Seeing Arkansas Natives In Razorback Jerseys “Just Means More”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Former head coach Chad Morris neglected a four-star quarterback prospect in the Natural State in favor of his son, Chandler, who is now the starting quarterback at TCU. Jacolby Criswell was the real deal in high school as a dynamic dual threat QB. As a senior at Morrilton (Ark.) High School, he passed for  2,869 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for 1,282 yards and 24 more scores for the Devil Dogs.

His Recruitment

Criswell was the highest ranked QB prospect in the state with a near 91 overall rating, according to 247sports. He is easily the highest rated player at the position over the past five years and was sadly passed over. He chose North Carolina over Mississippi State, Georgia and Ole Miss.

It wasn’t Sam Pittman’s fault that Criswell showed loyalty to North Carolina and it’s coaching staff. The Head Hog was only coach for nine days leading up to the early signing period.  Criswell chose the program that recruited him the longest and built a long-term relationship with him.

Three years later after being developed by one of the best offensive coordinators in the business in Phil Longo, he transferred back home to play backup role one last time before likely taking over the starting role in 2024.

First Razorback Performance

The 6-foot-1, 230 pound passer displayed his arm strength and speed during limited duty in the fourth quarter against Western Carolina. Criswell completed both passes including one 14-yard TD strike to freshman Davion Dozier.

His importance to the QB room cannot be understated after two seasons of abysmal depth. If Malik Hornsby’s lack of development showed anything is that Arkansas, outside of KJ Jefferson, was doomed if the starting QB went out indefinitely. Now, that will not be the case. Even if his snaps were against second string FCS players it showed Arkansas fans promise for the future.

The Razorback is growing stronger and its best teams are often littered with home grown prospects. Markell Utsey (Little Rock), Landon Jackson (Texarkana) and Ryan Mallett (Texarkana) are just a few homegrown players that came back home to play for the state’s flagship program. Being a Hog is starting to mean something different again.

It’s simply preseason football for Arkansas as they climb the ladder of schedule toughness the first three weeks of the season. They’ll play one of the worst programs in the country when they host MAC member Kent State next Saturday inside Razorback Stadium. The Golden Flashes managed just 242 yards of total offense in week one while surrendering 723 yards, 32 first downs and nearly 400 rushing yards.

If Kent State doesn’t improve much from their week one performance it could spell an early sighting of Criswell again this Saturday.