FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In less than two weeks, former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson straps on a UCF Knights helmet for the first time and attempts to prove he can be a leader somewhere other than Fayetteville.
While some of the appeal is working with Gus Malzahn, who developed Cam Newton into a star at Auburn and who recruited Jefferson out of high school before ultimately taking Bo Nix, a quick glance at the schedule couldn’t have hurt. Not only is he the big battering ram that blugeoned the SEC who is stepping into the less physical world of the Big 12, but he’s also staring down one of the most favorable schedules in all of college football.
The perceived options for Jefferson were to remain at Arkansas, go to South Carolina or return home to Mississippi State. However, none of those schools had a reasonable path to the college football playoffs. Yet, one look at the UCF schedule makes it easy to see a path when pairing Jefferson up with 1,400+ yard back RJ Harvey.
Not only do Texas and Oklahoma move out of the Big 12, the Knights also avoid playing Oklahoma State. What’s left is a schedule full of Pac 12 teams plus BYU and Florida, two teams against which Jefferson has had considerable success. Of the Top 9 schools in the Big 12 last season, UCF only has to face two, Iowa State and West Virginia, in 2024.
There’s also already a built-in confidence and familiarity for Jefferson against part of this schedule. In 2022, he was responsible for 400 yards and five touchdowns against BYU, and last year, with Arkansas at its worst, he accounted for 368 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Florida at The Swamp in Gainesville.
If Malzahn can develop solid targets at wide receiver and strengthen the Knights’ defense, it’s highly possible UCF can end up in the Big 12 championship game. At that point, odds are high Jefferson gets locked in like he did against Kansas in the Liberty Bowl and takes over the game.
Either way, having that sort of schedule and a fresh start makes him far more likely to taste the college football playoffs than had he remained in Arkansas. For all his success in Fayetteville, this was exactly what his career needed.
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