Hogs Have Good First Day, but Has Team Ever Had Bad One?

Coach Sam Pittman, quarterback KJ Jefferson, linebacker Pooh Paul all positives

Author:
Andy Hodges
Publish date:
Aug 4, 2023 5:18 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you're looking for a team that's had a bad first day of fall camp, you won't hear anything about it with Arkansas after Friday morning's first workout. The flip side of that is we probably wouldn't hear about a bad one, either. It's not in anybody's best interest.

Maybe the really interesting part is seeing the growing up process of quarterback KJ Jefferson, who is starting his fifth season. There are professors on campus that haven't managed to stay around town that long. It was obvious at the end of coach Sam Pittman's press conference.

"Can I ride in your seat in the cart going back or do I have to sit in the back again," he joked with the guy that has suddenly become a leader for the entire team, not just the offense. Pittman was just glad to see everybody on time for the 6:30 start and they stayed on the outdoor practice fields for 2.5 hours, he told the media later.

The players on the defense has seen the improvement, too. "Ever since I came in, KJ was a leader," linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul told the media after practice. "he gained respect for that. KJ was always the type of guy that if you have any questions about anything, you go to him and talk to him or even just get to know him more. As time went on, it got better. KJ was always the type of vocal leader. If he says anything, the team is going to listen, not just the offense. The whole team is going to corral around him and we let him know that we have his back no matter what is going on. I feel like it’s been great watching him grow and I’m excited for him.”

Jefferson has just been working to get better on the field and new offensive coordinator Dan Enos has a history of getting guys into the NFL. That's where KJ wants to end up, but he knows there are things he has to improve on, not to mention staying healthy for a whole season.

"Just becoming a quarterback," he said about working with Enos. "Just being able to me and him get in and talk about ball, talk about life, talk about everything. From a football aspect, just being able to get in and pick his brain and just knowing how he would call the game and what plays he’s thinking on third down or first down and stuff like that. Just being able to be a quarterback and him giving us the freedom and responsibility to take over in the game and control the game, whether it’s something going wrong or something going good, to keep that even keel mindset."