Lots of Mixed Feelings Over Jefferson Officially Leaving

After years of being mediocre, does it open door for some leadership for Razorbacks?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It was a mixed bag of feelings for many Arkansas fans when quarterback KJ Jefferson confirmed he's going into the transfer portal. Nearly everyone thought he was gone after the season, anyway. Unless he gets some serious development, the NFL will be a free agency chance next year at best.

Staying for five seasons, he was 20-18 as a starting quarterback that never quite got the big game when it mattered. In case you didn't know what quarterback had the most wins as a starting quarterback, it was Greg Thomas from 1984-87 that won the most games, by one over Bill Montgomery from 1968-70. They were good at avoiding losses to teams like Liberty.

KJ never quite lived up to the high expectations and I'm not sure how much of it was his fault. He started with Joe Craddock as an offensive coordinator under Chad Morris in 2019 and didn't see the field until late in the season.

Even his first play against Mississippi State got fans fired up, but showed exactly what he was as a quarterback. He ran over a smaller defensive back. When Kendal Briles came in before 2020, he wanted Jefferson to not run as much, but he had his freshman roommate around as a fail-safe for two seasons. Treylon Burks converted some desperation catches behind the line of scrimmage and turned it into an 80-yard touchdown. That helps the numbers.

Now hopes are with Taylen Green while Jacolby Criswell is probably wondering what he has to develop to get on the field. We really have no idea about Malachi Singleton and highly-touted KJ Jackson is expected to sign Wednesday and be here in January.

He Gone: Razorback Fans Get Unwanted News from KJ

New offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has people expecting an offense that will blow up scoreboards. That may happen, but maybe not immediately. Just go back to 2008 when the Hogs managed just enough to beat Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe, went on the road to Alabama and got hammered. They had to get a big win at the end over an uninterested LSU in Little Rock for a 5-8 record. They even got out-coached by Sylvester Croom and Woody McCorvey at Mississippi State.

When he got Ryan Mallett, they spent 2009 getting things sorted out before a 21-6 run. Mallett and Tyler Wilson handled that. They had experience in what Petrino wanted to do and some quality wide receivers. Everybody has to wait a year before a couple that are in Warren, Ark., will be ready if the Razorbacks can get them. They've had success getting playmakers from there.

Maybe what Jefferson didn't show is a leader not afraid to lead a team, not just the offense. If he did that, it was very quietly. Usually championship-contending teams have some leadership and it starts with the most important position on the team. You don't see an awful lot of playoff teams without some fiery leaders that nearly always includes the quarterback.

It will be an interesting spring to see how this roster develops. Everyone will have an opinion, there will be positives thrown around, but we won't really know how good anybody is until the end of September. The Hogs don't have enough depth to show us, but there will be somebody different behind center doing whatever it becomes when the games start.

HOGS FEED:

POOR SHOT SELECTION COMBINED WITH SOME NASTY TURNOVERS TURNED A BLOWOUT INTO A NAIL-BITER FOR HOGS

ARENA LIGHTS DISAPPEARED, BUT THAT WASN'T ONLY THING WENT DARK FOR RAZORBACKS

KJ JEFFERSON FINALLY ENDS SPECULATION ABOUT HIS 2024 PLANS

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