So many questions, but don’t expect many answers when the latest version of spring football is finished for the University of Arkansas.
It has become fashionable to wonder who the starting quarterback will be, and it will be the No. 1 subject between now and that hot Saturday on the last day of August when the Razorbacks welcome their guaranteed win, Portland State, to Fayetteville.
There are four quarterbacks currently taking part in this spring fling, and Connor Noland — for some unfathomable reason — may take some breaks from baseball to take a few snaps as a fifth quarterback.
Plus Nick Starkel has announced he’s transferring in from Texas A&M, and incoming freshman KJ Jefferson — the dual-threat quarterback from North Panola, Miss. — won’t be on campus until this summer.
By August, there could be seven players vying for one job. If one guy doesn’t stand out, then it could be another long season for the Razorbacks.
It seems Ben Hicks, who transferred in from SMU, will have an advantage since he played for Chad Morris at SMU, but the speed of the game is entirely different in the SEC than the American Athletic Conference. Ty Storey and Cole Kelley, who combined to pass for 16 touchdowns last season, have moved on to different pastures.
Rakeem Boyd, who established himself as a legitimate SEC running back once he got in to shape, is out for the spring after shoulder surgery. He is expected to be ready to roll in August, and he’s expected to be in shape this time.
Of course, the real questions should be about the offensive and defensive line.
No quarterback can throw when he’s flat on his back, and last year’s offensive line allowed 32 sacks — it seemed like more. Time will tell whether it was good news or bad news that three offensive linemen ran out of eligibility.
The defensive line last year didn’t play inspired, and a lot of defensive responsibility fell on the linebackers. This is the money year for De’Jon Harris. He’s got talent and skill, but if he wants to play for pay the year after he needs to produce big numbers on the field. Hayden Henry is missing the spring because of shoulder surgery, too. At times last season, Bumper Pool didn’t play like a freshman.
The secondary has questions, too.
Special-teams play has nowhere to go but up. Practices are closed except for the first 20 minutes, even to former Razorback captains, so a lot isn’t going to be known for a while.
It seems Morris, who is 16-32 as a head coach, would realize it might help sell a few tickets if the Razorbacks Nation knew a little more about the team. It would seem especially critical for him to create some interest after a 2-10 debut.
One thing does seem obvious: Some players decided to transfer on their own, but not all of them.
Morris inherited some guys who weren’t used to a lot of discipline and didn’t want to change. Some were encouraged to walk off, and that should help the overall energy and attitude of the team.
Morris has said he’s impressed with the job that strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll has done. That’s good news, because last year the fourth quarter seemed like a huge wall the Hogs kept hitting.
Morris has said almost since his first practice a year ago that he had to recruit more speed, but everyone in the state knew that. Speed rules football, especially in the SEC.
But the No. 1 concern remains at quarterback, and not many answers are likely to emerge in the spring.