourth made one of the highlight plays for the offense.
I've already penned an entire column on the virtues of Colton Jackson at offensive left tackle. Colton had a solid day. I watched him on every play. I studied the other three Jacksons, too.
I gained knowledge about all four in Saturday's scrimmage and the media day opportunities afterward in the Smith Football Center. Arkansas coach Bret Bielema touched on a vast array of subjects. The only thing I didn't hear about was Bijhon's progress at nose tackle.
That's the other thing that I studied hard in the scrimmage, besides watching Colton's stuff on the left side of the blocking. That was a pleasant surprise, a much improved pass set and decent push in the running game, too. One of the highlights on the day was a screen pass where Jackson pulled and wiped out a corner.
“That's one of my most fun plays,” Colton said. “Tackle screens, when I'm out front. You get big on little on some of those. You just want to see how far you can take them.”
As pleasant as that was to watch, I'm not sure I came away with the same feel for Bijhon's play at nose tackle. That's the spot that the defense is built around. I'm not sure Jackson is ready to dominate and require double-team blocks. He had trouble getting away from backup center Zach Rogers in the scrimmage.
I'd asked some trusted eyes about Jackson earlier in the day. Former Oklahoma State coach Pat Jones had studied the defensive line earlier in the week in a fully padded practice.
“I stayed with those guys for the entire day, the (defensive front),” said Jones, an Arkansas alum and former assistant coach under Frank Broyles. “I just wanted to see where they were and I like a lot of them.”
Apparently, Jackson wasn't one of them. Listed at 339 pounds, Jackson seems to have punch for a short series of plays, but wears down too fast.
“I know this is fall camp and they can get heavy legged,” Jones said. “But he just seems heavy to me.”
That was what I saw in the scrimmage. Jackson's ability to run just didn't show up in the scrimmage. He's rotating on the first team with Austin Capps and Dylan Hays. Both seemed to move a little better than Jackson on Saturday.
The other Jacksons passed the eye test. Kendrick Jackson is the first-team fullback and caught a short pass. He's poised for a breakout season. His blocking is superb. He's locked down that spot ahead of Hayden Johnson.
The only thing that Bielema said negative about Kendrick was his verbal skills.
“He won't say boo,” Bielema said. “If you can get something out of Kendrick, I want to know it. I don't get anything.”
I love to watch him block. He's a heat-seeking missile as he hunts the middle linebacker. The Hogs will have the ability to play two-back sets this season. Jackson's a solid asset on this offense as offensive coordinator Dan Enos looks to get a bigger punch in the short-yardage running game.
Then, there's Koilan Jackson, the true freshman wide receiver. He beat top cover man Ryan Pulley in one-on-one coverage for a touchdown on a go route, making a one-handed catch from quarterback Carson Proctor, the tall red-haired walk-on from Vero Beach, Fla.
It was a big-time catch against a big-time player. I texted Koilan's dad, Keith, as soon as it happened, noting that it was an NFL-like play.
Bielema didn't call it that, but was ready with praise along with a little jab asking for more like it and just a fewer mistakes.
"Pulley is a good player, but Koilan humbled him,” Bielema said. “That just shows you that you better be on your game every day."
That last part was about Pulley, but Bielema added, "Koilan is an 80-20 guy right now. He is really good sometimes, but still has lapses. I will say that he was totally under-recruited."
Koilan said he understood the 80-20 comment. He kind of slumped a little when I mentioned it.
"I didn't know he said that, but I get it totally," Jackson said. "I know what 80-20 means. I've got to keep learning, keep getting better. I know that."
Koilan Jackson is a good bet to make the travel squad as a true freshman. With top wideout candidates Jared Cornelius and T.J. Hammonds rehabbing injuries, Koilan is getting plenty of reps. I doubt he redshirts.
To play as a true freshman was always the goal for Koilan. He told me last winter that he “sure didn't want to be the first Jackson to redshirt. My dad didn't redshirt at Oklahoma. Keith Jr. didn't redshirt at Arkansas and Kenyon played last year as a true freshman at Illinois.”
It's clear that both Koilan and Kendrick learn quickly. Both are former quarterbacks. Kendrick was recruited as a linebacker, but got on the field quickly with a void at fullback. He's proven to be too valuable there to move back to linebacker.
Koilan said he's still got some quarterback in him. He moved to wide receiver last season.
“I throw with our quarterbacks some,” he said. “I'm just doing that for fun. But if they need me to run a few plays from the Wildcat (at quarterback), I think I could still do that.”
Right now, Koilan should stick to wide receiver. He's still got to get the entire playbook perfect. He may be good with A, B and C, but he has not mastered the entire alphabet.