Arkansas football announces SEC Media Days attendees
It's officially talking season and the Arkansas football team is set to send head coach Sam Pittman and three talented players to Nashville, Tennessee, for SEC Media Days on Wednesday, July 19.
Arkansas will take redshirt senior quarterback KJ Jefferson for the second year in a row. Joining Jefferson will be junior defensive end Landon Jackson and junior running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders.
The four-day event will feature sessions with the head coach and select players from each of the conference's 14 teams at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Nashville beginning on Monday and spanning through Thursday.
Festivities on Arkansas' day are set to begin at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday and Pittman and his players will follow Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his players, who will lead things off. Directly following the Razorbacks will be Florida head coach Billy Napier and his players, who will be followed by Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops and company.
During his two seasons as the starter in Fayetteville, Jefferson amassed over 2,600 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in both, and he led the Razorbacks to their first consecutive bowl victories since 2014-2015. In 24 games, he threw five times as many touchdown passes as he did interceptions and completed more than two-thirds of his passes.
Jefferson graded out as the eighth-best quarterback in the nation last year, according to Pro Football Focus, which gave him a 90.8 offense grade for 2022.
As a sophomore last season, Sanders made his name well-known on the national stage after he carried the ball 222 times for 1,443 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Sanders also caught 28 passes for 271 receiving yards and two scores through the air in his second season as a Hog.
A former four-star prospect out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas, Jackson recorded 23 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble during his sophomore campaign as a transfer from LSU last year.
Last year, Pittman brought Jefferson, junior safety Jalen Catalon and super senior linebacker Bumper Pool with him to SEC Media Days, which was held in Atlanta.
Prior to the 2021 season, the Razorbacks were represented by a pair of super seniors in left tackle Myron Cunningham and linebacker Grant Morgan. The event was not held prior to Pittman's first year as the head coach of Arkansas due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This will be the first time for the event to be held in Nashville and the third time for the event to travel outside of the Birmingham metro area. Atlanta has previously hosted the event in both 2018 and 2022.
Below is details on the days that each team will go and the players each respective program will bring to the 2023 SEC Media Days event...
Monday, July 17th
LSU - HC Brian Kelly, QB Jayden Daniels, RB Josh Williams, DT Mekhi Wingo
Missouri - HC Eliah Drinkwitz, OL Javon Foster, DL Darius Robinson, OL Javon Foster
Texas A&M - HC Jimbo Fisher, WR Ainias Smith, DL Fadil Diggs, DL McKinnley Jackson
Tuesday, July 18th
Auburn - HC Hugh Freeze, TE Luke Deal, OL Kameron Stutts, LB Elijah McAllister
Georgia - HC Kirby Smart, TE Brock Bowers, OL Sedrick Van Pran, DB Kamari Lassiter
Mississippi State - HC Zach Arnett, QB Will Rogers, RB Jo'Quavious Marks, DT Jaden Crumedy
Vanderbilt - HC Clark Lea, WR Will Sheppard, LB Ethan Barr, S Jaylen Mahoney
Wednesday, July 19th
Alabama - HC Nick Saban, OL JC Latham, DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, LB Dallas Turner
Arkansas - HC Sam Pittman, QB KJ Jefferson, RB Raheim Sanders, DE Landon Jackson
Florida - HC Billy Napier, OL Kingsley Egaukun, DB Jason Marshall Jr., WR Ricky Pearsall
Kentucky - HC Mark Stoops, OL Eli ox, DL Octavious Oxendine, LB J.J. Weaver
Thursday, July 20
Ole Miss - HC Lane Kiffin, DE Cedric Johnson, RB Quinshon Judkins, CB Deantre Prince
South Carolina - HC Shane Beamer, QB Spencer Rattler, DL Tonka Hemingway, P Kai Kroeger
Tennessee - HC Josh Heupel, QB Joe Milton III, TE Jacob Warren, DL Omari Thomas