Jefferson a great fit for Manning Academy

KJ Jefferson attending the Manning Passing Academy is a natural now.

In three seasons at the University of Arkansas, he has gone from barely an afterthought to being considered one of the best two quarterbacks in the SEC and top 10 in the country.

This is a young man who had zero college scholarship offers to play quarterback.

He had offers, but he was seen more as a tight end.

Under the teaching of Kendal Briles, Jefferson, who is 6-3, 245 pounds, has developed into a true dual threat.

He could always run, and his throwing was OK, but now his passing is vastly improved.

The Manning Passing Academy is the premiere quarterback camp in the country and invitations are rarely turned down. There is a waiting list.

The camp has been operating for more than a quarter of a century, and this year will be held today through Sunday at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.

The only thing hotter than the weather will be the competition.

This is a family-run camp with two-time Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning participating.

The camp founder and leader is Archie Manning, who was a tremendous college quarterback that was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, known most of his playing time as the “Aints,” because they were bad at almost every position but quarterback.

Cooper Manning, who was on the way to being an outstanding receiver until injured, works the camp. But these days he’s mostly known as being the father of Arch Manning, the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the nation for the 2023 recruiting class.

It is a hands-on camp and campers learn some of the nuances of their position.

KJ Jefferson is a good fit for the camp.

★ ★ ★

Apparently the owners of Rocco’s Pizza and Cantina, home of the Jell-O Shot Challenge in Omaha, Neb., were deeply touched by the amount of shots consumed since the College World Series began.

They have decided to give back to Arkansas and Ole Miss, the two schools who are No. 1 and No. 2 in Jell-O shots consumed.

This was posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page Tuesday:

The Jell-O Shot Challenge at Rocco’s started as a unique idea to add another layer of fun for fans who attend the College World Series in Omaha. Our staff and the teams who have participated over the years have a had a great time.

However, this year we are experiencing something we never expected when we we hung up a white board with 8 teams written on it 4 years ago: the perfect storm of two great baseball schools full of tradition, awesome fan support and a huge competitive spirit on and off the diamond.

Being a small business that barely survived the pandemic, our family and our staff cannot thank everyone enough for supporting Rocco’s and Lefty’s this year, especially we we know there are many people still struggling to get their lives back in order.

Being blessed with the run we’re having this year during the series, Rocco’s and Lefty’s would like to give back some of our good fortune to both universities whose fans are taking such good care of us.

Regardless of who sets the new series record, this year we would like to donate $2 for every Jell-O shot that has (and will be) purchased by each school’s fans to the [Jane B.] Gearhart Full Circle Pantry Food Pantry at the University of Arkansas and the Grove Food Pantry at Ole Miss. We hope to help students and staff who are experiencing food insecurities.

This has truly been an amazing experience. Thank you and let’s keep it going.

Kevin & Bonnie Culjat