Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

KJ Jefferson is a wildcard Florida Football has to slow down on Saturday

By Benjamin Henderson

Sep 28, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) runs during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback KJ Jefferson (1) runs during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images
facebooktwitterreddit

When KJ Jefferson came strolling into The Swamp last season to face Florida Football, he was a shell of the star fans expected him to be at the start of the 2023 season. In his four games prior to the November 4th contest, Jefferson had been held to 150 or fewer passing yards in three of those contests and had yet to run for more than 75 yards in a single game.

255 passing yards and 105 rushing yards later, Arkansas knocked off Florida in overtime and the memories of Jefferson have stayed fresh in the minds of Gator fans all offseason.

Once again, Jefferson will be coming to The Swamp on the heels of some unimpressive performances.

Which means, once again, is history about to repeat itself this Saturday?

Florida Football: Deja Vu

Last year, most chalked up Jefferson's poor year to be riddled with a Dan Enos led offense. But even then, Jefferson only dipped under 60% accuracy in three of his eleven outings in 2023.

Already in 2024, Jefferson has been below 60% accuracy in three of UCF's four games.

Also notable is that through Arkansas's first 11 games last year, Jefferson ran the ball at least ten times in nine of those games. This past Saturday against Colorado was the first time in 2024 Jefferson ran more than ten times in a single game.

However, some elements in Jefferson's game have been improved, and Florida could potentially be shredded if they are not careful.

Jefferson is 10% higher in 2024 on throws between the numbers and 10-20 yards downfield, an area Florida is vulnerable to given their insistence to backpedal their safeties. Jefferson picked up 35 1st downs in 2023 with his legs, and he has already picked up 17 1st downs in 2024 with his legs.

Thus, Jefferson and his UCF Knights are coming to The Swamp with the mystery of which version of Jefferson Florida fans are going to see.

If it is the version prone to missing open receivers or hesitant to run, Florida will feel decent about their chances.

But if it is the version that had 105 yards of rushing last season in The Swamp, 92 of which came after contact, shows up and Florida continues to rely upon a soft zone defense, history might repeat itself on Saturday.

feed

Home/Florida Gators Football