With 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and two-time national champion Stetson Bennett off to the NFL, the SEC has some room at the top for other quarterbacks to occupy.
The Sporting News published its 2023 rankings at the position Tuesday, and two familiar names led the pack.
Behind LSU senior Jayden Daniels, "the leading Heisman Trophy candidate in the SEC," was Arkansas redshirt senior KJ Jefferson, whose presence as a starter over the last two seasons has put the conference on notice.
"This is the best quarterback room yet under coach Sam Pittman," Bill Bender wrote, also nodding to Cade Fortin entering his second year in Fayetteville and North Carolina transfer Jacolby Criswell.
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's completion percentages of 67.3 and 68 over the last two years are the second- and third-best marks in program history, trailing only Feleipe Franks' 68.5 in 2020.
As Bender notes, "Jefferson blends efficient passing...with the ability to break off huge runs." The dual-threat quarterback also cleared 640 rushing yards for the second year in a row, and he found the end zone a career-high nine times in 2022.
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.
Year three as the Arkansas signal caller will look a little different for Jefferson with the departure of offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and the arrival of Dan Enos.
"I think he's really taken to Dan," Pittman said. "That's not saying anything about Kendal, I'm just talking about Dan. He's taken to Dan, and Dan has done a nice job with him. Kendal did, too. I think he's a more knowledgeable quarterback for the NFL simply because we're in an NFL system. I think he's playing with a lot of confidence."
Whether Jefferson enters the Heisman conversation as Bender hints in the story remains to be seen, but football fans have every reason to expect another strong campaign from him in 2023.
