Sam Pittman: KJ Jefferson looks like a veteran quarterback

Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman is confident KJ Jefferson can take the next step as a quarterback this season. After playing his first full season as a starter in 2021, Jefferson has impressed his coaches and teammates this spring with both his skills on the field and leadership off it.

Following their first winning season since 2016 and their first bowl victory since 2015, the Razorbacks have complete faith in the veteran quarterback to continue taking them upward.

“A lot of confidence,” Pittman said of Jefferson in a spring practice press conference. “Throwing the ball with velocity. Throwing the deep ball well. Threw a good one or two to Malik (Hornsby) today actually. That was a nice catch he made on the very first play of team run. Even though the kids believed that he was a captain last year, which I did too, but I was little bit surprised because he hadn’t played before and they voted him team captain. I shouldn’t have been, because I understand how the team feels about him. He’ll be a captain again. He leads the football team. Along with those guys in the secondary. I think they’re very valuable too. All of them are, but those are the older guys that are leading us.”

After playing sparingly in 2019 and 2020, Jefferson was handed the reigns of the offense this past season following the graduation of Feleipe Franks. He proved himself as a threat both through the air and on the ground, finishing second among SEC quarterbacks with 664 yards rushing in addition to six touchdowns. He also finished ninth in passing yards with 2,676 in addition to 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

Jefferson joined the Razorbacks in 2019 as the No. 15 overall quarterback according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He watched as Arkansas finished 2-10 that season, breaking the program record for consecutive conference losses with 19.

The quarterback decided to return the following season, which was also Pittman’s first as the Razorbacks head coach. Since then, Arkansas has gone 7-11 in SEC play, including 4-4 this past season. Now entering his third year as head coach, Sam Pittman is counting on KJ Jefferson to lead his team as it looks to contend in the SEC West.

The quarterback loses top receiver Treylon Burks to the NFL Draft, but adds Oklahoma transfer Jadon Haselwood, the No. 7 receiver according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. He also gets Warren Thompson, who finished last season with 304 yards receiving and two touchdowns, back.

Fans can get their first look at the passing game when the Razorbacks host their annual spring game on April 16.