Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson talking with the media at SEC Media Days on Wednesday morning in Nashville, Tenn.
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00:00 KJ, we talk about the impressive season you had next year.
00:02 Tony Reece, WTVM out of Columbus, Georgia.
00:03 Man, just kind of been following your game for a while.
00:05 Just really, what do you hope to improve on this season?
00:07 Just becoming a better passer, scratching the ball down
00:10 the field, playmakers the ball, letting them make plays,
00:12 and also just owning the offense,
00:15 going up to the line of scrimmage,
00:16 checking out the players, re-IDing the mic,
00:18 stuff like that is going to help me
00:20 prepare for the next level.
00:22 Second row on the right.
00:23 Dan Peck, ESPN 1067 in Auburn.
00:25 KJ, how seriously did you consider
00:27 ending your college football career after last season?
00:30 And what were sort of the factors that
00:31 led to you coming back to Arkansas for another year?
00:34 The factors that led me coming back was I
00:36 didn't get to play in some of the big SEC games
00:39 due to injury.
00:40 So I just wanted to come back and be
00:42 able to give this state and my teammates
00:44 another shot at being able to just go out there and help
00:46 my teammates win and become successful.
00:50 Left side, second row.
00:51 Clint Schweitzer from Star Arcade Media in Kansas City.
00:54 KJ, your career really got started three years ago
00:57 against Missouri in that game.
00:59 And since then, you guys have kind of traded victories
01:01 and had a tough loss here this last season to Missouri.
01:04 Just talk about what that rivalry has been
01:05 like playing against Mizzou, considering your career started
01:08 against the Tigers.
01:10 It's been really fun.
01:11 I mean, like you said, it's going back and forth
01:13 each and every year.
01:14 And it's a big rivalry for us.
01:15 Also, it's a trophy game as well.
01:17 So they just make everything a lot--
01:19 put pressures on both teams to go out there and execute
01:22 at a high level.
01:22 So I mean, it's been really fun.
01:24 I enjoy the rivalries that we have with Missouri.
01:26 And just looking forward to being a great turnout
01:29 this year.
01:30 Second row, right side.
01:32 Hey, KJ, several new transfer quarterbacks
01:34 in the league this season.
01:36 What's some advice you would give maybe
01:38 a guy at your position who's coming in playing
01:40 the SEC for the first time?
01:42 Just, I mean, being able to get in, establish a bond,
01:45 a relationship with your coaching staff first,
01:48 and then also just let their bond just trickle down
01:51 to the players and the teammates.
01:52 Just come in and just work and just grind.
01:55 I mean, the main thing is you want to establish a relationship
01:57 with each and every one of your receivers,
01:59 each and every one of your teammates.
02:00 So when y'all do take the field, y'all have that bond together.
02:03 When adversity hits y'all, y'all don't separate.
02:05 Y'all just come together as one.
02:07 Left side, second row.
02:09 Hey, KJ, Bradley Davis with WAPT and Jackson.
02:12 So being from Mississippi, is there one of those schools
02:15 that when you get a chance to play them,
02:16 you're a little bit more fired up, getting to come home?
02:19 For sure, for sure.
02:20 Being from the state of Mississippi,
02:22 you got old Mississippi State.
02:24 So those games I always circle on my calendar
02:27 whenever we get a chance to play them,
02:28 just because I'm from Mississippi
02:30 and it just means a lot more to me.
02:32 Left side, third row.
02:34 Billy Jones, KCU 88.1 FM Columbia.
02:37 KJ, obviously a change in offensive coordinator
02:39 and really a change of system with Enos coming in.
02:41 Can you talk us through a little bit what that offense
02:43 is going to look like schematically
02:44 and how you see yourself playing it next year?
02:48 This system is very pro style.
02:51 It's a lot slower than how we've been in the previous years.
02:55 Also, just being able to, in this offense,
02:57 it's a lot on the quarterback.
02:58 I have a lot more freedom to do different things,
03:01 auto out of different plays and stuff like that.
03:03 So, I mean, it's fun to be in
03:06 and also just a learning tool for me just for the next level.
03:10 Left side, third row.
03:12 Tyler Shaw with KBTX and College Station.
03:14 KJ, what do you remember from that crazy finish
03:17 and just that game against Texas A&M last year?
03:20 And I guess how much are you looking forward
03:22 to trying to get your revenge this year?
03:25 Thing I remember is the play that I had
03:28 that still sticks with me to this day
03:29 that I had down in the red zone.
03:32 This year, I mean, just being able to just focus
03:34 on the small details, trust myself,
03:36 don't second-guess myself, and when the time comes,
03:39 I know I'll prepare for that moment
03:41 and don't let the moment be too big for me.
03:43 Front row.
03:46 KJ, you mentioned earlier, of course,
03:47 a new offense coordinator coming in with Dan Enos,
03:50 and he says a more pro style system.
03:52 How have you acclimated to this system
03:54 in comparison to the Kendall Bryles offense last year?
