Apparently KJ Jefferson Was Accurate ... at Least Sam Said So

Razorbacks hold 110-play scrimmage on practice fields, but passing was sharp

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Aug 13, 2022 9:19 PM EDT

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Sam Pittman apparently liked what he saw in the passing game Saturday.

"Ol' KJ was accurate today, wasn’t he?" he said with a smile to sports information director Kyle Parkinson after his press conference, talking about quarterback KJ Jefferson.

There were no official stats kept, which is not unusual in this day and age. There were "about" 110 plays, according to Pittman.

"We’re certainly not game ready, but we saw a lot of good things out there," Pittman said later.

The passing game apparently stood out. It's impossible to get accurate rushing stats because anything that resembles a breakaway is blown dead by the officials, who were SEC refs for the scrimmage.

The Razorbacks had limited contact penalties like pass interference and holding, but Pittman counted nine self-inflicted penalties such as false starts, illegal formations and kickoffs out of bounds.

He attributed many of the penalties to younger players and pointed out the flag total included some against third-team players.

"That’s why you scrimmage," Pittman said. "I’m not overly concerned about it because it hasn’t happened at practice. We’ve got to get it fixed. It certainly gives us a point of emphasis to make."

Jefferson's accuracy was due, probably in no small part, to a good day from the wide receivers.

"Our wideouts right now are playing really well," Pittman said. “(Warren Thompson) caught a touchdown. I really like the young (Isaiah) Sategna kid. He did some really nice things today as well.

"We’ve got big wideouts and we’ve got quarterbacks getting (passes) to them. We’re able to protect and that’s a good thing."

Isaiah Sategna-Practice — Razorbacks wide receiver Isaiah Sategna during skeleton drills at Sunday afternoon's practice on the outdoor practice fields at the football center in Fayetteville, Ark. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Even Jefferson thought he had a good day, which means he probably did. Players don't normally say that unless they are. The film doesn't lie and that's a limb they usually won't walk on.

"There are things I do need to get better at as far as small details and stuff like that," Jefferson said. "As an offensive unit, I feel like we had a pretty explosive day today.

"We came out, took shots early, but we’ve just got to clean up the little mistakes and the little details, all the penalties we had."

But quit worrying about the wide receivers. Pittman sounded confident.

It was the second time this week Pittman the receivers. They have improved over the summer to the point where folks were talking last week about Malik Hornsby not being involved that much.

Especially Thompson and Oklahoma transfer Jadon Haselwood.

"That unit there has went a little bit in the first eight practices from, 'Man, we’ve got a concern,'" Pittman said of his receivers, "to, 'Man, somebody else has got a concern about our guys.'"