FAYETTEVILLE — Should it be Cole Kelley or Ty Storey at quarterback? That's probably the most asked question after Arkansas throttled Eastern Illinois 55-20 in the season opener Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
It's worth pondering. Kelley was the starter and the finisher, the quick summary offered by new coach Chad Morris afterward.
However, Storey was the hero in between. The junior from Charleston threw for three touchdowns and added another touchdown on a quarterback keeper. He helped the Hogs land a 28-6 haymaker in the second quarter to turn it into a laugher.
But that's not the biggest news in the lid lifter of the Morris era. The ability to force fumbles (and recover them) has returned after a six-year drift into a defensive abyss.
Most everyone bemoaned the boring smash-mouth style before Morris arrived. Bret Bielema promise to pound the SEC West into submission never happened.
But that's not the reason his five-year run ended last season. It was the lack of the defense to produce stops and his defenses hardly ever produced a turnover.
Think about this stat: the Arkansas defense averaged 8.5 fumble recoveries in the last six seasons.
The Hogs pounced on five loose balls in the first game under new defensive coordinator John Chavis. The “Chief” had asked for three in his stated goals to his unit earlier in the week. There were three in the first quarter alone.
Middle linebacker De'Jon “Scoota” Harris knows what's coming now.
“We are going to shoot for six next week,” Harris said.
Chavis came to town promising blitzes. There were some in the opener. There was some press coverage, the key to playing man-to-man on the perimeter to allow for some blitzes.
But it wasn't so much the blitzes or quarterback pressures that produced the fumbles. It was getting an extra man to the ball and sure tackling.
I asked Morris if he thought it was heavy hits that produced the turnovers. No, he said, “What I saw from the sideline was relentless pursuit. We had a lot of white jerseys to the ball, especially early. One guy stands you up, the next guy knocks it loose.”
That's how it happened, too.
It was the next guy at quarterback, too. Storey was superb, converting five of eight on third down and generally getting the Hogs into their uptempo pace that Kelley didn't seem to have in the opener.
“We were extremely slow starting,” Morris said. “We couldn't get into a rhythm and our pace of play was slow.”
When the Hogs were clicking in the second quarter, Storey often got the snap with almost 30 seconds still on the play clock. That's the Morris style.
Part of it had to do with the Panthers. They befuddled the Hogs' green offensive line with extra defenders crashing into the box, often bringing a safety or two to smash the running game.
“We hadn't seen them do some of that,” Storey said.
Morris said the word went up to the press box late in the first quarter that “we aren't going to keep beating our heads into it. We are going to take some shots.”
Kelley wasn't awful. He completed 9 of 12 for 92 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown catch and run to tight end Austin Cantrell with 3:48 left.
And, his best throw of the day was wiped away by a holding penalty. He hit Jonathan Nance sitting in a deep zone on a beautiful strike to erase a converted third-and-11.
The Hogs led 3-0 at that point and it jumped to 10-0 when Briston Guidry recovered for a touchdown on a sack and strip by Armon Watts.
Morris said the Hogs had the game scripted for Storey to take over on the fourth series for a few drives. He was so good that he took the Hogs into the fourth quarter.
The spark was a 46-yard strike to Jordan Jones on a post route. It was the start of an 11-play, 80-yard march to make it 17-0.
There was little doubt the rest of the way, but there are trouble spots to ponder. Chevin Calloway, a first-time starter at corner, gave up two touchdown passes. The offensive line with three at new positions did little to clear a path for the running game.
“We hang out hat on running the ball,” Morris said. “We have run it well in the spring and in camp.”
The problem is that there has been too much change in the offensive line. Two projected starters at the end of spring were in street clothes.
Colton Jackson, the returning starter at left tackle, is out after summer back surgery. He could return in two or three games.
Dylan Hays was expected to be the center. He has practiced some in camp, but Hjalte Froholdt has taken that spot after starting at left guard the last two seasons.
Shane Clenin is at left tackle and Kirby Adcock at left guard. Both are redshirt freshmen. Dalton Wagner, another highly regarded redshirt freshman, is working his way back into playing shape after an appendectomy in early August.
There were plenty of good notes, even with the running game. There were no fumbles. The only time the ball was on the turf were a couple of snaps that bounced back to Storey. He handled them both and made positive plays.
The Hogs were flagged for just four penalties, none of them pre-snap mistakes on offense. The worst penalty ruined a defensive stop when there were two players wearing No. 1 on the field at the same time.
Jared Cornelius, the punt returner, enters and Calloway, a corner, is supposed to exit. Calloway stayed on the field.
“We should have caught it and called timeout,” Morris said.
Morris did use his timeouts right the rest of the day. He got the Hogs an extra possession – maybe two – late in the half. Storey hit LaMichael Pettway for a 48-yard bomb, then Jordan Jones for 57.
Everything looked slick and well rehearsed for the most part. There was a sharp rotation up front on defense where the linemen were kept fresh.
There is worry about two of the defensive stars, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and end Randy Ramsey. Greenlaw made 10 tackles before leaving with an ankle injury with 19 seconds left in the first quarter. Ramsey was in street clothes after battling a hamstring injury for most of August.
Greenlaw still led the team in tackles. Harris was next with nine. They each caused a fumble. Michael Taylor, D'Vone McClure, Watts and Calloway also forced one fumble.
True freshman Bumper Pool stepped in for Greenlaw and hardly missed a beat. He made six tackles and returned a fumble 60 yards to set up a Storey's 2-yard touchdown run.
That brings us to my favorite question to Storey afterward. Was his favorite TD of the day one of his throws, or that nifty run?
“I don't know if it was too nifty,” he said. “It wasn't very long. I was pretty exhausted and it was only about 4 yards. That first TD, the pass to Pettway was probably the best.”
It's easy to understand. It had been since high school since there had been any magic from Storey. It all came after finding out on Sunday that he'd lost a fair battle to Kelley for the starting job. Both were given lots of turns with the ones in the spring and in August.
“I was disappointed, I'm not going to lie,” he said. “It was rough, but everyone goes through stuff.”
Arkansas fans have gone through a lot of stuff without seeing much defense. Maybe that's about to change and it might be the best news out of the opener.