KJ Jefferson addresses state of Arkansas receiver room after offseason departures

Arkansas‘ running game is a major part of their offense scheme, as they ranked second in the SEC in rushing. But quarterback KJ Jefferson like’s what he’s been seeing from his wide receivers during fall camp, and their combination of veterans and young, emerging talent.

“Iron sharpens iron, I mean those older guys they took those younger guys under their wing, and iron sharpens iron just competing at a high level and it’s just raised everybody’s playing level and skillset. Once you come in and everybody’s working at a high level, elite mindset, and everybody’s just going to get better as a unit, so that’s what happened,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson in his own right was Arkansas leading rusher last season but also threw for 2,676 yards, which ranks top ten in school history. The Razorbacks lose their two top receiving threats from last season in Treylon Burks and Tyson Morris, but Jefferson is confident that this year’s group can be a strength of their offense.

“Of course, I was just talking earlier about this, our receiving corps they’ve came a long way. Just being able to grasp the plays and also just understand why we’re calling these certain type of plays in these situations that we’re in. So just being able to have that mindset going into it and they’re really learning the system and actually knowing what’s going on so just having a receiver room like we have here is just an advantage,” Jefferson said.

One of the standouts of camp at the receiver position has been Arkansas native and true freshman Isaiah Sategna, who was ranked the No. 1 player in the state coming out of high school according to On3 Consensus, one of the seven top ten players from Arkansas that signed with the Razorbacks this year.

“He has great ball skills, just being able to track the ball in the air and then just run up under it and make a play. Just him being that young coming in and he’s learning the plays really quickly and just being able to have the ball skills like he has at such a young age, so I would say ball skills for sure,” Jefferson said.

Warren Thompson has also had an impressive camp, but Jefferson talked about his impact off the field as a senior leader that can not only make plays for the Razorbacks, but help in the development of their young talent.

“Leadership, those young guys like I said earlier about those young guys making strides, he’s one of those guys that’s the front runner just being able to talk to those guys and pull them to the side like hey, this is what we’ve got, this is he we called this, being able to read the defense and know who you’ve gotta block. So I’ll say for Warren just being leadership and being confident,” Jefferson said.

It sounds like the Razorbacks have a receiving room with a good combination of veterans and young players to go along with a quarterback that they know can make plays for them. Arkansas has only improved since the arrival of head coach Sam Pittman, and Jefferson and his wide receivers may be a key component in them taking yet another step in the right direction.