The weapon Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson
Sept. 07, 2022
Gamecocks will be facing a unique and talented dual-threat quarterback for No. 16 Arkansas come this Saturday. Will be up to the Carolina defense to slow him down.
In preparation, the team will have to account for both Jefferson’s speed and his frame.
South Carolina will face KJ Jefferson, a 6-foot-3, 242-pound signal caller who led the team in rushing as the team finished 9-4 last season. Jefferson on Saturday threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, adding 62 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground in the team’s opening win over Cincinnati.
“People just bounce off of him back there,” head coach Shane Beamer said. His game, Beamer and Gamecock defenders said, isn’t easy for the scout team to copy in practice.
Linebacker Brad Johnson said that the team is using “big cylinder dummies” during drills as one method of game planning and to work on tackling. “It’s kind of hard to mimic that because I don’t think we have a QB on our roster that’s even close to that size right now,” Johnson said. Added Beamer: “We’d have to take one of our defensive ends and make him a quarterback.”
If the Gamecocks go with that approach, they might look to 6-foot-4, 250-pound edge rusher Terrell Dawkins, or Jordan Strachan at 6-5, 245 pounds. Or, from the offense, 6-foot-3 Nate Adkins is the heaviest tight end at 252 pounds. Do-it-all tight end Jaheim Bell is also 6-3 but 10 pounds lighter than Jefferson. Of the quarterbacks, Braden Davis is the tallest at 6-foot-5 but is listed at 205 pounds, and the 6-foot-4 Jalen Daniels is the heaviest QB at 215 pounds.
Arkansas also likes to play fast, Beamer said, which can aid South Carolina in practice this week.
Sept. 07, 2022
Gamecocks will be facing a unique and talented dual-threat quarterback for No. 16 Arkansas come this Saturday. Will be up to the Carolina defense to slow him down.
In preparation, the team will have to account for both Jefferson’s speed and his frame.
South Carolina will face KJ Jefferson, a 6-foot-3, 242-pound signal caller who led the team in rushing as the team finished 9-4 last season. Jefferson on Saturday threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns, adding 62 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground in the team’s opening win over Cincinnati.
“People just bounce off of him back there,” head coach Shane Beamer said. His game, Beamer and Gamecock defenders said, isn’t easy for the scout team to copy in practice.
Linebacker Brad Johnson said that the team is using “big cylinder dummies” during drills as one method of game planning and to work on tackling. “It’s kind of hard to mimic that because I don’t think we have a QB on our roster that’s even close to that size right now,” Johnson said. Added Beamer: “We’d have to take one of our defensive ends and make him a quarterback.”
If the Gamecocks go with that approach, they might look to 6-foot-4, 250-pound edge rusher Terrell Dawkins, or Jordan Strachan at 6-5, 245 pounds. Or, from the offense, 6-foot-3 Nate Adkins is the heaviest tight end at 252 pounds. Do-it-all tight end Jaheim Bell is also 6-3 but 10 pounds lighter than Jefferson. Of the quarterbacks, Braden Davis is the tallest at 6-foot-5 but is listed at 205 pounds, and the 6-foot-4 Jalen Daniels is the heaviest QB at 215 pounds.
Arkansas also likes to play fast, Beamer said, which can aid South Carolina in practice this week.