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Nick Saban discusses KJ Jefferson, Arkansas’ talented receiving corps
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No. 2 Alabama travels to Arkansas on Saturday to face the No. 20 Razorbacks.
The Crimson Tide got all it wanted in a road game at Texas earlier this season and the trip to Fayetteville shapes up as another stern challenge.
One key for Alabama in the game will be to contain Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson, who’s equally dangerous as a passer and runner.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was asked during his weekly appearance on the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday if he could come up with a comparison for Jefferson.
“Not really,” Saban said. “This guy’s pretty unique. He does a really good job of executing what they want to do on offense. … He’s a pretty unique guy. Big, physical, hard to tackle, hard to sack. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for how he plays.”
Saban also said Wednesday that he thinks highly or Arkansas’ receiving corps, even with Treylon Burks having moved to the NFL.
“Burks was obviously a fantastic player,” Saban said. “… They’ve got 3-4 guys now who are very capable of making plays and they get the ball spread around pretty good to all those guys. … I would agree with you that they have more explosive players playing receiver this year all the way around.”
Saban was also asked about a couple of Georgia Tech transfers who are making an impact for each team.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been a dual threat as a runner and receiver for the Crimson Tide, while defensive end Jordan Domineck has recorded 4.5 sacks for the Razorbacks defense.
“Jahmyr’s done a great job for us,” Saban said. “He’s got great quickness, good receiver, great runner with the ball in his hand. … Arkansas’s got 4-5 guys who can really rush and (Domineck) is one of them. … It’s going to be a real challenge for us and he’s going to be a challenge for us, as well.”
Alabama’s game at Arkansas on Saturday will be televised by CBS at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The Crimson Tide are 17.5-point favorites.
"Chris Wallace covers college football for Saturday Down South. He has covered college athletics for multiple newspapers and also worked previously for Rivals.com and GolfChannel.com."
