KJ Jefferson gives specific goals for improvement in 2023

KJ Jefferson was oozing confidence during Arkansas‘ turn on the stage at SEC Media Days on Wednesday.

Not only did Jefferson claim that he’s the No. 1 quarterback in the SEC heading into the season, he wants the Razorbacks to become the team to beat in the SEC West. It’s on him to turn that claim into a reality.

“Just becoming a better passer, stretching the ball down the field, getting the play-makers the ball, letting them make plays, also just owning the offense, going up to the line of scrimmage, checking out the players,” Jefferson said. “Stuff like that, which is going to help me prepare for the next level.”

If it weren’t for injuries taking him out of some of Arkansas’ most important games during his tenure, Jefferson might have ended up forgoing the rest of his collegiate eligibility, he said. Instead, Jefferson is fine-tuning himself for one last run with the Razorbacks in 2023.

In 2022, Jefferson played in 11 games last season and finished the campaign with 2,636 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and five interceptions on a 68.0% completion percentage. He also rushed for 640 yards and added another nine additional touchdowns on the ground.

Those numbers helped land Jefferson on Phil Steele’s Second-Team All-SEC ahead of the 2023 season. LSU‘s Jayden Daniels was Steele’s top quarterback in the league this season. The two QB’s teams will play each other early on this coming season, giving Jefferson an opportunity to prove Steele’s preseason rankings wrong.

Still, the Arkansas QB put up very similar numbers in 13 games in 2021. He complied 2,676 passing yards, 664 rushing yards and 27 total touchdowns during that season. Fully healthy, Jefferson is expecting an upward trent on the stat sheet and in the win column during 2023.

Every week will feel like a chance for Jefferson and the Razorbacks to prove their worth thanks to their SEC West schedule. That gives them matchups against LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Alabama and an alternating SEC East matchup against Florida — each time Arkansas takes the field feels a must-win situation for the Hogs.

Arkansas will enjoy two weeks of buy games against Western Carolina and Kent State to being the 2023 season, but a tough matchup at home against the Big-12’s newest member BYU looms for Week 3 ahead of the SEC opener on the road against LSU the following week.