Lane Kiffin on KJ Jefferson: ‘I think he gets bigger every year’
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Lane Kiffin knows all about facing Arkansas with KJ Jefferson as the starting quarterback. Jefferson has been on the Razorback roster all 4 seasons of Kiffin’s Ole Miss tenure. The 2023 campaign is Jefferson’s third year as Arkansas’ QB1.
Ahead of the Week 6 clash between division rivals, Kiffin was asked about Jefferson’s growth as a quarterback. The Ole Miss head coach decided to go with a literal answer.
“His growth? I think he gets bigger every year,” Kiffin said in his Monday press conference. “I mean, this guy is so hard to bring down, and so challenging to play against. He always brings his great game against us also.
“We’ve got to tackle really well, got to cover because he makes so many plays out of rhythm by scrambling, and he has really good vision downfield and good accuracy.”
Jefferson has been consistently listed at 6-3 on the Arkansas roster. His weight is up to 247 pounds, making him a challenge to bring down, as Kiffin noted.
Kiffin’s former defensive coordinator DJ Durkin managed to contain Jefferson in Week 5. In a 34-22 loss, Jefferson was just 9-of-17 passing for 132 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception while finishing with negative yardage on 18 rushes.
Ole Miss and Arkansas are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff from Oxford. The game will air on the SEC Network.
Lane Kiffin answers a question on KJ Jefferson’s “growth” as only Lane Kiffin can. #WPS pic.twitter.com/CewyNKAFvM
— Pig Trail Nation (@PigTrailNation) October 2, 2023
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
