by Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Redshirt junior KJ Jefferson is still nursing some injuries that limited him in the Liberty game.
Jefferson threw during Monday's practice after not throwing much in the week leading up the game against the Flames which Arkansas lost 21-19. On Monday, Sam Pittman seemed to think Jefferson had made big strides during Sunday and Monday as far as his health.
"I think he feels better this week than he did last week," Pittman said Monday. "So I expect him to be able to throw today, and if that’s the case, I feel like he’ll be fine by Saturday. You know I answered the question the other night about talking to Kendal (Briles) about KJ.
"That question was more in reference of ‘What was his health?’ Not necessarily he’s not playing well or we’re going to take him out. It was about is he healthy enough to play and the answer was yes. So there was never really a thought of pulling him out because of performance. It was about whether he was healthy or not. And obviously he ended up playing the last quarter or so well. He got back in the groove a little bit. But I just wanted to clear that up. Because it wasn’t about taking him out about performance, it was ‘Is he healthy enough?’"
Pittman was asked if it's a shoulder issue for Jefferson?
"Yeah, it’s really in the clavicle area," Pittman said. "There’s nothing … it’s bruised. It’s hard for him to throw the ball without some type of pain. Like I say, he’s much better than what he was last week. So hopefully we’ll get a good week of practice out of him and go from there."
But on Wednesday, Pittman didn't sound as confident about Jefferson's health after the quarterback didn't throw as much on Tuesday.
"Well, still again, that’s a few days away," Pittman said. "KJ threw some on Monday, and not much at all yesterday. I don’t know exactly what he’ll do today. But that’s still kind of a fluid situation. I will say this, that Malik Hornsby’s had a really good week of practice. The team is confident in him.
"So either way, whatever happens, whether we play KJ or whether we play Malik, we feel like we’ll have a guy that can go back there that the team believes in that can execute our game plan. But there hasn’t been a whole lot of change from last week to this week except KJ has thrown a little bit more than what he did last week."
Hornsby saw extensive action off the bench in a 40-14 loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 8. In that game, he completed 8 of 17 passes for 234 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Hornsby led the Hogs in rushing that day with eight carries for 114 yards.
Even though Arkansas beat LSU 16-13 in Baton Rouge last season, the Tigers held Arkansas to only 13 first downs and 283 yards of total offense on 66 plays. That was Arkansas’ lowest offensive output of the season. If he is healthy could Jefferson get out of the pocket more than he did against Liberty?
“I think so,” Pittman said. “And you know, it’s not only the athletic ability, it’s the strength of your mind, you know. When you’re beat up and you haven’t practiced as much and things of that nature, I think that goes a long way as well in your performance. A lot of it has to be how you feel in the head. And I think KJ is in a lot better spot than he was a week ago, But I do believe the team believes in Malik as well. And we certainly do too.
“Yes, he made a great play. LSU basically dared us to throw the ball and had to get it out of our hand fast because they totaled us. They brought more than we could protect. That was their game plan. It worked well against us last year. They had run it the week before when they had played Alabama and had success, so they used it again against us. But yes, very talented team and they played sic’em ball last year against us and they’re playing extremely well this year.”
One thing that will be important for the quarterback, whether it’s Jefferson or Hornsby, is the offensive line play considerably better than it did last week.
“Well, I think anytime that you don’t play well, and our line has not played well, not very many times,” Pittman said. “I don’t want to discredit Liberty because they whipped us. So let’s get that first and foremost. But with that being said we didn’t play well. I think you go back to work. Hopefully you strain harder, your eyes are up better, the physicality part of it gets back to where we have been. I think if we get back to where we have been, there’s gonna be a hell of a battle on Saturday. But that’s our offensive line. They’re not quitters. They’re not pouters. They know they didn’t play well. I think they’ll come out and play well on Saturday, but they’re going to have to because as you just said, LSU’s front seven is very, very talented and very, very physical.”
Arkansas and LSU will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Razorback Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.