Opportunity for KJ Jefferson to end the season strong...
arkansas.rivals.com
TAMPA, Fla. — In its second year under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, Arkansas has had one of its most prolific offenses in recent memory this season.
The Razorbacks are averaging their most yards and points in six years and a major key to their success has been the play of quarterback KJ Jefferson.
In fact, Penn State head coach James Franklin - whose team is preparing to face Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday - said the offense “starts and ends” with Jefferson, whom he described as a “big, physical, mature guy.”
The redshirt sophomore accounted for 3,132 yards and 26 touchdowns during the regular season, with the dual-threat nature of his game opening up the Razorbacks’ offense even more than Feleipe Franks last year.
“It kind of gives the defense another element that they have to try to defend either in the play action game or just designed quarterback run,” tight end Blake Kern said. “All of that just opens up areas for the guys to go make plays on the outside, throwing the ball up to them and things like that.”
A four-star, Rivals250 recruit coming out of high school, Jefferson has always been known for his athleticism and finally got to fully display it in his first season as Arkansas’ full-time starter.
He is the Razorbacks’ second-leading rusher with 554 yards on a team-high 126 carries, but that also includes sacks. If you take those plays out, Jefferson averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
In addition to that explosiveness, the Mississippi native has used his 6-foot-3, 245-pound frame to his advantage, running with a physicality that led to 28 broken tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson averages 5.1 yards per carry after contact, which is second among FBS quarterbacks behind only Liberty’s Malik Willis.
That power running style has the attention of Penn State assistant Anthony Poindexter, who will be the acting defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions in Tampa after Brent Pry left to become Virginia Tech’s head coach.
“When you think of a running quarterback, you always think of them being elusive and stuff like that,” Poindexter said. “He’s got a little bit of that to him, but he really can square his shoulders up and get downhill and really take on linebackers, linemen, defensive backs, and very hard to tackle.”
Jefferson’s best performance on the ground came in the wild shootout loss at Ole Miss, when he ran for 85 yards and three scores on 20 carries. He followed that up with 66 yards on 18 carries the following week against Auburn.
Down the stretch, though, Jefferson wasn’t quite as effective, as he was pretty beat up and Arkansas attempted to limit the number of hits he took each week. With Saturday being the Razorbacks’ last game for eight months, that might change against Penn State.
“I think when you have that type of quarterback, you have to manage it during the season,” Franklin said. “When you get to the bowl game, this is the last game of the year, we're expecting them to run that 245-pound quarterback a bunch. We got to be prepared for that.”
With Jefferson in the fold, Arkansas has been a dominant running team this season. Dominique Johnson, Rocket Sanders, Trelon Smith and - to a lesser extent - AJ Green have all contributed to what is the 11th-best rushing attack in the FBS, averaging 217.3 yards per game.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year, though, has been Jefferson’s development as a passer. Since a rocky first half against Rice in the opener, he has been just as dangerous with his arm as he’s been with his legs.
Thanks in large part to an incredibly efficient November, when he completed 76.3 percent of his passes against Mississippi State, LSU, Alabama and Missouri, Jefferson currently has the second-best single-season completion percentage in UA history, sitting at 66.9 percent.
He’s also been picked off only three times this season, with the last coming on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half against Ole Miss. Since then, Jefferson has thrown 170 consecutive passes without an interception, the second-longest streak in school history.
Even his yardage total - 2,578 - has already cracked the UA’s top-10 list and he could end up at No. 7 with just 52 passing yards against Penn State.
“I feel like our run game is our focal point, but KJ has been good in the passing game,” Johnson said. “He's been great in the passing game. I feel like teams sleep on our passing game because we run the ball so well, so us being able to pass the ball is a huge threat.”
Not having star wide receiver Treylon Burks, who opted out of the bowl to focus on the NFL Draft, will likely have an impact on Arkansas’ passing game, especially considering there’s no true No. 2 wide receiver.
However, Jefferson can still “throw the ball a mile,” as Poindexter said, and he was a huge reason the Razorbacks had such a balanced offense, averaging 217.3 yards on the ground and 223.6 yards through the air.
Entering Friday’s bowls, Arkansas is one of only 16 FBS teams to average at least 200 passing and rushing yards this season and each of them reached the postseason, including six 10-win teams.
Regardless of their performance Saturday, the Razorbacks will finish the season hitting both marks for the first time in 50 years, when a Joe Ferguson-led passing attack averaged 211.5 yards and the trio of Dickey Morton, Mike Saint and Jon Richardson helped them average 233.7 rushing yards in 1971.
“I feel like the balance that we have as far as being able to run and pass the ball is just a great complement to the way we're coached and the way that Coach Pittman wants things to be run and Coach Briles calling a great game and stuff like that,” Kern said. “It's been awesome.”
Kickoff against Penn State is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT Saturday and the game, which will be played inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., will be televised on ESPN2.
