Jefferson silences critics with career day
FAYETTEVILLE — Despite putting up a lot of points in the first two games of the season, Arkansas still had questions swirling around its passing game.
After managing only 266 total yards through the air in their wins over Rice and Texas, the Razorbacks took advantage of Georgia Southern’s porous secondary and threw for 364 in Saturday’s 45-10 blowout win.
Those hoping to see more of a dynamic passing attack didn’t have to wait very long either, as KJ Jefferson went deep to Tyson Morris for 47 yards on Arkansas’ first offensive play. That set the tone for the redshirt sophomore’s 13-of-23 performance in which he had a career-high 366 yards and three touchdowns.
“We knew we were going to take shots down the field,” Jefferson said. “(We) wanted to mix it up because the last two games we came out kind of slow with a couple of runs. Trying to keep the defense on their toes, we came out passing the ball down the field.”
As good as things started off for Arkansas, with touchdowns on each of its first two possession, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Jefferson.
In fact, half of his incompletions came in the second quarter. He took some big shots by the Eagles and missed a couple of open receivers, including one intended for Treylon Burks that led to a second three-and-out in a span of three drives.
“It was all about timing… Timing and me just making sure and knowing where the pressure was coming from,” Jefferson said. “I kind of got a little confused out there. They were trying to hide some different stuff and got me a couple times.”
On the very next possession, though, Jefferson responded by hitting three straight passes to march the Razorbacks down the field. It would have been four straight with a touchdown to Ketron Jackson Jr., but the play was wiped out by a penalty.
“Honestly, we can all use a little touch-up on everything, but I’m extremely proud of KJ because from where he came from to where he is now, his confidence is (through) the roof,” Burks said. “It’s just good to know you’ve got a confident quarterback back there and really ain’t got nothing to worry about.”
Then to start the second half, he hit Warren Thompson for a 60-yard bomb and Burks took a screen pass 91 yards, giving him a couple of quick scores early in the second half.
Head coach Sam Pittman has continually praised his quarterback for how well he’s responded following mistakes through the first three games of the season.
“Every time he misses a throw, it's like 'oh my gosh' in my mind,” Pittman said. “But when he throws one that goes 91, he throws a nice drop pass to Warren Thompson, 60 for a touchdown, I'm like, ‘Well, that's what he's supposed to do.' I mean, I think Dan Marino missed a pass or two, so my mind has to work a little bit different.”
Not only did Jefferson easily surpass his previous career high of 274 passing yards, but he also became just the 14th different player in UA history to crack the 300-yard mark.
His 366 yards were the most by an Arkansas quarterback since Austin Allen threw for 400 against Alabama in 2016 and rank 19th on the school’s single-game list.
“He's our quarterback, he's doing a really nice job,” Pittman said. “He missed a couple of open ones, but that's going to happen. But he's a competitor and I was really proud of him. He still has that option to run and he's got some pretty good wideouts there to throw the ball to."
With Jefferson running the show, the Razorbacks are averaging 41 points and 492.3 yards, silencing any remaining questions about his position as QB1.
“KJ's been proving every single week that he's the guy,” safety Jalen Catalon said. “He's going to go out there every week and do his thing. And I think the offense just rallies around him, it all runs around him.”
Arkansas has another tough task awaiting them next week, as it takes on No. 7 Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 3 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on CBS.