How the Florida Gators Stop UCF QB KJ Jefferson

UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson poses a challenge for the Florida Gators as one of the nation's most efficient passers and the Knights' second-leading rusher.

UCF Knights quarterback KJ Jefferson will be a challenge for the Florida Gators. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson brings an intriguing but frustrating, athletic palette to Saturday's game in Gainesville versus the Florida Gators. Jefferson, a fifth-year senior will not feature anything fancy while lining up across from the Gators.

As dynamic as Jefferson can play, the Gators will need to play a disciplined brand of defense. Meanwhile, the coaches and players fully understand what Jefferson will do on Saturday. 

Monster Undertaking

At six-foot-three and 245 pounds, Jefferson plays a smaller man's game with regards to running. He loves to break the pocket and either get downfield or find the late-breaking wideout. Despite not throwing often, Jefferson is 13th nationally with 9.8-yards-per attempt.

From linebacker Pup Howard to corner Jason Marshall to head coach Billy Napier, each sounded concerned this week with containing the big play while dealing with the nation's No. 2 rushing offense.

Marshall:

 "I'll mainly say just stopping his running ability," said Marshall.  "He is a big quarterback.  He is mobile.  So we stopped that and then as myself being a defender in the back end, taking away his reads and things like that.  Just trying to make the game hard for him"

Howard:

“You see his tape. He’s a good runner as well. We’re just going to have to gang tackle him and bring him down.”

Napier:

"We've used some bigger skill players; we did some things and we've made cutups of some of those plays in terms of what that's going to take," Napier said. "Even going through his library of experience at Arkansas and certainly what he's done so far this year. It's a critical piece of the puzzle not only when he's a passer and he scramble but just down-in, down-out all the read elements to their run game. When he's a vertical runner, he's a 260-pound skill player. So I think there's an element there to how you tackle him, how you finish on him, and that's been a part of the work this week."

Approach

Florida must attack UCF. If they play passive on defense, Jefferson will carve them apart running and throwing. Meanwhile, on passing downs, sending more than one rusher. At nearly 250 pounds, one tackler will not bring him down. Jefferson will shake off a smaller player.

Moreover, the Gators cannot allow him to gain any momentum while running. Once he starts moving, he can ward off one tackler at a time. However, this style of running also make him a target for bigger hit. Now, will the Gators take that chance? They should.

KJ Jefferson is a phenomenal athlete with an excellent arm. However, he is inaccurate and will one-read and go from there. The Gators must make him thing twice about going.