HawgBeat - Jefferson leads Hogs' balanced attack into Outback Bowl
Arkansas has had one of its most prolific offenses in recent memory this season.
arkansas.rivals.com
TAMPA, Fla. — In its second year under offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, Arkansas has had one of its most prolific offenses in recent memory this season.
The Razorbacks are averaging their most yards and points in six years and a major key to their success has been the play of quarterback KJ Jefferson.
In fact, Penn State head coach James Franklin - whose team is preparing to face Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday - said the offense “starts and ends” with Jefferson, whom he described as a “big, physical, mature guy.”
The redshirt sophomore accounted for 3,132 yards and 26 touchdowns during the regular season, with the dual-threat nature of his game opening up the Razorbacks’ offense even more than Feleipe Franks last year.
“It kind of gives the defense another element that they have to try to defend either in the play action game or just designed quarterback run,” tight end Blake Kern said. “All of that just opens up areas for the guys to go make plays on the outside, throwing the ball up to them and things like that.”
A four-star, Rivals250 recruit coming out of high school, Jefferson has always been known for his athleticism and finally got to fully display it in his first season as Arkansas’ full-time starter.
He is the Razorbacks’ second-leading rusher with 554 yards on a team-high 126 carries, but that also includes sacks. If you take those plays out, Jefferson averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
In addition to that explosiveness, the Mississippi native has used his 6-foot-3, 245-pound frame to his advantage, running with a physicality that led to 28 broken tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson averages 5.1 yards per carry after contact, which is second among FBS quarterbacks behind only Liberty’s Malik Willis.
That power running style has the attention of Penn State assistant Anthony Poindexter, who will be the acting defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions in Tampa after Brent Pry left to become Virginia Tech’s head coach.
“When you think of a running quarterback, you always think of them being elusive and stuff like that,” Poindexter said. “He’s got a little bit of that to him, but he really can square his shoulders up and get downhill and really take on linebackers, linemen, defensive backs, and very hard to tackle.”
Jefferson’s best performance on the ground came in the wild shootout loss at Ole Miss, when he ran for 85 yards and three scores on 20 carries. He followed that up with 66 yards on 18 carries the following week against Auburn.
Down the stretch, though, Jefferson wasn’t quite as effective, as he was pretty beat up and Arkansas attempted to limit the number of hits he took each week. With Saturday being the Razorbacks’ last game for eight months, that might change against Penn State.
“I think when you have that type of quarterback, you have to manage it during the season,” Franklin said. “When you get to the bowl game, this is the last game of the year, we're expecting them to run that 245-pound quarterback a bunch. We got to be prepared for that.”
With Jefferson in the fold, Arkansas has been a dominant running team this season. Dominique Johnson, Rocket Sanders, Trelon Smith and - to a lesser extent - AJ Green have all contributed to what is the 11th-best rushing attack in the FBS, averaging 217.3 yards per game.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year, though, has been Jefferson’s development as a passer. Since a rocky first half against Rice in the opener, he has been just as dangerous with his arm as he’s been with his legs.
Thanks in large part to an incredibly efficient November, when he completed 76.3 percent of his passes against Mississippi State, LSU, Alabama and Missouri, Jefferson currently has the second-best single-season completion percentage in UA history, sitting at 66.9 percent.
He’s also been picked off only three times this season, with the last coming on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half against Ole Miss. Since then, Jefferson has thrown 170 consecutive passes without an interception, the second-longest streak in school history.
Even his yardage total - 2,578 - has already cracked the UA’s top-10 list and he could end up at No. 7 with just 52 passing yards against Penn State.
“I feel like our run game is our focal point, but KJ has been good in the passing game,” Johnson said. “He's been great in the passing game. I feel like teams sleep on our passing game because we run the ball so well, so us being able to pass the ball is a huge threat.”
Not having star wide receiver Treylon Burks, who opted out of the bowl to focus on the NFL Draft, will likely have an impact on Arkansas’ passing game, especially considering there’s no true No. 2 wide receiver.
However, Jefferson can still “throw the ball a mile,” as Poindexter said, and he was a huge reason the Razorbacks had such a balanced offense, averaging 217.3 yards on the ground and 223.6 yards through the air.
Entering Friday’s bowls, Arkansas is one of only 16 FBS teams to average at least 200 passing and rushing yards this season and each of them reached the postseason, including six 10-win teams.
Regardless of their performance Saturday, the Razorbacks will finish the season hitting both marks for the first time in 50 years, when a Joe Ferguson-led passing attack averaged 211.5 yards and the trio of Dickey Morton, Mike Saint and Jon Richardson helped them average 233.7 rushing yards in 1971.
“I feel like the balance that we have as far as being able to run and pass the ball is just a great complement to the way we're coached and the way that Coach Pittman wants things to be run and Coach Briles calling a great game and stuff like that,” Kern said. “It's been awesome.”
Kickoff against Penn State is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT Saturday and the game, which will be played inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., will be televised on ESPN2.
