‘It’s time to win,’ Jackson declares

Second in a series previewing Arkansas teams in the Great American Conference

MONTICELLO — Just as the rain stopped, lightning struck Saturday morning.

The University of Arkansas-Monticello football team was about to begin scrimmaging when the players were sent to their cars for about an hour until the weather cleared.

UAM Coach Hud Jackson didn’t plan it that way, but he did like the way the team responded during a twohour session that included hard hits and spirited banter among players.

“What I did like to see is that we overcame some adversity,” Jackson said.

Adversity has been in no short supply for Jackson since arriving at UAM eight years ago, but he is still plugging away, hopeful that this will be the year the Boll Weevils can turn the corner.

Three 5-6 seasons have been the high point in Jackson’s first seven seasons, and last season UAM was 5-3 with three games to play.

Good news for the Boll Weevils is the return of quarterback Cole Sears (2,668 yards passing, 29 touchdowns, 8 interceptions) and running back Imani Riley (123-650 rushing, 4 TDs).

The not-so-good news is that Sears’ two top receivers from last season — Jalen Tolliver (Arizona Cardinals) and Trevon Smith (Memphis, Alliance of American Football) — took their combined 96 catches for 1,619 yards and 23 touchdowns to professional football.

But Jackson said he’d rather have it this way than trying to replace Sears, who rushed for 404 yards and 7 touchdowns in addition to his passing prowess.

“This way, you get a true evaluation of the skill positions,” he said. “It gives them a good chance to show what they’ve got.”

Jackson said seeing former Boll Weevils playing in professional football is a big plus for the program.

“Huge,” he said. “Kids always ask the question, ‘Coach, can you get to the NFL from here.’ When you get a kid that’s going to stick, it’s amazing what it does. Even if he makes the practice squad.”

Tolliver, who caught two passes for 26 yards in Arizona’s 20-15 preseason victory over New Orleans on Friday, will be difficult to replace. But Jackson said he feels as if the Boll Weevils are stronger top to bottom, defensively and offensively, than they’ve been in any of his previous seven seasons.

“The whole key is defense,” Jackson said. “Definitely the best defensive line since I’ve been here. How good our defense plays is going to be the key for us.”

The Boll Weevils had to outscore opponents last season, and five times they did. But they ended up averaging 34.5 points while yielding an average of 34.7.

They beat an 8-4 Arkansas Tech team 46-45 in Monticello and lost to national Division II semifinalist Harding 56-46 in Searcy.

“I feel like our guys feel like we’re really close,” Jackson said. “We were darn close last year, and we have more talent now. I think we’ve got a better team.”

Jackson (23-53 in seven seasons) said he knows the clock is ticking.

“Now, it’s time to win, absolutely,” he said. “It’s time for that. I didn’t take the job just to produce good kids who do good things off the field.

“Turning that corner puts the program at another level.”

A level it hasn’t reached since 2008.