Production Way Up, Spotlight Bright as Former Arkansas QB Tries to Take down Prime Time Hype Train

Hog fans have chance to see quarterback they thought they'd get last season in Fayetteville

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) passes against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at AT&T Stadium. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

DALLAS, Texas — Arkansas fans will have an interesting opportunity for a split screen today or at least for flipping over during commercials.

Former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson finds himself in college football's primetime (2:30 p.m.) against the man who calls himself Primetime, Colorado coach Deion Sanders, as the Buffaloes bring their hype train to the Bounce House at Central Florida. While he's played in some big games, including a pair of close ones against Nick Saban's Alabama teams that had people across the country leaving their games to see if he could pull the upset, this may be the brightest spotlight in which he has played.

That's not because the Big 12 is respected as a football conference because it isn't. It's because Colorado has become a special main event attraction similar to how Andre the Giant and Brock Lesnar were in their prime in pro wrestling.

If Jefferson finds a way to have a big game to further solidify the Knights' spot atop the conference, then not only does he become a hero in Central Florida, he gains the appreciation of the loud segment of the college football crowd that has nothing but disdain for Sanders and the way he has carried himself since moving up to Division I as a head coach.

While Arkansas fans have an image of the disaster that was Jefferson's final season in Fayetteville, he has turned things around significantly under the careful guidance of UCF coach Gus Malzahn. There, relying on a strong running game built on the legs of RJ Harvey has allowed Jefferson to be the complement to the offense rather than the main cog.

What's resulted has been an astounding statistical turnaround in the areas that drove Razorbacks fans nuts last season. The most notable is in the number of sacks taken.

Last year, an offensive line that was so bad many assumed it was letting defenders by on purpose at times allowed Jefferson to be sacked 42 times. That's an average of 3.5 sacks per game.

This season, he's only been sacked three times through three games. Some of this is done through careful management by Malzahn.

Arkansas asked Jefferson to throw 16 times per game, whereas he's been asked to throw the ball only 10 times per game at UCF. That's 18 less opportunities for him to be sacked so far.

Jefferson also has his rushing average up higher than it's ever been, his interceptions are way down, and his yards per attempt have taken a significant jump over what he put up as a Razorback. His yards per carry are up to 4.7, a full two yards higher than last season and higher than his previous career high of 4.5 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Jefferson is on pace to throw only four interceptions this season. That's half of what he threw in his final year at Arkansas and would match the 2021 performance that put him on the college football map.

As for yards per attempt, he is now well over double digits at an average of 11 yards each time he drops back. Process that real quick.

He's not averaging that amount each time a receiver catches the ball. Jefferson is averaging better than a first down every time he simply tries to throw it.

Last year, that number was seven yards per attempt, which means he's seen almost a 60% raise in production per pass attempt. Even in his best year at Arkansas, that number topped out at 9.1.

The whole less is more approach has even carried over into the running game. Malzahn turns Jefferson into a runner 3.4 few times per game than his final year at Arkansas in a season where offensive coordinator Dan Enos and head coach Sam Pittman were eager to reduce his runs to keep him healthy and showcase Jefferson as a possible NFL ready prospect.

Despite running less, he projects to surpass his total rushing yards from last season by late October or the first weekend of November at the latest. That's if he doesn't have against Florida, a team against which he had huge success last week that might shut it down whether it has its head coach or not, or in the dreadful conditions he will face this weekend.

The game between UCF and Colorado is expected to play out in the rain for much of the second half. This means a steady dose of Harvey and Jefferson is likely as two SEC caliber athletes try to assert their will against a Big 12 level defense.

It could make for an interesting afternoon. At the very least, if things turn south in Arlington, Arkansas fans will have something to watch to take their mind off their frustration should another potential loss to Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium appear inevitable.

HOGS FEED:

• What will it take for Arkansas to finally end losing ways against Texas A&M?

• Even non-football folks paying attention to Razorbacks-Aggies

• Tight ends big key matchup between Razorbacks and Texas A&M on Saturday

• Green gives credit to all Razorbacks with no prompting

• Possible win total for Razorbacks to receive playoff bid

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