FAYETTEVILLE — While he eventually collected himself and played a solid second half after two first-half turnovers, there was nothing in particular about KJ Jackson’s performance against North Alabama on Saturday that should have Morgan Scalley and No. 21 Utah shaking in their boots.
Jackson’s stat line — 24-35 passing for 267 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception with a lost fumble — doesn’t look horrible, nor does his passer rating of 155.2. But the eye test painted a bleaker picture of Jackson, who didn’t push the ball downfield much and looked afraid to make a mistake at times in the first half.
The redshirt sophomore will have to grow up quickly before Arkansas’ road trip to Salt Lake City, which will be the first road start of Jackson’s career. He played most of the second half against Texas in Austin last November after Taylen Green left the game.
Like Green, Jackson is an athletic, mobile quarterback, but he’s also quite stout at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. Utah head coach Morgan Scalley likened Jackson’s size to that of Caleb Williams, who played Utah thrice during his time at USC and is now the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears…