9/19/2023 football Edit

What LSU needs to do to limit KJ Jefferson's impact

Luke Hubbard • Death Valley Insider

Analyst

KJ Jefferson is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the SEC. He's a dual threat QB who can beat you with his arm and his legs. The thing that makes Jefferson unique compared to other mobile QBs is his physicality and toughness. Not many other QBs can lower their shoulder and run someone over, but Jefferson stands at 6'3, 247 Ibs and can run like a full back.

In his two full seasons as a starter, Jefferson rushed for 1,304-yards on a 4.3 YPC average. He was a threat on designed QB runs and when he scrambled out of the pocket, but something is different this year.

So far in 2023, Jefferson has ran the ball 31 time in three games, but he's averaged just 2.6 YPC. It's not like Arkansas has played any team who's super talented upfront either, he just hasn't been able to run as effectively as he has in the past.

Although his numbers are down, Jefferson has the most carries of any player on Arkansas' roster, so LSU is going to have to be ready for him to take off at any moment. Jefferson missed the matchup last season, but in 2021, he ran 15 times against LSU for 41-yards.

When asked about Jefferson's development and what he's seen from him this year, Brian Kelly had this to say about the Arkansas QB:

"I think it's like any other quarterback. When you get into your final year, you start thinking this is your year, you want to do well. He certainly feels like this is his year to showcase himself. I thought if you looked at the last quarters, he's trying to make plays, but he's got a lot of new players around him. It's not all about him, he's got some young players that have to develop around him, but he's still a big, physical, athletic quarterback that scares you. He's hard to bring down, he's got a live arm and we're going to be prepared for him to play his best against us."

— Brian Kelly

If you watched the Arkansas vs. BYU game, down the stretch Jefferson tried to make a lot of plays happen with his feet and arm, but the didn't always pan out. He threw for almost 250-yards, but he also tossed an interception and was sacked four times. On the ground, Jefferson ran the ball a season-high 13 times for 21-yards, averaging only 1.6 yards per carry.

So how do you go about defending a QB like KJ Jefferson?

You have to contain him in the pocket. When he drops back to pass, LSU's edge rushers are going to have to go wide and make sure he can't roll out and extend the play with his feet. The most frustrating play in the world for a defense is when the QB escapes the pocket and rolls out because it buys the receivers more time to get open in the scramble drill or it gives Jefferson a lot of room to run if there's nothing open downfield.

I wouldn't be entirely shocked if we saw Harold Perkins or even Whit Weeks in some sort of QB spy role. Both linebackers have shown their speed and ability to fly around the field, and with an athletic QB like Jefferson, you need someone who can catch him and make tackles in the open field against him.

Another thing LSU will have to do is force Jefferson to throw. He's almost guaranteed to run the ball at least 10 times, but if you can limit his impact in the run game like BYU did, it forces him to throw the ball to a wide receiver core that is filled with a lot of new faces.

Jefferson has struggled a bit through the first three games connecting with his new wide receivers, so if the Tigers can limit his rushing impact and force him to throw the ball early and often, they should be able to shut down the Razorbacks offense.