Criswell was “hard” in accepting Jacolby Criswell and everyone associated with the University of Arkansas football program would not have preferred it, but the Morrilton native’s quarterbacking career finally saw some sustained playing time as a Razorback.
In No. 9 Missouri’s 48-14 victory at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Friday, Criswell, a redshirt junior transfer from North Carolina, replaced injured starter KJ Jefferson and saw action on 59 of 63 offensive snaps for Arkansas. over at QB
With just four snaps played, fifth-year senior Jefferson—making his 37th career start—had to leave the game due to a left knee injury.
After safety Daylan Carnell forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive end Darius Robinson at the Arkansas 47, Jefferson suffered the injury at the end of a 22-yard run.
“KJ overextended his knee,” stated Sam Pittman, the coach of Arkansas. “I don’t believe it will be extremely bad.
In actuality, he was making an attempt to return. We allowed him to go until halftime.
“He wouldn’t be moving at full speed. At that point, I didn’t want to put him back out there. Although he claimed he couldn’t make it, he made an effort to go.”
In the fourth quarter, Criswell led Arkansas on touchdown drives of 75 and 80 yards after Missouri had extended its lead to 41-0.
Criswell completed 12 of 20 passes for 96 yards despite taking multiple hits and surviving four sacks from the Tigers. The first touchdown of Arkansas’s game came from an 8-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Armstrong.
“Jacolby is tough,” stated Pittman. “He played really hard, in my opinion, but he was just pressed for time when it came to throwing the football. Not one. Nor, for that matter, did KJ.
“Up front, we were beaten. Running back gave up the sack to the O-Line. [Criswell] handed over a sack to Jacolby on an empty promise.
“He was never in a hurry to toss the football. Although it would be difficult to evaluate his performance, one could describe him as tough and gritted.”
Criswell had participated in three games this season—against Western Carolina, Auburn, and Florida International—and completed five of seven passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns before Friday. In addition, he had eight rushes for 67 yards.
Pittman remarked, “You saw that he’s a competitor.” “He is physically fit.
“He did a good job of leading the team, in my opinion.
“Undoubtedly, he guided us to a few touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Excellent touchdown pass.
“But it’s really hard to judge him other than his character and his toughness to continue to get up and play.”
Criswell set a career high with 20 passes against Missouri. In 2021, he completed 11 of 19 passes for 125 yards as North Carolina defeated Wofford 34-14.
“We were unsure of Jacolby’s potential,” stated Eli Drinkwitz, the Missouri coach. “I mean, Jacolby is a great player.”
Growing up in Alma, Drinkwitz claimed to have been North Carolina State’s offensive coordinator when he extended the initial scholarship offer to Criswell at Morrilton High School.
Drinkwitz said, “Great kid, great young man.” “He has a promising future as a quarterback. Tonight was just a difficult evening. We spent the most of the evening together at the quarterback after we were able to trick their defenses into being empty.”
After replacing Jefferson in the huddle, Arkansas guard Josh Braun said Criswell displayed good maturity and poise as well as effective sideline communication.
“He came in in an unfortunate situation and he handled himself very well and did as best he could to lead us,” Braun stated. “At the sidelines, he kept us inspired.
“He would come over after every drive, and we would discuss almost every play together. What we observed as opposed to what he saw, and how we could improve for the next drive.”
Hudson Clark, an Arkansas defensive back, expressed his admiration for Criswell.
“I thought he played great in the fourth quarter,” Clark stated. “He was an adult. He emerged and took a step.
“He’s old enough and he knows what he’s doing.”
Criswell finished with minus-23 rushing yards despite having an 8-yard run due to the Tigers’ sacks against him, which resulted in 45 yards of losses.
Pittman stated on Arkansas’ postgame radio show, “I thought he ran the offense as good as you could ask for a guy who hasn’t played a lot.” “Obviously when he dropped back to pass, he didn’t have time to throw it.”
