KJ Jefferson's Arrest: The Cause and Effect on the 2023 Arkansas Razorbacks

Former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson turned himself into authorities earlier today on a wreckless driving charge.

The charge stems from an incident that happened on May 18, 2023 before the time of his commitment to UCF where Jefferson is planning on playing out his college career.

From what we Know Now, Here are some Dynamics with KJ Jefferson that could have affected the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2023

Arkansas was Aware of the Incident with KJ Jefferson

UCF head coach, Guz Malzahn told the Orlando Sentinel that he was aware of Jeffersons arrest back in 2023 stating, “I have been full aware of this situation that took place in 2023 prior to his arrival at UCF.”

If Malzahn was aware, Arkansas and head coach Sam Pittman must have been as well. For a coach that is already on the hot seat, this may make it a bit hotter for Pittman.

It is Jefferson’s right of who he decides to inform. Regardless however, what we know now is that the Razorbacks struggled to a 4-8 season, and no disciplinary action was reported to have been taken on Jefferson. This could be another strike against Pittman heading into 2024 that fans could point to if the team continues to struggle.

Arkansas Fans have Further Affirmation that KJ Jefferson Moving on was a Good Thing for the Program

What this also shows Razorback fans is that it was probably a good thing that Jefferson transferred. While it is truly up to the player whether or not they return to a school that offered them a scholarship which they accepted in the first place, let us be honest in the fact that there are a lot of behind the scenes conversations within every football program that we are not a part of.

It is an assumption, but with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino at the controls, it makes more sense now that Petrino would opt to quickly take former Boise State quarterback, Taylen Green out of the transfer portal even with KJ Jefferson and Jacolby Criswell still on the Hogs roster at the time.

The Struggles for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2023 could have been more of KJ Jefferson’s Fault than we Realized.

With the offense struggling all season and offensive coordinator Dan Enos being fired halfway through the season, it was assumed that the struggles were on the shoulders of Enos and Pittman.

While this very well could have been the case, with the arrest of Jefferson, it does beg the question of how focused he was as the starting quarterback of the Razorbacks for the 2023 season.

I’m not faulting Jefferson at all, but simply stating that it would be difficult for anyone to remain totally focused on the task at hand with possible criminal charges looming over their head. And this may have contributed more than we realized at the time for the struggles of the Razorbacks in 2023.