Razorback senior quarterback KJ Jefferson (#1) from Sardis, MS throws an out pass during their 2023 Spring Camp in the Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville, AR.

By Otis Kirk

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas opened spring drills on Thursday inside the Walker Pavilion after it rained much of the day.

Sam Pittman met with the media afterward and talked about what he liked particularly with so many new assistant coaches and players.

"I thought it was a good practice to open up," Pittman said. "We had a lot of new faces, offense and defense. We had a lot of old faces as well, coaches as well. We walked through the practice after our staff meeting today. I thought it was very well organized. I thought the kids transitioned well. 

"We started the practice a little bit slow in our fastball starts. But we picked it up after that. I thought we made a lot of plays out there and had a good, solid two-hour practice."

Pittman admitted he's never had this many new players during spring drills in his career.

"We had 19 of the super seniors come back two years ago I guess," Pittman said. "But new players, I think it ended up being 22-23 new guys. It was our first day for some of our kids who earned the right to walk on from the walk-on tryouts as well. 

"I thought it went really smooth and it was kind of exciting to go around and see, kind of like Christmas, to go around and seeing what kind of present you had out there on the football field. We had an idea about the guys we had in the off-season program but it was nice to see them go out there — the new guys, and I mean guys that haven’t played a whole lot that were here last year as well. It was nice to see them out there play football."

Among the new players is two interesting quarterbacks. Former Morrilton great and North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell and true freshman Malachi Singleton had their first Arkansas practice.

"Jacolby’s got a really strong arm," Pittman said. "Very accurate. To be honest with you, Trey, I think he plays better under the lights. I think he plays better in a team setting than maybe even what he would do in just throwing routes on air. I think he’s a gamer. Malachi had some really nice balls today. I think he’s really worked his tail off trying to learn the offense, and had some nice throws. He’s tough. He’s competitive. I like his arm strength. 

"There’s a lot to like about both those guys. Criswell obviously is a little older. He’s been in college and all those things. Should have a little more grasp of what we’re trying to do just because he’s been in a system in college. But I like both those guys. I think they’re going to be really good players here."

Several key players were on the sidelines with injuries. Among them were cornerback Quincey McAdoo, safety Alfahiym Walcott, cornerback LaDarrius Bishop, offensive lineman Luke Brown, quarterback Kade Renfro and running back Dominique Johnson. 

"Quincy, I really believe Quincy will be back probably, well, I believe he’ll be back after spring break," Pittman said. "I think he’ll probably miss the first five practices. Al, he probably will not be back by this spring. I think he’ll be ready to go probably mid-June, early-July and be ready for fall camp. But we’ve got a few of those guys. Luke Brown was also in that same category. But I think the rest of them will be back at some point here. Like DayDay, I expect him to be back by — not back, he’s been hurt — be ready to go after spring break. Everybody we’ll have after spring break besides Dominique, Al and Luke Brown."

Arkansas will hold its second practice on Friday.

Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Action Sports

• Razorback junior quarterback Jacolby Criswell (#6) from Morrilton, AR throws a crossing pass during their 2023 Spring Camp in the Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville, AR.

• Razorback head football coach Sam Pittman communicates with the offense during their 2023 Spring Camp in the Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville, AR.