FAYETTEVILLE -- Chad Morris was asked Saturday whether it was conceivable he could play two quarterbacks in the season opener for the Arkansas Razorbacks against Eastern Illinois.
Morris thought for a second and responded in the affirmative: "Yes, I could see that."
The question and answer go beyond the obvious notion the Razorbacks should be in position to comfortably use two quarterbacks against Eastern Illinois, an FCS school that will be at a significant talent disadvantage against the University of Arkansas on Sept. 1.
The Razorbacks have a true quarterback battle for the first time since 2006, when Robert Johnson, Mitch Mustain and Casey Dick all got starts as the signal caller.
And it might take game action in the new Morris system coordinated by Joe Craddock to sort out the leader.
Junior Ty Storey and sophomore Cole Kelley have the edge in experience over the freshman trio of Daulton Hyatt, John Stephen Jones and Connor Noland. But Morris has said the door is open for whoever can win the reins.
Craddock said he's not opposed to the competition extending beyond the opener.
"If nobody emerges at fall camp, that's definitely an option," Craddock said. "But I'm going to be pressing on those guys pretty hard to get somebody to emerge. But if we can't, then we'll play a couple of them that first game and see how they do in live situations."
Kelley has the most game experience, having gone 2-2 as a starter last year.
The 6-7 quarterback from Lafayette, La., lost 20 pounds during the summer and says he feels good at 255 pounds to start camp. Kelley said thinking about the big picture in camp can be detrimental.
"I did that last year, really," Kelley said. "I thought about it, and I just stressed myself out so much. It was like if I didn't win the battle, then I'm done with football and all this stuff.
"I just stressed myself out because that's all I wanted. That's what I'm here for. I'm not even thinking about it really. It's whatever I can do to help our team be better. If I have to sit on the bench and wave towels for our team to not go 4-8, then that's what I'm going to do."
Story said focusing on daily improvement is more productive than worrying about winning the job.
"The result is going to take care of itself," he said. "Don't worry as much about the results because that's when those bad plays start adding up. You've got to take the hits as they come and keep trying to get better."
The 6-2, 210-pounder from Charleston lost 10 pounds over the summer to help with his mobility.
While it appears Storey has taken more snaps with the starters through two days of camp, he's careful how he responds to questions about working with the ones.
"It's just going back and forth," Storey said. "They do a really good job of getting a lot of people reps. I think that's awesome early in camp, especially to even see what the young guys have, let everybody roll through."
Storey said he talked to a lot of people heading into the summer about how much leadership to assume.
"I mean, you've got to be yourself," he said. "That's the key. I can't go out there and be someone I'm not. At the end of the day, I think we have a good, tight locker room. I think that's kind of taking care of itself.
"Everybody's friends in there, so it's not like anybody's hoping someone does worse or anything. It's more about being yourself than trying to go out and do something you're not."
Morris said he's in no rush to declare a starter at quarterback.
"What's the timeline? There's really not one," Morris said. "I know everybody wants to know when we're going to make it. I know we're going to get through the scrimmages. We're going to see them move as a team down the field and see who gets them in the end zone.
"These guys have got to feel the pressure. We want the same guy every day. We don't want a guy that's up here one day and down here the next. Up 10 or down 10, I want to see the same guy that's going to keep everything under control and will his team to win. That's our challenge to these guys."
Morris has inserted an element of intrigue into the battle by accentuating the athleticism of the redshirt freshman Hyatt, a 6-4, 196-pounder, at his Monday news conference, then talking him up again Saturday.
"The young man that really kind of shot out of the box yesterday really well was Daulton Hyatt," Morris said. "He did some really good things. No one is talking about this guy. So, as I shared with him, I said, 'No one is talking about you, man. What are you going to do? Are you just going to sit back and give it up here or what? Or are you gonna go compete?' He's done a really good job the last couple days."
Senior receiver Jared Cornelius called the competition between Storey and Kelley very close.
"They're both consistent guys," he said. "Who has the upper hand right now, we have no idea. Both of them are putting pretty balls in little windows and throwing the ball over the top and making good decisions at quarterback. It's a tough one."
Junior receiver La'Michael Pettway was asked about the leadership qualities of the quarterbacks.
"Cole showed flashes of that last year, stepping in when Austin got hurt," Pettway said. "I mean, he's a baller. And Ty's been putting in work during the summer, all summer. It's starting to show, and both of them are spinning it. I feel like both of them are showing up."
Senior receiver Jonathan Nance said both top quarterbacks have made clear gains.
"We'll see how it goes in fall camp and what the coaches see and how everybody jells within the quarterbacks," Nance said.
Craddock riffed on the qualities he wants to see from the eventual starter.
"Consistency," he said. "Being able to put the ball in the end zone. Leading the other 10 guys around you and scoring points. Knowing the offense.
"Knowing what we're trying to do. Being on the same page with me and Coach Morris. Being able to, again, do you make those 10 guys around you better? That's what we're really looking for. We're looking for a leader ... and showing everybody else what it looks like."
Sports on 08/05/2018