Back-Up Portal Plan Not Panning Out How Jefferson Would Have Originally Imagined

Number of quarterbacks who out-rank former Arkansas quarterback, are better fits, driving options, potential asking price way down

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Dec 26, 2023 11:12 AM EST
Original:
Dec 26, 2023

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – This isn't how it was supposed to be. If for some reason former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson didn't go into the NFL draft, he was to be one of the hottest quarterback names in the portal. Top colleges falling over themselves begging boosters to make sure they had as much money in the war chest as possible to sign him.

Then Dan Enos happened. Jefferson spent his offseason working hard to develop skills that would make him more attractive to NFL teams. He improved his footwork. Practiced trying to make reads. In response, Enos and Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman were dedicated to allowing Jefferson the chance to look as much like an NFL quarterback as possible.

What resulted was a disaster for Jefferson. When he finally entered the portal a couple of weeks ago, instead of finding himself listed as a hot commodity, he struggled to cling to the bottom edges of the Top 10 quarterbacks available. Even when guys like Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers went off the board along with Dillon Gabriel, Aiden Chilles and Dante Moore, Jefferson's name never seemed to move.

Instead, other quarterbacks like USC's Malachi Nelson, jumped in, keeping the former Razorback captain low on the list as Power Five jobs filled across the country. At the moment, 20 quarterbacks have entered the portal who rank higher than Jefferson. With just a few days remaining in 2023, five major targets ahead of him have yet to make their decisions.

Nelson, Washington State's Cam Ward, Kansas State's Will Howard, Oregon State's DJ Uiagalelei, and James Madison's Jordan McCloud have yet to come off the board. So long as a team thinks any of these quarterbacks might still be an option, Jefferson will be a back-up option at best.

However, despite grading out higher, he keeps finding himself lower on best available quarterback lists than his star-rated score suggests he should be. That's because Jefferson is the original "Sonic the Hedgehog" game back during the introduction of Sega. He only works in a very specific plug and play system that not a lot of people currently have.

If he's to be of use, there has to be an RPO system with minimized reads behind a solid offensive line and a big part of the game plan has to be quarterback runs. Most schools run a progression read system that is vastly different from the quick, almost automatic set of reads Kendal Briles asked of Jefferson during his time at Arkansas.

As a result, quarterbacks with lower ratings such as Utah's Bryson Barnes and Oregon's Ty Thompson have jumped ahead in what programs consider the best available. Their skills fit a wider array of teams, so the bidding war for their services will be much more competitive than the market Jefferson faces.

Unless he can get a desperate school to basically bid against itself, Jefferson has made by far the most money he's going to make, possibly in his lifetime. TCU is one of the few teams that provides a fit of any kind. Outside of a tiny handful of other schools, bringing on Jefferson would be a huge risk.

As a result, it's time to consider more conservative money management. The suit and bag game will need to come down a little bit in lieu of more practical big picture decisions like purchasing a modestly priced house.

The prospect of being an NFL quarterback has pretty much sailed. If this year isn't to be the last decent paycheck he receives playing football, Jefferson will need to consider whether he can play a different position and hope a team will take a risk on him for his potential at that position.

It's not the dream he imagined this time last season. However, there are the dreams we have and the path God puts us on. Perhaps this new humble path is exactly what was needed to course correct where Jefferson is intended to be. The rest is now up to him.