FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As the 2022 football season draws nearer, the Arkansas quarterback room is catching some national attention.
Athlon Sports recently ranked the QB rooms around the Southeastern Conference, and redshirt junior KJ Jefferson and company checked in at No. 3. The Razorbacks fell in behind only Tennessee, led by senior Hendon Hooker, and Alabama, which returns reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
Jefferson, in tandem with redshirt sophomore Malik Hornsby, beat out the likes of several big-name quarterbacks around the conference. Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, whose 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns were good for second in the SEC in 2021, leads the fourth-ranked room. Spencer Rattler, an early favorite for the 2021 Heisman Trophy, heads the No. 5 South Carolina room, and the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs boast the sixth-best room, led by Stetson Bennett IV.
The Razorbacks also cleared Kentucky and Florida, both of which will start potential 2023 first-round NFL draft picks in Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, respectively.
Jefferson is coming off his first full season as a starting quarterback, in which he led the Hogs to their first nine-win season in 10 years. The native of Sardis, Mississippi, completed more than two-thirds of his passes, threw for 2,676 yards and boasted a 21-4 touchdown-interception ratio in 2021.
While Jefferson’s passing ability is strong, he makes his impact as a dual threat. He rushed 146 times for 664 yards and six scores last season, including a 20-carry, 110-yard performance in the 2022 Outback Bowl, for which he earned MVP honors.
Hornsby has not seen much action in the passing game as a Razorback, but his mobility is similar to that of Jefferson. After the latter sustained an injury during the Outback Bowl, the former rushed four times for 67 yards, including a 32-yard scamper that nearly resulted in six points.
Jefferson and Hornsby will lead an Arkansas team that is once again scheduled to take on one of the toughest slates college football has to offer. It begins Sept. 3, when the Cincinnati Bearcats, fresh off an appearance in the College Football Playoff, visit Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Full quarterback room rankings from Athlon Sports:
14 - Vanderbilt: Mike Wright, Ken Seals, AJ Swann
13 - Missouri: Brady Cook, Tyler Macon, Jack Abraham
12 - Auburn: TJ Finley, Zach Calzada, Robby Ashford
11 - LSU: Myles Brennan, Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier, Walker Howard
10 - Texas A&M: Max Johnson, Haynes King, Conner Weigman
9 - Ole Miss: Luke Altmyer, Jaxson Dart, Kinkead Dent
8 - Florida: Anthony Richardson, Jack Miller III, Jalen Kitna
7 - Kentucky: Will Levis, Beau Allen, Deuce Hogan
6 - Georgia: Stetson Bennett IV, Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, Gunner Stockton
5 - South Carolina: Spencer Rattler, Luke Doty, Colten Gauthier
4 - Mississippi State: Will Rogers, Sawyer Robertson, Chance Lovertich
3 - Arkansas: KJ Jefferson, Malik Hornsby, Cade Fortin
2 - Tennessee: Hendon Hooker, Joe Milton III, Tayven Jackson
1 - Alabama: Bryce Young, Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson
