QB’s mom, grandmother impressed with Hogs
SARDIS, Miss. — The two most important women in Arkansas quarterback commitment KJ Jefferson’s life were on board with his decision when he pledged to the Hogs on Friday.
Jefferson, 6-3, 210 pounds, of North Panola High School in Sardis, Miss., picked the Razorbacks on Friday over more than 20 scholarship offers from schools like Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Indiana and others.
He first visited the Hogs with North Panola Coach Carl Diffee on March 12. His mother, Katorie Moore, accompanied him on his visit to Fayetteville on April 6 and to the Red-White spring game in Little Rock the following day.
Jefferson said his mother couldn’t stop talking about Arkansas after their two-day visit. Razorbacks Coach Chad Morris, offensive coordinator Joe Craddock and others on the staff stressed academics.
“They talked to me more about classes and how they work with the athletes to make sure they’re not behind,” Moore said. “That’s my main focus. I want to make sure he’s getting the education he wants as well as his football career.”
The staff was another major factor for her approval.
“The coaching staff, especially Coach Craddock, were more family-oriented,” Moore said. “That’s what KJ comes from — a big family — and we believe in being there for each other. More or less, I just liked how they carried themselves while I was there.”
She said Arkansas stood alone at the end of the day.
“Many schools have offered, but that school, to me, stood out,” she said.
Jefferson’s grandmother, Jessie Wilson, attended her grandson’s announcement Friday. She said seeing him leave home for college will be trying.
“Very tough, because I’ve had KJ since he was in diapers,” Wilson said. “I kept him while Mom worked. I make sure all of them get a meal and I cook three times a day. I showed him a lot of love.”
She said all she wanted was for her grandson to be happy with his college decision.
“I want him to be somewhere he’s happy,” Wilson said. “If he’s happy in Arkansas, I’m very happy.”
Playing football was hardly on sophomore receiver Loic Fouonji’s mind when he and his family moved to the United States in 2008 from soccer-happy Cameroon.
“When I first moved here, I wasn’t really interested in football until my friend’s dad put me on the team and saw what I could do,” Fouonji said.
He soon got the football bug when he started running into the end zone.
“I used to play running back back then, so I used to score a lot of touchdowns and stuff,” Fouonji said.
Fouonji, 6-4, 186, of Midland (Texas) Lee, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Texas Tech, SMU and Kansas along with interest from others.
His combination of size and speed is expected to draw in many other offers over the next two years. Arkansas cornerbacks coach Mark Smith, who visited Fouonji’s school May 3, is doing a good job of selling the Razorbacks, Fouonji said.
“He said I would like it more if I would come down there and visit the campus as well,” he said.
Fouonji, who finished second in the district 200 meters with a time of 22.04 seconds, had 18 receptions for 407 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. He said he’s planning to visit Fayetteville.
“Sometime during the summer,” Fouonji said.
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com