Aggie Coach Says Arkansas QB Reminds Him Of Heisman Winner

Despite sitting at a 2-2 record overall heading into a pivotal matchup between two teams that have produced plenty of memorable games over the past 15 years. While most of the winning has been done by the Texas A&M Aggies, this rivalry is intense and littered with close games and tight finishes. The Razorbacks may be sitting with a .500 record it doesn’t diminish the fact that they are one of the more dangerous teams in college football.

Arkansas has lost two consecutive games by one possession. If they simply cut out penalties and mistakes they could find themselves on the other side of the win-loss column. Led by their star quarterback KJ Jefferson, the Hogs have a chance in any game he steps on the field for them. Rarely are they a outside of a punchers chance in games under Sam Pittman either. However, the Razorbacks do have an issue finishing off close games with a 4-8 record in games decided by a 7-points or less since Jefferson was named starting QB against Missouri in 2020.

According to Aggie coach Jimbo Fisher, Jefferson reminds him of a former Heisman Trophy winner — Cam Newton.

“It starts with KJ Jefferson,” Fisher said. “He reminds me of Cam Newton. He’s a 6-foot-5, 250-255-pounder or whatever they say. I know he’s a giant. I don’t know what they weigh him at but he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s throwing the ball excellent. He’s making great decisions, he’s hard to get on the ground –going to have to make sure you wrap him up when you get pressure.”

Sure, we’ve all heard the comparison before but it’s not far from the truth. Jefferson is a gamer and is one of the most efficient signal callers in college football. He’s currently completing over 70% of his passes for 918 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. No, he’s not running the ball compared to year’s past but it has helped him remain healthy by limiting the amount of hits taken.

Texas A&M’s defense is very disruptive and recorded 7 sacks last week against Auburn. It’s been well documented that Arkansas has also struggled to protect their QB throughout the season, allowing Jefferson to be sacked 11 times which is 11th most in the SEC. Four of those sacks were allowed last week at LSU.

Jefferson displayed his ability to run out of trouble multiple times last week against LSU rushing for 48 yards on 16 carries. It was very apparent that the holes in the run game also opened up with the RPO threat by Jefferson. The Hogs saw Rashod Dubinion have a breakout game with 18 touches for 113 yards on the night. Will the potential return of Rocket Sanders make the Razorback backfield even more of a threat?