Lack of Respect Could Be Motivation for Hogs, KJ

When you're 7-27 over the last three seasons, it shouldn't be surprising Arkansas isn't getting much notice in these preseason rankings and such.

The Razorbacks are, basically, picked in one of the last two spots in the SEC West. Sam Pittman knows it and that was part of a chip on the shoulder for last year's 3-7 all-SEC run.

Considering KJ Jefferson really has just one quality start in his career and lost it shouldn't be that surprising he's usually picked in the bottom half of SEC quarterbacks in the summer when we rank just about everything.

But dead last in the league?

To be fair, the loss to Missouri last year had nothing to do with Jefferson's play. He put 48 points on the board and the defense collapsed in the last minute of the game.

Brad Crawford over at 247Sports put Jefferson at No. 14 in ranking the SEC quarterbacks ... which is where everybody had the Hogs last year.

Jefferson was voted a captain by his teammates last week and all fall camp it has sounded at times like he's going to be given the opportunity to prove he should stay the starter.

The problem is consistency in practices after looking sharp in scrimmages. That makes coaches really, really nervous.

"Whenever KJ had some opportunities to play and then when we had scrimmages in the spring, he was very accurate,” offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said a couple of weeks ago. “When we were in practices, he wasn't as accurate."

Coaches want their quarterbacks to be as sharp in practices as games. That was why Matt Jones drove Houston Nutt and his coaches crazy. Jones yawned through a lot of practices.

Jefferson hasn't yawned, but he has made you wonder on some practice throws exactly where he was throwing it.

"He's really worked on this over the summer with coach (Jamil) Walker and our strength program getting him stronger and physically more capable," Briles said. "I really like where he's at from a practice standpoint with his accuracy."

But there has been an awful lot of the talk about No. 2 quarterback Malik Hornsby, who can blind you with his speed. He's also apparently improved throwing the ball.

Is a ranking like the one from 247Sports something that motivates Jefferson?

It worked for the team last year, who was not favored in a single one of 10 games.

"I know we weren't," Pittman said Monday. "It's really not as much about the opponent for the players but we pretty much keep it about Arkansas. We need to play our best and let the score take care of the score.

Now they are favored by nearly 20 points in some places to beat Rice. They probably should be ahead by that many at halftime or there's a problem, but that's the line.

"It is different because we're expected to win this game," Pittman said. "We weren't, at least Vegas-wise, favored to win any of them last year. We're very aware of that."

We will find out Saturday if that's some added motivation.

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