Arkansas coordinator Ron Roberts is focused on Jared Curtis

There is very little ambiguity about Arkansas football's defensive assignment against the Vanderbilt Commodores this coming Saturday. UA has to stop Jared Curtis. Otis Kirk of Pig Trail Nation and the NWA Home Page gathered insights from Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts on the Vanderbilt quarterback:

“Yeah, well it all starts with him,” Roberts said. “He’s a big-league arm. I mean he’s a really talented quarterback. He can make all the NFL throws. I mean, he’s on the far (hash) throwing the field-side out. He can throw the go ball to the field-side guy. He’s got a cannon of an arm. And he has some escapability to him. I’m not saying he’s a running quarterback, but he can. He has a knack for getting out of trouble and finding ways to extend the play.

“I think there’s a couple of receivers that are really talented: 0 (Junior Sherrill) and 6 (Ja’Cory Thomas) kind of jump off the table at you. And then a lot of it goes back to them. They do a good job of coaching. Their scheme they’re doing is a little different, you know what I mean, than a lot of people. They have multiple formations that give you personnel issues. Then they do a good job of hiding the personnel getting on the field so that’s kind of an issue going through it. I think, like I said, they’ve got the explosive play part. We’re going to have to stop the dad-gum run.”

“He needs to have an understanding of protections,” Roberts said. “He needs to know when he’s hot and he’s got to get the ball out of his hands or he’s going to take unnecessary sacks. He’s got to be able to decipher a coverage pre- and post-snap, because it isn’t always the same picture of where to go with the football. So there’s a lot on a quarterback, that’s why it’s usually not freshmen.

“In the NFL, veterans stay around for so long, it’s because there’s a lot to process and putting the ball where it’s supposed to go. Not just have a rocket arm. But I think he’s got a pretty good grasp. He’s a little farther along mentally than a lot of quarterbacks — a regular freshman quarterback. He’s farther along mentally, you can see him, he’s pretty speedy on his release, ball comes out quick, he’s making quick decisions.”

It's clear Roberts understands how Jared Curtis is evolving. Having that knowledge now needs to translate into an effective defensive game plan for Arkansas, and a performance which carries out that plan well enough to win.