03:57 This system right here requires a lot more film work
04:00 and also just going out there
04:02 and putting myself in a position,
04:03 calling different plays and calling different formation
04:06 when I'm the only person out there on the field,
04:07 just getting into my mindset
04:09 and just being able to be for me
04:11 with the plays and the formations and everything.
04:13 Again, also just having guys come in
04:14 and run these certain different routes
04:16 that we have that's new from a previous system that we had.
04:20 On the aisle, third row.
04:22 KJ, kind of going off the --
04:23 oh, first of all, John Sokoloff with WCBI,
04:25 kind of going off the Mississippi question there.
04:27 I know Oxford, right down the road from you,
04:30 you're going to have a chance to play them again this year.
04:33 I mean, what was it like two years ago
04:36 going back there to kind of play against them?
04:38 And I know you're a one-and-one against Ole Miss,
04:42 so what would it mean to go two-and-one
04:43 and ultimately win the "series"
04:46 against the Rebels, your hometown team?
04:49 Oh, it would mean a lot. I mean, just like you said,
04:51 Oxford is right down the road from me,
04:52 so I kind of look at it as a homecoming for me,
04:55 just being able to come back and have a lot of my fans
04:57 and friends and family come out
04:59 and just be able to support me and just give me that edge
05:02 and just being able to come out and support me.
05:04 But also, like you said, the series,
05:06 just being able to try to come out victorious that game
05:08 and just knowing that we won a series two-and-one,
05:10 like you said.
05:13 Left side, back row.
05:14 Hey, KJ. Jamal Kennedy, WSFA 12 Sports in Montgomery, Alabama.
05:18 This fall, you guys will travel back to Tuscaloosa
05:20 to play Alabama.
05:21 Two years ago, that was such a close game.
05:24 What do you remember about that atmosphere
05:26 inside Brian Denny Stadium that Saturday?
05:28 It was very fun. I mean, what college football is about.
05:32 I mean, the atmosphere, very chaotic,
05:35 very fun to play in, the environment, the atmosphere,
05:38 and also just being able to make sure my guys don't just divide,
05:42 just come together, and then just also just remember
05:44 that this is the game that we love to play,
05:46 and it's only a game,
05:47 not letting the moment get too big for us.
05:50 Back row again.
05:52 KJ, Vince Ferraro, 99.1, the Sports Animal in Knoxville.
05:55 I know quarterbacks.
05:56 A lot of you guys know each other.
05:58 There's that fraternity there.
06:01 What do you know, and do you know Joe Milton,
06:03 and what do you think about his game?
06:06 I don't personally know him that well,
06:08 but I watched highlights of him,
06:11 different games that he has played in.
06:13 Very strong arm, talented, very intelligent as well.
06:18 I really admire his game, and I mean,
06:20 I like the way he plays the game at the quarterback position.
06:23 Second row, right side.
06:25 KJ, you'd lost some heartbreakers to Auburn
06:27 earlier in your career.
06:29 This past season, that game was one-sided,
06:31 especially in the second half, Arkansas took control.
06:33 What was the significance of that?
06:34 What did that feel like to be able to get the upper hand
06:37 over a team that had beaten you
06:38 in some close games earlier in your career?
06:40 It felt really good, I mean, just knowing that my teammates
06:43 and the preparation that we had that week,
06:44 just going into the game, that we wanted to dominate
06:47 the first time we stepped out there on the field
06:48 and not leaving it to the referee's hands
06:50 or just go out there and just play our brand of football,
06:53 and I mean, that's what we did from the start
06:55 to the finish of the game.
06:57 Final two questions, second row,
06:58 and then we'll go to the front.
07:00 KJ, there's a lot of rabid fan bases,
07:02 of course, in the SEC, Arkansas being right up there at the top.
07:05 Can you just talk about your time in Fayetteville,
07:07 what makes that a great experience in the SEC?
07:11 The fan base of Arkansas is just unbelievable.
07:14 I mean, that's one of the reasons
07:15 why I made my decision to go to Arkansas
07:17 was because of the fan base, the environment,
07:20 the people that treat you like family,
07:22 that treat you like one of their own.
07:24 I just fell in love with it, and it just felt like home to me.
07:28 Front row.
07:29 AP and Kelly, as we see at Syndicated Radio,
07:32 KJ, when you want to get better,
07:34 who would you turn on and watch on the film?
07:39 I look at a lot of guys.
07:40 From an NFL standpoint, I look at Jaylon Hurts a lot,
07:45 Patrick Mahomes, I look at him a lot,
07:47 and Joe Burrow as well, just from a technical standpoint,
07:51 just with his footwork.
07:52 I feel like he had the best footwork
07:53 between all the quarterbacks in the league right now.
07:56 Just being able to just watch those guys
07:58 and critique those guys and then go out to the field
08:01 or out in the sand and just work on those different things
08:04 that help me prepare myself for the upcoming season.