Former Red Wolves head football coach Blake Anderson viewed Spring Games as a kind of carnival; he’d orchestrate bizarre contests and he once made former head basketball coach Mike Balado field a punt. It wasn’t a bad atmosphere, but it disappointed some who would have rather witnessed a no-frills scrimmage. This year, current head football coach Butch Jones offered a yacht-rock format of cutthroat scrimmage and amusing displays of strength & skill, with Coach Jones himself assuming the microphone and providing color commentary.

And he wasn’t bad. At one point, Coach Jones climbed into the stands and invited fans young-and-old to call an offensive play. It was a nice, spontaneous moment for a public figure who is normally so self-guarded and self-scripted. The theatrics were woven into a production that was both casual and revealing, giving fans a little bit of everything they wanted.

For example, not only were all four A-State quarterbacks on generous display, they were made live targets for the defense, offering opportunities for the linebackers to deliver hits – and for the quarterbacks to hit right back. It isn’t often when a Spring Game affords a glimpse at quarterback physicality, and the results revealed a foursome of signal callers bearing the beef to absorb and administer bruising collisions.

One might be tempted to rank the quarterbacks on the A-State roster, by I bravely eschew such temptations. I will say that all four have wheels, with Vanderbilt transfer Drew Dickey proving surprisingly nimble. Dickey, who I assumed was brought onto the roster to undertake more of a managerial role, isn’t on campus to hold a clipboard after all.

Ethan Crawford’s tight-and-pretty spirals surprised me – he’d later win the “QB Long Toss” competition. I had thought him more a QB-sneaker, but his quick throwing motion seems like it could serve a use in a collapsing pocket. Jérémy St-Hilaire, the Mountie from Montreal, seems to have the most progress to make, though he’s built like a tank and could be a valuable goal line asset. Trey Owens, the transfer from Texas, was limited on Saturday with a minor ding, but he was awarded the first offensive series of the scrimmage. He has the look of a prototype quarterback.

There were opportunities to flash brilliance. Junior RB Ezell Jolly received plenty of reps and delivered plenty of yards, and returning RB Devin Spencer showed that he was still capable of breaking DB ankles. Malik McConico, the DB from Utah State, snagged a couple of picks. And the offensive line as a unit had a good day.

If one wanted to worry, one might point to the struggles of the defense, who spent the first half of the scrimmage getting destroyed for touchdowns – which is entertaining for most fans but had some of us reaching early for the Tums. There were bright spots. We already mentioned McConico, but another guy to watch is 6’2″ sophomore defensive tackled Ryan Reese, a paragon of both strength and size on a unit that could really use more speed and more size.

Some guys stand out in a crowd. 6’4″ red shirt freshman receiver Romel Stevens is one. So is 6’6″ senior tight end Jalen Hamm, a transfer from Kansas. He and returning sophomore TE Jabari Bush look to be formidable targets. Fun sized wideout Chauncey Cobb looked in peak form, as did Jaylen Bonelli, named by Butch Jones as one of the team’s most improved players. When A-State quarterbacks grow weary of running the ball, they should have some fine targets to which to throw.

In the end, the 2026 Red Wolves Spring Game was a fine fling. I didn’t get a pretzel because concessions weren’t serving pretzels. But I was served some entertaining pigskin, which is more that what I asked for.

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