FAYETTEVILLE — KJ Jefferson’s storied and record-breaking career as quarterback at the University of Arkansas has come to a close.
Jefferson announced Saturday he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal for the final season of his college career.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed watching me grow as a man and a player as much as I’ve enjoyed representing this state and university,” Jefferson wrote on his Instagram account. “You accepted me as one of your own, and for that, I’m forever grateful and in your debt.”
Jefferson, 22, spent three years as an offensive captain and three years as the starting quarterback for the Razorbacks after making single starts in 2019 at No. 1 LSU and in 2020 at Missouri.
There had been strong indications from those around the Arkansas program and those close to Jefferson that he would not be returning in 2024 after the Razorbacks endured a 4-8 record this season.
In addition to returning scholarship quarterbacks Jacolby Criswell and Malachi Singleton, the Razorbacks have a commitment via the transfer portal from former Boise State quarterback Taylen Green, who has two years of eligibility remaining, and from KJ Jackson, 6-3, 215-pound high school prospect from Montgomery, Ala.
Jefferson, a native of Sardis, Miss., broke nearly every major career record for quarterbacks at Arkansas, including passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense.
Jefferson’s career spanned the disaster of a 2-10 season in 2019 under Coach Chad Morris as a freshman, through a season as an apprentice under Feleipe Franks in the covid-marred 2020 campaign, the rise to a 9-4 record with four trophy game wins in his first season of the starter in 2021, to a dropoff to a 4-8 finish last fall.
Along the way, Jefferson took over career records with 7,911 passing yards, 67 touchdown passes, 9,787 total yards and 88 combined touchdowns as a runner and passer.
The 6-3, 242-pounder who was born Kennedy Dewayne Jefferson Jr., also created his own highlight reel of improbable escapes from would-be sacks, prompting Alabama Coach Nick Saban to famously remark that Jefferson shook off one of his players like a “gnat on a fly’s ass” before correcting himself and swapping “cow” for “fly.”
Jefferson turned near-sacks into huge plays, like a 43-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Johnson in a 16-13 overtime win at LSU in 2021, a 36-yard pass to Trey Knox in a 52-35 win at BYU in 2022, a 32-yard scramble in a 55-53 triple-overtime win against Kansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl, and a 25-yard pass to Var’keyes Gumms against the Crimson Tide this fall.
And those were just the biggest among dozens of Jefferson’s standout plays as a Razorback.
Jefferson’s career also straddled the line between college athletes playing for scholarships and the opportunity to build credentials for professional paychecks to the proliferation of compensation for Name, Image and Likeness. Jefferson is believed to be the highest-compensated Razorback on the NIL front since its dawning.
Jefferson worked with three offensive coordinators at Arkansas, starting with Joe Craddock as a true freshman, followed by three seasons under Kendal Briles, and culminating with a step-back season under Dan Enos this fall.
Jefferson blossomed under Briles’ tutelage, passing for 2,676 yards and 21 touchdowns and accounting for 27 touchdowns in 2021, then 2,636 yards and 24 touchdowns with 33 total touchdowns in 11 games in 2022.
This season, Jefferson managed 2,107 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns and 21 total touchdowns with a career-worst 8 interceptions and a 64.2% completion rate that was his lowest as a starter.
