Apparently former Hog QB Tavaris Jackson died in a car accident in Alabama. So sad!
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Just read that myself. RIP & prayers to the family.
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So sad! Praying for the family 
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Just saw that. Feel horrible for his family and all who loved him. R.I.P. Tavares. Gone way too soon.
An extraordinary life. A better NFLer than a QB at Arkansas…interesting, but says a lot about his character and persistance.
Prayers for his family.
Here is our story:
I so remember how many didn’t think he was accurate…have “it” etc. but clearly the coaches knew something when they were trying to give him a shot. Fans were less supportive. Jones was the golden boy and probably the right guy. Always felt bad for him in that regard. He went on to prove he had it.
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TJack wasn’t accurate. Even in the NFL, the two years he played enough to matter he was around 60% completion which is mediocre. At UA he completed 33 and 35 percent of his passes in two years. Makes Connor Noland look like Drew Brees (Noland was a 50% passer in his one year at QB). At Alabama State he completed 51, 52 and finally 61 percent in three years (how he got away with playing five seasons I have no idea; I guess he got a medical hardship for one of the years at UA). That last year and the big arm got him into the NFL.
In the story it is noted that he received a medical hardship in 2001.
Thirty six is too young. So much more life to live.
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Prayers for his family. So sad…
So sad.
My only point was he didn’t appear good enough initially to be a starting qb at Arkansas, but he was good enough to play for an NFL team, accurate or not. Although I doubt the rigors of the NFL evaluation process, training camps and cut process somehow just missed his woeful inaccuracy.
He always had the physical tools to be a starting QB anywhere; what he lacked was quick (and correct) decision making and accuracy passing. That’s just the simple truth.
I get why Nutt was enamored with him; especially when Matt could have been a legendary WR if paired with the right QB. But it was absolutely the right decision to play Matt at QB. It would have been a crime to play Jackson ahead of Matt, and it would have showed in our record. I’m glad he eventually made a nice living in the NFL, but I’m also glad Matt played ahead of him.
With the right QB coach/ offensive coordinator that probably would’ve been the most talented team the Razorbacks have ever put on the field with a couple of position switches. Get Peters to buy in at OT with Andrews on the other side or put them side by side.
It’s just hard to think that somebody could stick for that long and even start games in the NFL, but he wasn’t good enough to play here? Matt Jones was exciting player and a good QB, but I don’t think he had the same ceiling at qb. Remember most schools wanted him as an athlete/WR.
I see where you’re coming from, but to make sense of what happened and why, trying looking at it from this perspective…
TJ was drafted and spent a good deal of time in the NFL precisely because of his incredibly high ceiling (that you also mentioned).
But at Arkansas, Nutt wasn’t interested in spending a season or two waiting for TJ to develop; he wanted to win immediately, and MJ was the “better” choice AT THAT TIME.
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Matt Jones was one of the two or three greatest plamakers in the history of the Arkansas program. After that 7 O.T. win over Ole Miss in 2001, Matt was going to be our QB until his eligibility was exhausted. Tavares was a very talented QB also, but his skill set was better suited for a pro style Offense. Tavares needed to play and play in a pro style Offense in order to realize his dreams. He saw that and made a good decision. Very sad that his life was cut short. He probably had a bright future in coaching.
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