Arkansas fans have been happy to watch quarterback KJ Jefferson these last three seasons, but there's another KJ coming in the class of 2024 who remains locked in with the Razorbacks.
KJ Jackson, a four-star lefty out of St. James Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, is a talented up-and-comer who is sticking with the Hogs through the good and the bad.
Jackson told HawgBeat he was "locked in" throughout the game at Florida on Saturday, which featured a walk-off touchdown pass by Jefferson to win the contest. He said he was impressed watching interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton, specifically to start the game.
"It was great," Jackson said. "You can tell that he's very serious about his job. Coming off that bye week, that first drive, I guarantee you most of those plays were scripted, and he put a lot of work in because the first drive was amazing. I don't think you can picture a better drive than that."
It wasn't just the first drive that impressed Jackson, though.
"He showed late in the game that he can make some good calls when the pressure. The play call when (Jefferson) rolled to his right on third-and-five, that was a great play call that he dumped it down on like a 10-yard curl.
"Everybody showed fight ... but you could tell KJ Jefferson was different today."
The final play of the game was a run-pass option, and Jefferson decided to pull the ball from running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and find wide receiver Tyrone Broden for the touchdown.
That kind of play is a judgment call by the quarterback, and Jackson said he liked that Guiton trusted his quarterback to make the call.
"That's another thing that I'm big on, it's actually something that's a part of my offense here at St. James," Jackson said. "I feel like the trust between me and my coaches here, they trust me enough here to make the right decisions in late-game scenarios. (Guiton) just showed trust in (Jefferson) on that play especially. Giving him the option to pass."
Jackson said he was in a similar scenario to the Razorbacks on Friday. St. James finished the game with the win, 49-48, and there were some fireworks at the end.
"So it's crazy, these last two games that I watched have been crazy sequences," Jackson said. "Last night was almost the exact same type game. We scored we went up six, our field goal kicker missed the kick, so we're up six. They drove down, threw a Hail Mary, scored it and their field goal kicker missed too. Everyone was on the sideline holding their breath when he missed, and that sent it to overtime.
"They got the ball first in overtime, they scored and they kicked the extra point. We scored it, and we went for two and won the game. So it was crazy, I'm sitting here watching the (Razorbacks) game thinking I'm in a simulation from last night."
Jackson has seen steady improvement throughout his senior year, but he knows he still has things to work on. His running game has grown a lot, but he said he needs to get faster to compete in the SEC.
"This offseason, my biggest thing was getting a little bit faster, so I can rush to get out of sticky situations," Jackson said. "And I know going to Arkansas I'm going to have to get that much faster, get a lot faster getting to play in the SEC."
Jackson also said the cerebral side of the game is something he's worked on this season as well.
"Just my decision making," Jackson said. "I feel like I'm better getting out of the pocket when I need to and throwing it away. Just saving yards, cause I feel like I've become a smarter football player, and everything I do needs to be to lead a little bit better and being able to contribute in a way that I can make my team that much better."
As far as his decision to stick with the Razorbacks, Jackson said he's not fielding any calls from other schools.
"I'm not responding to no other schools right now," Jackson said. "I'm a Hog."
Jackson said he is planning to enroll early and be on campus when the Razorbacks start spring practices ahead of the 2024 season.
KJ Jackson, a four-star lefty out of St. James Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, is a talented up-and-comer who is sticking with the Hogs through the good and the bad.
Jackson told HawgBeat he was "locked in" throughout the game at Florida on Saturday, which featured a walk-off touchdown pass by Jefferson to win the contest. He said he was impressed watching interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton, specifically to start the game.
"It was great," Jackson said. "You can tell that he's very serious about his job. Coming off that bye week, that first drive, I guarantee you most of those plays were scripted, and he put a lot of work in because the first drive was amazing. I don't think you can picture a better drive than that."
It wasn't just the first drive that impressed Jackson, though.
"He showed late in the game that he can make some good calls when the pressure. The play call when (Jefferson) rolled to his right on third-and-five, that was a great play call that he dumped it down on like a 10-yard curl.
"Everybody showed fight ... but you could tell KJ Jefferson was different today."
The final play of the game was a run-pass option, and Jefferson decided to pull the ball from running back Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and find wide receiver Tyrone Broden for the touchdown.
That kind of play is a judgment call by the quarterback, and Jackson said he liked that Guiton trusted his quarterback to make the call.
"That's another thing that I'm big on, it's actually something that's a part of my offense here at St. James," Jackson said. "I feel like the trust between me and my coaches here, they trust me enough here to make the right decisions in late-game scenarios. (Guiton) just showed trust in (Jefferson) on that play especially. Giving him the option to pass."
Jackson said he was in a similar scenario to the Razorbacks on Friday. St. James finished the game with the win, 49-48, and there were some fireworks at the end.
"So it's crazy, these last two games that I watched have been crazy sequences," Jackson said. "Last night was almost the exact same type game. We scored we went up six, our field goal kicker missed the kick, so we're up six. They drove down, threw a Hail Mary, scored it and their field goal kicker missed too. Everyone was on the sideline holding their breath when he missed, and that sent it to overtime.
"They got the ball first in overtime, they scored and they kicked the extra point. We scored it, and we went for two and won the game. So it was crazy, I'm sitting here watching the (Razorbacks) game thinking I'm in a simulation from last night."
Jackson has seen steady improvement throughout his senior year, but he knows he still has things to work on. His running game has grown a lot, but he said he needs to get faster to compete in the SEC.
"This offseason, my biggest thing was getting a little bit faster, so I can rush to get out of sticky situations," Jackson said. "And I know going to Arkansas I'm going to have to get that much faster, get a lot faster getting to play in the SEC."
Jackson also said the cerebral side of the game is something he's worked on this season as well.
"Just my decision making," Jackson said. "I feel like I'm better getting out of the pocket when I need to and throwing it away. Just saving yards, cause I feel like I've become a smarter football player, and everything I do needs to be to lead a little bit better and being able to contribute in a way that I can make my team that much better."
As far as his decision to stick with the Razorbacks, Jackson said he's not fielding any calls from other schools.
"I'm not responding to no other schools right now," Jackson said. "I'm a Hog."
Jackson said he is planning to enroll early and be on campus when the Razorbacks start spring practices ahead of the 2024 season.
