FAYETTEVILLE — In a deep receiver room, Chris Marshall appears to have emerged as Arkansas’ WR1.
The Boise State transfer entered college with high expectations, but has mostly underwhelmed coming out of high school as a 5-star prospect. Since his arrival at Arkansas, he has met them so far.
“Chris has to go out there and play consistent football,” head coach Ryan Silverfield said Monday. “The challenge for Chris, and I’ve said this since the day he stepped on campus, is go out there and be you, play consistent, play under control. Because we know he’s as talented as anybody in the country, and everybody says, well it didn’t work out at his previous stops, but I believe Chris is in a really good spot.
“So ultimately, for him, it’s going out there and maybe he doesn’t have a single catch in the first quarter, but how does he stay in the game? How does he stay in rhythm to do what he needs to do? I have great faith in him that he’s going to be it. He’s the guy… he’s going to be dialed in the whole time, he plays with great passion, great energy. But we also hope he can make the plays that we’ve seen him make all offseason. Like I said all along, it’s one thing to watch a guy make a play on a Tuesday, or make a play in 7-on-7 in training camp. But ultimately, can they do it when it’s real life?”
It’s very possible that Arkansas’ offense feasts against North Alabama on Saturday. While the Lions held Samford to only 10 points, the lone touchdown UNA gave up was an 86-yard bomb to Marquise Henderson.
With quarterback KJ Jackson tossing the rock to him, Marshall has the potential to have a huge day in his Arkansas debut. His lone 100-yard receiving game so far at the college level came against an FCS team in Eastern Washington last year (4 catches, 132 yards), and the Razorbacks are hoping he can consistently cross the century mark.
That starts on Saturday, and Silverfield and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey would love nothing more than for Marshall and Jackson to establish a connection in Week 1.
“Chris Marshall did a tremendous job in the two scrimmages,” Cramsey said Tuesday.
A big game in the season opener could indicate a big season to come for Marshall. Last year, O’Mega Blake hauled in seven passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the Razorbacks’ 52-7 win over Alabama A&M before going on to lead Arkansas in receiving with 58 catches for 769 yards and five touchdowns.
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