From Top To Bottom: DJ Williams' Utah Film Review Says Everyone Has To Elevate
Arkansas came out of Salt Lake City with its first loss of the 2026 season and a film reel that, by DJ Williams' reading, is less about Utah being better and more about the Razorbacks handing away the things they control.
Williams broke down the Sept. 12 trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium, the first football meeting between the two programs, in a full tape review this week. His conclusion did not land on one unit.
It landed on all of them.
Offensive line technique. Play calling that walked away from what was working. Defensive leaders who did not play like it. Three separate stories, one theme: every level of this roster has to raise the floor before defending SEC champion Georgia arrives Saturday for the conference opener.
The Middle Of The Field Was Open All Night
Williams said Utah lined up almost exclusively in single-high, press man coverage and dared Arkansas to win one on one. On the opening drive, the Hogs took the dare and attacked the middle of the field with slants and in-breaking routes.
It worked. Then, in his view, it disappeared.
"Why we got away from attacking the middle of the field blows my mind," Williams said. "We had success."
He pointed to a third and six in the first quarter where quarterback KJ Jackson worked his eyes across the formation, moved a defender and hit the middle of the field for a conversion. Williams called it the best sequence of the night for a quarterback who, in his words, gave up on progressions too early in the opener.
Instead, Williams said, Arkansas spent first downs on low-percentage shots down the sideline against man coverage it was not beating, then tried to grind out second and long against a loaded box.
"Take what the defense gives you," he said. "If there's so many people in the box, then don't run it. Force them to adjust by taking people out."
Jackson finished 14 of 34 with an interception and led Arkansas in rushing with 34 yards on seven carries. A week earlier against North Alabama he was 24 of 35 for 267 yards and three touchdowns.
Watch: the full 4th & Five breakdown.
A Left-Handed Quarterback Keeps Rolling Right
One design detail stuck with Williams through the whole review. Arkansas repeatedly moved Jackson, who is left-handed, to his right, asking him to square his hips before delivering.
Jackson is the first left-handed Arkansas quarterback to start a season opener since Barry Lunney Jr. in 1995, and Williams said the Razorbacks are fighting his handedness instead of building around it.
"It's killing us," Williams said of the right-handed rollouts. "He has to try to get his feet set."
In the red zone, Williams said, that cost Arkansas points on a possession it could not afford to waste, with route spacing that closed the throwing window before the ball ever came out. He was blunt about the sequence: very bad in the red zone.
He also flagged a habit creeping back into Jackson's game as the night went on. Staring down receivers. Williams showed a snap where a linebacker read Jackson's eyes, broke on the flat and left a window wide open on the other side of the field.
Two Weeks, Same Pad Level
The offensive line section is where Williams spent the most time and the most frustration, and he kept coming back to the right side of the line.
He described a right tackle who lost blocks late, reached instead of driving his feet, and leaned so far over his toes that Utah's spin moves pulled him to the ground. On one fourth-quarter run, Williams could not identify the technique at all.
"Somebody make this make sense," he said. "Pads high, reaching instead of feet moving."
It was not isolated. Williams pointed out center Caden Kitler holding a block on a tunnel screen instead of releasing to the second level, and a play where Kobe Branham, a lineman Williams called big and strong, got run through the chest by a Utah defender who was still talking when the ball was snapped.
Williams noted this is the second straight week the same issue has shown up, and he put the accountability question directly on the room.
"Who's in that room not holding everyone else accountable?" he said. "The coaches can yell and scream all they want, but if it doesn't come from within the team, it's not going to happen."
Co-host Grant Cook recorded a separate breakdown airing the following day that digs deeper into Utah's defensive line, specifically the spin moves that repeatedly beat Arkansas' pass protection.
Signal Chatter Is Not An Excuse
Williams acknowledged the speculation making the rounds that Utah had a read on Arkansas' signals. He is not interested in it as a defense.
"Even if that is true, that has nothing to do with playing with proper pad level," he said. "It has nothing to do with coming off the ball aggressively, physically. It has nothing to do with your technique."
He did concede one related point on execution. On play-action and screen fakes, Williams said Arkansas simply did not sell the run, with linemen standing straight up and skill players going through the motions, and Utah's instinctive defenders never took the bait.
The exception proved it. Williams highlighted one shot play where an Arkansas receiver stopped his feet, broke down and sold run before slipping behind the coverage.
"Great play design," Williams said, "but most importantly, great execution."
A Challenge To Quincy Rhodes Jr.
The defensive portion opened with the player Arkansas needs most. Quincy Rhodes Jr. set a high bar in 2025 with 44 tackles, a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble across 11 starts.
Those 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by an Arkansas defender in a season since Trey Flowers in 2015. He was also the first Razorback with double-digit TFL since Landon Jackson in 2023.
Williams did not see that player at Utah. He showed a third and four where Rhodes got kicked out by a motioning tight end instead of blowing up the play in the backfield, and a double team that moved him off his spot.
"I've seen you on tape pick up an offensive lineman and move him," Williams said. "I know it's in the tank."
Williams framed it as a challenge rather than a verdict, and he added a note on the business side: scouts will be in the building for Georgia, and they will be watching that tape.
Linebackers Waiting Instead Of Attacking
The linebacker group drew the same critique, delivered differently. Williams said Arkansas' backers sat in gaps that already had bodies in them, watched plays develop and arrived late.
"What the hell are we waiting for?" he said. "Scrape over the top and be a part of this play."
He pointed to Utah's linebackers as the contrast on the same film, downhill and on the edge in a hurry. He also showed a goal-line snap where an Arkansas defender with clear outside responsibility jumped inside a block instead of squeezing the play back to help, and an easy walk-in score followed.
Williams was equally direct about missed contact from a veteran linebacker against a much larger Utah blocker, saying the tape reads as self-preservation rather than team football.
Running back pass protection made the list too. Williams said Arkansas' backs were overwhelmed in protection and that Georgia will attack it immediately.
"They watch tape just like I do," he said.
What It Means For Saturday
Williams was careful about the tone, noting that first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield is delivering a far sharper version of the same message inside the building.
"He's not walking through that locker room patting people on the back saying, hey, we'll figure it out," Williams said. "What we're doing is the PG version to this."
The through line of the entire review is that almost nothing he flagged requires more talent. Pad level, releases, route spacing, block angles, taking the open middle of the field. All of it is coachable, and all of it is in the players' hands.
Georgia comes to Fayetteville on Saturday for the SEC opener, and the tape from Salt Lake City has already told the Bulldogs exactly where to start. Whether Arkansas fixed any of it will be obvious by the second series.