FAYETTEVILLE — A healthier KJ Jefferson could be in the works for the University of Arkansas on Saturday as the banged-up Razorbacks prepare to face SEC West leader LSU.
Jefferson has a bruised clavicle that made his availability for Saturday’s 21-19 loss to Liberty a question mark and caused him pain when he threw passes.
Jefferson got off to a rough start but heated up late and finished 23 of 37 for 284 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The first two-interception game of Jefferson’s career included one that bounced out of Trey Knox’s hands into a defender’s arms in the end zone, and the other was a deep ball for Ketron Jackson that safety Robert Rahimi made the read on and easily intercepted.
“I think he feels better this week than he did last week,” Coach Sam Pittman said at his Monday news conference. “ So I expect him to be able to throw today, and if that’s the case, I feel like he’ll be fine by Saturday.”
The Battle for the Golden Boot will feature teams on opposite ends of the happiness spectrum.
The Tigers (7-2, 5-1 SEC), who are sure to move up from No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings tonight, are coming off an emotional overtime win over defending SEC champion Alabama.
LSU prevailed 32-31 on a walk-off two-point conversion pass to Mason Taylor from Jayden Daniels, who earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks.
LSU Coach Brian Kelly was asked if facing Arkansas looked like a classic “trap” game, and he said he’s never bought into that kind of logic.
“They know that Arkansas is an SEC opponent that beat them last year,” he said. “So look, your thoughts affect your actions, that affect your physiological response. We’ve been working on how we think since day one. It becomes a trap game if you’re not thinking right, and we’ll get our guys thinking the right way, and we’ll prepare the right way.”
Meanwhile, the Razorbacks are looking for answers after a flat showing in the loss to Liberty.
Pittman said an emotional spark was lacking on the sidelines early in the game, similar to when Arkansas had to rally from a 17-0 deficit against Missouri State for a 38-27 win.
“Now as you think about it more and more, for the most part it’s non-Power 5 teams that we haven’t …,” Pittman said, not finishing the thought but insinuating those are the games Arkansas struggles to hit an emotional pitch.
“We woke up against Missouri State late. We never really woke up Saturday. It shouldn’t be that way. Those type teams, we’ve got to have a hunger. I respect all of them. Heck, the one Saturday beat us.”
Neither side of the ball had a good first half, as the Flames built a 21-0 lead. The Hogs managed two first downs on five first-quarter possessions and would have been shut out if not for Cam Little’s 50-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Both units played better in the second half, with the defense throwing a shutout on 79 yards allowed and the offense scoring touchdowns on their final two drives.
Pittman said the coaching staff needs to do a better job at promoting the leaders, like Jefferson and linebacker Bumper Pool, to have louder voices in the locker room, even when they’ve been playing through injuries and might not feel as comfortable speaking up.
“Our leadership is more by committee and not necessarily by one or two guys,” he said. “I think everybody knows Pool’s a leader for us, but he’s been hurt. You know what I mean?
“You understand. KJ is a leader for us, but he’s been hurt. So sometimes you lose your confidence in speaking out when in your mind, you’re looking and going, ‘They know I’m hurt. They know I’m not playing as well as I did.’ So our leaders have physically been hurt. And so they’ve gotta get over it and know that people look at them as leaders regardless of their playing status or anything like that.”
If Jefferson is back to his old self, Saturday’s matchup should feature two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
Jefferson ranks 22nd in the country with 300.8 yards total offense per game, while LSU’s Daniels is 27th at 290.3 yards per game.
Daniels is the top running quarterback in the SEC with 619 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, while Jefferson is fourth with 425 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Daniels carved up Alabama for 95 rushing yards, including a 25-yard score on the Tigers’ first play of overtime.
Jefferson did not run much early against Liberty but wound up with 36 yards on 16 carries, though that number would be 68 yards on 12 carries with sacks excluded.
Kelly said he’s counted five big, physical quarterbacks the Tigers have faced this season.
“He is going to be actively involved in the run game,” Kelly said of Jefferson. “They’re not afraid to run him at any time. We’ve seen him take off at the 5-yard line in the air.
“He is going to be a handful, another guy that we’ve got to be able to control what he does and get him on the ground.”
Pittman took a moment on Monday to clarify remarks he said in Saturday’s post-game about checking with offensive coordinator Kendal Briles on whether to call on reserve quarterback Malik Hornsby against the Flames. On game day, Pittman said Briles told him Jefferson was their “guy” and would get things going.
“That question was more in reference of, ‘What was his health?’ not necessarily he’s not playing well or we’re going to take him out,” Pittman said Monday. “It was about is he healthy enough to play and the answer was yes. So there was never really a thought of pulling him out because of performance.”