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.

"I mean, he's a bigger guy," Scalley said Monday of Jackson. "Much like Caleb Williams, when you're facing those bigger quarterbacks you can drip off, you're really coming with a lot of speed. You really gotta be able to break down and tackle thick. It's not like you can trip them up that easy.

"[Jackson] can throw the ball. He's shown the ability to do both with his starts he had last season. They don't do a lot of dedicated [QB] run game with him, but they have it in their arsenal. We've seen that from what Coach Silverfield did at Memphis. We've got to be able to prepare for both."

Notably, in Williams' three matchups against Utah and a Scalley-led defense, USC went 0-3. Williams had 438 total yards and five passing touchdowns in a 43-42 loss to Utah in the 2022 regular season before facing Utah again in the Pac-12 championship game, which Utah won 47-24 despite Williams throwing for 363 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2023, Williams and the Trojans nearly had revenge, as Williams ran for a score and had 283 total yards, but a late field goal lifted the Utes to a 34-32 victory.

Jackson, obviously, is light years away from the level of Williams, who won a Heisman Trophy and has turned into one of the best young quarterbacks in football. But his similarities in body style and mobility will force defenses, including Utah's, to account for his ability to contribute in the run game.

Whether or not Jackson is involved in the run game by design will be a big question. Arkansas' offensive line, especially tackles Kavion Broussard and Bryant Williams, struggled to keep North Alabama defenders out of Jackson's grille on Saturday.

Against a bigger, more talented Utah front and a group led by a defensive mastermind in Scalley, the Razorbacks must find a way to keep Jackson's white jersey clean.

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