Arkansas Names KJ Jackson Starting QB, Ending Battle With Memphis Transfer AJ Hill

Arkansas ended its quarterback competition Sunday, officially naming junior KJ Jackson the starter for the 2026 season. Head coach Ryan Silverfield delivered the verdict after a training camp in which Jackson and Memphis transfer AJ Hill pushed each other throughout the spring and fall.

Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey called both quarterbacks into his office Sunday afternoon to inform them of the decision before it went public. Silverfield had been adamant as recently as last week that neither player had separated from the other, but Jackson apparently generated enough daylight over the final stretch of camp to prompt the announcement.

I'm excited about him and his role as QB1 with the future of our program. It wasn't because of a lack of talent by the others. It was a great mix of guys competing for that starting role. We're very, very confident moving forward with him as our starter and leader.

— Head coach Ryan Silverfield

Decision-Making the Deciding Factor

Throughout the offseason, Silverfield identified ball security and decision-making as the primary criteria for the competition — a direct response to an Arkansas turnover margin of minus-11 last season that ranked 125th out of 136 FBS programs and contributed to several close losses. Jackson was the more disciplined of the two quarterbacks in those categories. Silverfield said the race ultimately came down to situational football: two-minute offense, four-minute offense, and check plays. Hill's arm talent produced splash plays in camp, including an 88-yard touchdown to Courtney Crutchfield and a 96-yard completion to Chris Marshall, but the sophomore also threw more interceptions and committed additional turnover errors, including a red-zone fumble.

Jackson, a Montgomery, Alabama, native entering his third season with the program, showed promise in limited action last year, throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Texas and completing 65 percent of his passes for 126 yards and a score against Missouri. He had also outperformed Hill in the spring game, making him the presumed frontrunner in the eyes of most observers even before Sunday's announcement.

I think we truly made each other better all camp. Every single day, we came to work with a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. I just told [Hill], 'We're going to need you.' We're going to need both of us to be a successful football team.

— KJ Jackson

Arkansas is scheduled to open the season before traveling to Utah in Week 2 for a primetime kickoff — a matchup the Razorbacks simulated Saturday night by staging their scrimmage at 9:15 p.m. with amplified crowd noise from the stadium's newly installed sound system.