3. This team has to find a quarterback.
Arkansas is thin at the quarterback position. The two starters of the 2018 season, Cole Kelley and Ty Storey, are headed out of the program. Storey hasn’t made an official decision yet in terms of where he will land. Kelley, on the other hand, is heading to Southeastern Louisiana, an FCS program in which he will be able to play right away.
Happily enough, the Razorbacks were able to land Ben Hicks out of SMU, allowing a certain reunion between Chad Morris and his former quarterback. However, will he be able to carry this team or will they need to rely on John Stephen Jones, grandson of Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, or will it be the third option in which they find another transfer quarterback during this offseason?
Under Morris, Hicks found success in that several passing records at SMU including passing yards, attempts, completions and touchdowns. In 2016, he threw for 2,930 yards and 19 touchdowns. The next year, as a junior under Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, Hicks threw for 3,569 yards and 33 touchdowns.
The hope now is that he can turn that kind of production into SEC wins and hopefully an overall winning record because this team needs a good, reliable quarterback and fast.