Arkansas' KJ Jefferson presents huge challenge for South Carolina

In Shane Beamer’s eyes, there isn’t anyone who can mimic what South Carolina will face Saturday morning at the quarterback position.

The Gamecocks are going up against a 6-foot-3, 243-pound quarterback in KJ Jefferson, a returning starter who can do a little bit of everything on a football field.

“The way that he’s able to, in the run game, run the football like he does, but then also in the passing game, to be able to sit back there and take hits and throw the ball downfield or to have people bounce off of him, he’s able to scramble but he keeps his eyes downfield and he’s able to throw,” Beamer said.

“We’d have to take, I don’t know who, one of our defensive ends and make him a quarterback.”

Beamer nor any of South Carolina’s players mentioned who is mimicking Jefferson on scout team. But it’s not an easy task.

Last season Jefferson led the Razorbacks with 664 yards rushing. Over the last five games of the season, completed 76.1 percent of his passes for 1,019 yards and a six-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio.  

Last year’s success has carried over into 2022, as Jefferson dominated then-No. 23 Cincinnati last weekend. He finished 18-of-26 passing for 223 yards and 87 rushing yards, accounting for all four touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ 31-24 win.

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Beamer joked saying he’d have a hard time finding someone on his roster with Jefferson’s size and athleticism to play quarterback.

“For us, it’s just emphasizing 11 hats to the ball and gang tackling and getting people around him,” Beamer said. “Let’s do a good job of understanding their schemes and being in the right place, being in the right gaps and then a rally to him cause it’s going to take all 11 of them to rally to that ball to get him down.”

Brad Johnson echoed Beamer’s words, saying there’s “no way” to emulate Jefferson with the current Gamecock quarterbacks. Instead, the defense has relied on alternative solutions.

“I know in our (individual) drills we’re using big dummies, big cylinder dummies to try to work on our tackling drills and stuff like that,” Johnson said at his Tuesday media availability.”

South Carolina faced another mobile quarterback last week in Darren Grainger. Grainger, though,doesn’t bring the same level of passing acumen South Carolina will see against Arkansas.

Grainger went 7-for-29 for 111 yards, a touchdown and one pick while rushing 11 times for 43 yards.

South Carolina knows Jefferson is a much bigger threat and will have its work cut out.

“He’s a great player,” Mo Kaba said at his Tuesday media availability. “It’s going to be a tough job, but we going to game plan against it and get it done.”

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Less than a day after his team’s season opening win, Beamer got right to work and watched Arkansas’ game tape. One thing that stood out to Beamer was Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman’s offensive management.

“Sam’s an offensive line guy, you see that when you watch them play. They’re big, they’re physical, with their size up front, they’re able to cover people up,” Beamer said. “You watch that Cincinnati game and I’m watching the end zone copy yesterday and the ball snapped and you pause it after a second and you can’t see any of the Cincinnati defense alignment on tape because they’re covered up by double teams.”

The Gamecocks will hope to do what Cincinnati couldn’t in stopping Jefferson. Johnson said if everyone runs towards the ball to make a play, there won’t be much to worry about.

“You got the other 10 coming right behind you and that’s kind of the mentality,” Johnson said. “That’s one of our big goals this week as a defense. Just flying to the ball and I feel like we did a decent job last week of doing that. I feel like even this week we’re going to take it up a step.”

South Carolina and Arkansas will kick off from Razorback Stadium at noon ET on ESPN Saturday.

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