FAYETTEVILLE — While Arkansas’ coaches continue to assess which quarterback - sophomore Cole Kelley or redshirt junior Ty Storey - will take the first snap in the team’s season opener, a future Razorback signal caller has led his team to a touchdown on every possession so far this season.
While that’s the only three possessions he played in Sardis, Miss., North Panola’s 58-0 lid-lifting win over Coahoma County last Friday, Arkansas quarterback pledge KJ Jefferson (6-3, 211) is nevertheless off and running on what is expected to be a stellar senior season.
“KJ was 9-of-12 passing for 180 yards,” North Panola head coach Carl Diffee said. “It was just what we expect out of him. He has command of the offense and is ready to lead us to what we think is going to be a great season.”
Jefferson, who committed to Arkansas on May 18th over Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and others, took over as the starting quarterback in the ninth grade for North Panola – about 45 minutes away from Memphis.
He has completed 336-of-619 passes for 6,474 passing yards and 82 touchdowns – 17 interceptions – in those three seasons, but more importantly led a turnaround of the program.
The two seasons before Jefferson took over North Panola had gone 2-10, but he led the Cougars to a five-win season as freshman, 10 more victories as a sophomore and a school-record 13 to open last season before falling 59-26 to Yazoo County in the Class 3A semifinals.
“This is definitely the culmination of all his and his teammates' hard work and I must tell you that anything less than a trip to the state championship game will be considered a miss for us,” Diffee said. “There are certainly a lot of factors that can go into whether you win it all, but we just think we are poised to get there all things being equal.”
That’s Jefferson’s goal as well, something he made clear while in Fayetteville for the Woo Pig Nic on July 27.
“Our main goal is just getting to the state championship,” Jefferson said. “We came up short last year and we are just trying to have a perfect season. We want to get to the big game.”
Jefferson can become North Panola’s all-time leading passer this season if he throws for 2,835 yards and 22 touchdowns.
If he does, he will break the records set by Clifton Davis III, a man he considers his mentor and whose 9,309 career passing yards and 104 career passing touchdowns (10 in one game) were national records back in 1990.
Jefferson completed 150-of-236 passes for 3,028 yards and 36 touchdowns with 3 interceptions as a junior. He rushed 139 times for 1,325 yards and 8 touchdowns.
It was Jefferson’s intent to get his recruiting out of the way before his senior season and he got that done with two visits to Arkansas that solidified his decision.
He immediately went to work on recruiting for the Razorbacks, something Diffee had discussed with him.
“When he was getting ready to make the decision, I sit him down and told him that it was the part of the equation,” Diffee said. “I said if you are sure it is Arkansas, then commit and get to work and start getting people on board around you on both offense and defense. That’s just what he did, and Arkansas is having a great recruiting year with his help.”
Arkansas has 18 pledges in its 2019 class, one that is ranked as high as 16th by Rivals - the best since 2002.
Jefferson has at least two more big offensive targets on his list in Pulaski Academy’s Hudson Henry - the nation’s top tight end who he buddied up to at the July 27th event - and Murfreesboro, Tenn., Blackman’s Trey Knox (6-5, 210), one of the nation’s top wide receivers.
“Me and Trey have been building a relationship and I think we are going to end up getting him here,” Jefferson said. “…I think we are going to get both of those guys to come on.”