Despite picking up its first loss of the season in the form of a 38-31 defeat against BYU last Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks football team is still loaded with plenty of talent capable of carrying the Hogs to a victory in the SEC.
One of those talents is starting quarterback KJ Jefferson, who received high praise from LSU head coach Brian Kelly during Wednesday's SEC Teleconference. The Tigers were fortunate to not face Jefferson last year as he was out with an injury, but he'll be good to go this Saturday.
"He makes a huge difference," Kelly said. "Just his presence as a quarterback. He can extend plays with the size that he brings to the position. He breaks so many tackles, keeps plays alive. It forces from a defensive perspective to stay in coverage and then when he gets out, it’s getting him on the ground."
In the first three games of the season, Jefferson has completed 71.4% of his passes for 629 yards and six touchdowns while adding an additional 80 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
"He brings a huge dimension to what goes on from a defensive structure standpoint," Kelly said. "You have to be so sound fundamentally. He breaks down the play and all kinds of things can happen after that. So it’ll be a great challenge that we have this Saturday with him."
Talent can only do so much, though. The talented quarterback has struggled at times in his transition from former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles' up-tempo offense to Dan Enos' slower, route-heavy scheme.
"Dan is a really good football coach," Kelly said. "He’ll have that offense prepared to look like Sam Pittman’s football team. They’re going to be physical, they’re going to take shots down the field, they’re going to play smart football, they’re going to compliment their defense.
"When you really talk about it from my perspective, they’re going to be a complete football team when they get to the point where everybody knows what they’re doing on every single snap. That’s a scary team to play as they continue to develop."
Arkansas and LSU will meet on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The game is set to kickoff at 6:00 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPN.
