KJ Jefferson details process of becoming the leader of Arkansas football

Arkansas is a top-25 program heading into the 2022 season, thanks to Sam Pittman, his staff, and in large part, quarterback KJ Jefferson. After several years of quarterback carousels, the Mississippi native took the reins and brought stability to the position.

Jefferson joined Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network to discuss his leadership role and what the Hogs need to do to start the 2022 season off right.

“Just being disciplined and being consistent, and coming from a leadership standpoint, being more vocal in adverse situations, making sure my guys are on the same page and we’re all on one accord,” Jefferson said. “I would say that I evolved into the role… It grew on me as the season went on and now I’m in a position where I’m confident and comfortable being vocal.”

In 2021, his breakout season, Jefferson posted 3,340 total yards and 27 touchdowns. His completion percentage of 67.3 ranked fourth amongst the SEC’s starting quarterbacks.

The former four-star prospect described to Finebaum how he’s working to improve as he enters his second season as the Hogs’ starter.

“Decision making, footwork within the pocket, Jefferson said. ” I know I can get out of the pocket and create plays… but being calm in the pocket and delivering a good ball to my teammates. When I say decision making, I mean going through all my reads, not forcing the ball.”

Jefferson assesses Arkansas offense after first fall scrimmage

The Arkansas offense has plenty of work to do to keep pace with their Top-50 offense from last season. With Treylon Burks off to the NFL, Jefferson’s receiving corp is catching up. With their first scrimmage behind them, Jefferson liked what he saw from his offense at this point of the fall.

Jefferson broke down the offense’s performance after the scrimmage. He named the offensive line and wide receivers as strengths in the game who helped him have the performance that he did.

“We had a pretty good performance starting out,” Jefferson said. “I gotta give credit to my O-line and the receivers for making plays for helping me out on that standpoint. I feel like I did have a great day today. There are some things I do need to get better at with small details and stuff like that.”

The Arkansas offense scored 30.9 points per game in 2021 on their way to a 9-4 record. They averaged 443.3 yards of offense with less than a turnover a game for the season.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.