UCF QB KJ Jefferson handling pressure, determined to play his 'brand of ball'

ORLANDO — There's only one shot at making a good first impression, and UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson approached the podium following a Week 1 blowout win over New Hampshire with the feeling he hadn't fully seized the moment.

"From my point of view, the thing I need to get better at is just letting the game come to me, not trying to rush it and get into a groove. Just let it happen, flush it and put it all behind me," Jefferson said in the postgame press conference.

"You've got to be mentally tough, especially at the quarterback position. Being a transfer, there's a lot of pressure that is on your shoulders. As long as you put it in God's hands and go out and play your brand of ball, make sure you prepared the right way, everything will take care of itself."

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Though Jefferson completed just seven of his 14 passes for 164 yards in his debut, there is plenty of internal belief in the Big 12's Preseason Newcomer of the Year — an expectation that three years' worth of quality tape as Arkansas' signal-caller will inevitably outweigh three comparatively subpar quarters in the Bounce House.

Just before halftime, Jefferson flashed the sort of dual-threat dynamism that Knights fans dreamed about when he announced his commitment on New Year's Day. In the half's final 92 seconds, the sixth-year senior connected with Kobe Hudson on a 46-yard bomb and lowered his shoulder to move the chains on a 13-yard scramble.

RJ Harvey scored one snap later to extend UCF's lead to 29-3 before the intermission, cementing a seemingly inevitable opening-night outcome. Jefferson tossed two touchdowns after halftime — a 49-yard catch-and-run by Myles Montgomery and a 22-yard floater down the left sideline to Johnny Richardson — and engineered four consecutive scoring drives before exiting with the rest of the starters at the end of the third quarter.

"He settled down," junior receiver Xavier Townsend said. "Coming out, first game, everybody's got those jitters, and everyone wants to make the play.

"He calmed down and started playing football like he usually does. We had nothing but faith in him. We weren't really worried."

Narratives of concern rarely develop from 54-point home victories, but such is the spotlight when compared, physically, to Gus Malzahn's closest quarterback prototype to Cam Newton — with whom he won a national championship as Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2010.

At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, Jefferson threw for 7,911 yards with 67 touchdown passes against 18 interceptions, and he added 1,876 rushing yards with 21 touchdowns during his Arkansas career. On Dec. 18, one week after Arkansas landed the commitment of Boise State quarterback Taylen Green, he announced intentions to enter the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility.

Arriving in Orlando in January gave Jefferson "that freshman feeling again," meeting dozens of new teammates, learning a new playbook and seeking to embrace an immediate leadership role.

"It was just me not knowing what that next step was, the next program I was going to be able to come into," Jefferson said last month during UCF's media day. "Those guys knew me, so at that point, I had to earn those guys' trust and their respect. I had to come in, just put my head down and work. I had to show the guys that I'm willing to do whatever, make several sacrifices to make sure we're on the right track."

Before the start of fall camp, Jefferson was named one of the Knights' captains along with running back RJ Harvey, offensive lineman Marcellus Marshall and linebacker Ethan Barr. He donned a symbolic C on his jersey for last Thursday's opener.

UCF — with its fearsome running back foursome of Harvey, Montgomery, Richardson and Peny Boone — gashed New Hampshire for 454 rushing yards, the second-highest, single-game total in program history. The Knights finished the 2023 season ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense (228.2 ypg), so it's fairly safe to assume they will be able to move the ball on the ground at will throughout the fall.

But if the Knights want to make a serious charge toward the Big 12's upper echelon, they will need to demonstrate better balance — and to do so quickly. Following Saturday's home date with Sam Houston, UCF has back-to-back showdowns against Big 12 foes similarly seeking to exceed preseason expectations: at TCU on Sept. 14 and, after a bye, home against Colorado on Sept. 28.

That will ultimately fall on Jefferson, and he accepts the challenge. Asked at the start of August what his driving force is ahead of his final college season, Jefferson replied that it's when people count him out.

"This is my last go-round. I've got to give it all I've got," Jefferson said. "It's making sure I put my best foot forward, whether that's in recovery, preparation, in the classroom, in the film room, bonding with my teammates.

"People didn't think I had the same fire, the same motivation, the same competitive edge I used to have in previous years at Arkansas. It just added fuel to the fire with them saying that."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF QB KJ Jefferson handling pressure, determined to play his 'brand of ball'