FAYETTEVILLE – After months of being the most talked about topic in Arkansas, the Razorbacks have finally named a starting quarterback.
Head coach Chad Morris met with all five of his scholarship signal callers on Sunday and announced redshirt-sophomore Cole Kelley as the starter for Arkansas’ season opener against Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
However, Morris also made it clear that the competition hasn’t ended, and he still plans to play redshirt-junior Ty Storey this weekend.
“We just felt like for the decision-making and what we felt like going into this first game that Cole had earned that right to start,” Morris said. “That doesn’t mean that he’s the finisher, but he’s the starter.
“This is by no stretch of the imagination is this saying this is a lifetime contract. I shared that with Cole last night. ‘You don’t have a lifetime contract. Your job is to get the ball in the end zone. We’ve got to get whoever is going to be in that second spot, they have to get prepared and ready for their time if it should arise or continue to go about preparing in case of an injury. This is something I’ve done several times before.”
The race to become “QB1” was a close one, but Kelley’s experience as a redshirt-freshman – which included nine game appearances, four starts and an 8-4 touchdown/interception ratio – helped him get the nod.
Kelley slowly began to separate himself in the race over the last two weeks of fall camp, according to offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
“Cole has got a strong arm. He’s big. He’s not afraid to stand in there,” Craddock said. “One of his strengths when you turned on the tape from last year when he did play, he’s standing in there taking some good, big hits. He’s got a knack for getting other guys to get going and getting his guys in the end zone.”
Kelley has seen his share of off-the-field trouble in Fayetteville, but Morris believes the sophomore is capable of conducting himself appropriately moving forward.
“One thing that I shared with Cole as I have with all of our players is, when you have a new staff come in, it’s their opportunity to start over,” Morris said. “Everything matters. You’re the face of the program, whoever the starter is. You’re the face of the university when you’re put in that quarterback position. It’s a big deal to play football for the University of Arkansas. It’s a bigger deal to be the starter for the University of Arkansas. We let him know the responsibilities that come along with that.”
Just because a starter has been named and a clear second option is in place doesn’t mean fans will only see two quarterbacks this season. A new NCAA rule allows true freshmen to participate in as many as four games before their redshirt season is expired, which means Connor Noland and John Stephen Jones may get a chance to play if an opportunity presents itself. It would seem logical that if those chances do come, it would probably be early in the season against non-conference opponents such as Eastern Illinois, Colorado State and North Texas.
“Now, when and exactly the moment, I don’t know that and probably won’t know that until that moment,” Morris said. “I want them engaged and ready and prepared as if they were the starter.”
The Razorbacks’ season officially begins at 3 p.m. on Saturday when they kick off against the Eastern Illinois Panthers, who went 6-5 a year ago. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.