Chad Morris was hired by Arkansas for several reasons but one of the main focuses of his hire was to transform the offense in Fayetteville to an explosive attack. The first year of his regime left much to be desired in that category but now that he has more of his selected players to work with and a second year to work with the players he inherited from Bret Bielema, the Arkansas coach is raising the expectations for his offensive unit.

Starting with the most important position in Morris’ offensive system, Cole Kelley has already left Arkansas and Ty Storey has one foot out the door in Fayetteville. Those moves leave John Stephen Jones, Connor Noland and Daulton Hyatt as the holdovers at quarterback with SMU graduate transfer Ben Hicks and 2019 signee KJ Jefferson, who will arrive during the summer, as the two new faces in the Arkansas QB room.

With spring football beginning this week in Fayetteville, one of the main goals for the Arkansas coaching staff this spring will be to find the team’s best option under center. That’s something they never could settle on in Year 1, as the coaches trotted out three different starters last season and often didn’t appear to have faith in any of the team’s signal callers on the field.

Fortunately for the staff, they at least know what they have in Hicks as the former SMU quarterback can help the other QB’s on the roster understand what is expected of them under Morris and his offensive coaches. During his Monday introductory spring press conference, Morris offered up these comments on this quarterbacks.

“Having Ben Hicks here is going to help us, as also having John Stephen Jones and Connor Noland and Daulton (Hyatt). Those guys in their second year, you would expect in your second year, expect things to be better. I’m excited about that,” Morris said. “I think that what we’ve seen already, from the time we got here in January to where we are right now has been far in advance of where we’ve been. I say that in regards to these guys, the extra work they put in on their own.”

While the quarterback position is instrumental in this offense, the position this coaching staff is best known for developing is the receiver position. Based on last season’s results, it’s fair to say the Razorbacks didn’t have the personnel to match their system but thanks to the early enrolling of two four-star signees, Arkansas is adding a duo of players that this staff knows it can work with, in addition to the receivers that are returning from last season.

“We brought in Shamar (Nash) and Trey Knox, those guys have brought a lot of energy and they have brought a lot of competition to our wide receiver room,” Morris said. “From what I’ve seen is this, De’Vion Warren, Deon Stewart, Mike Woods, Jordan Jones, Koilan Jackson, I’ve seen those guys have to elevate their game even more. There’s a sense of urgency so to speak in that wide receiver room, which is good to see.

“All of them rose their game and that’s what you want, that’s why you go out and recruit. You’ve seen the recruits that we’ve brought into this building and continue to bring in this building. It ain’t going to stop, we are going to continue to recruit at a high level and it’s not to threaten anybody, it’s to know that this is what it’s going to take to get this program right.”

This spring could be the first time Arkansas fans catch a glimpse of what this coaching staff is attempting to build on offense in Fayetteville. The biggest unknown for the team will be at quarterback but the progression of the team’s young receivers could go a long way in making the QBs on the roster look the part. During his SMU tenure, Morris’ offense began to gain steam in Year 2 and it’s clear he’s expecting much the same this spring at Arkansas.