FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football turned on some artificial crowd noise during an 11-on-11 period in practice on Friday, Aug. 14. The noisy static wasn't enough of a distraction for the coaching staff, so Ryan Silverfield attached a speaker to a backpack and gave it to strength and conditioning coach Noah Franklin. He was instructed to stand as close as possible to the quarterbacks. "I think those were rolling at about 97 or 98 decibels or whatever the term is," Arkansas quarterbacks coach Mitch Stewart said. "It was loud as hell, I can tell you that."
The Razorbacks wanted as much chaos as possible as KJ Jackson and AJ Hills called out plays in their huddles and at the lines of scrimmage. It's all by design as the Hogs want to determine who between Jackson and Hill is best suited for the bright lights of being an SEC quarterback. "You got to be loud," Hill said. "I mean, really, it's all about communication." Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey admitted earlier in fall camp that he and Silverfield would shout into the quarterbacks' headsets during drills to try and cause confusion. Stewart shared some more tactics the coaching staff is using to test Jackson and Hill. With the crowd noise going, Cramsey will pick long, complicated play calls that require dialogue with the offensive line and wide receivers. During blitz drills, Arkansas coaches will mix in some calls that leave the quarterback unprotected. In run periods, they may signal for plays that are going to be a problem against the defensive scheme. Coaches are pulling out all the stops to try and implement some adversity to the ongoing quarterback competition during the Razorbacks' fall camp. Friday's simulated crowd noise was the latest, and it won't be the last. "Just constantly callousing their minds and kind of building that mental fortitude if you will, to when you start the game planning process, things should seem a lot simpler, because you’ve worked it Monday through Friday," Stewart said. The players appreciate the challenge. "We're going to be in hostile environments," Jackson said. "I think the whole idea is just to be calm in those situations. You know, be clear, concise, communicate well, but also be calm and confident." Fortunately for the Razorbacks, there's belief that either quarterback is ready to be the starter in 2026. Silverfield said at SEC Media Days that he was confident in both Hill and Jackson. That sentiment has been echoed from the players and coaches. Stewart dove into why Arkansas has that conviction on Friday. "KJ and AJ are doing everything they can to win the job. As long as they continue to do that, we're going to get better as a football team, and they're going to get better," Stewart said. "What you don't want, and what would be scary as hell for us is if you had guys who are out there just playing not to lose the job. Or you have one of those guys who's falling away because he is losing the job, and we don't have that right now." Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: How Arkansas football coaches are running a challenging QB competition