Sam Pittman confirms KJ Jefferson will travel to Mississippi State, status still undecided

As Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson continues to recovery from his head injury suffered in Week 5’s loss to Alabama, and Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman gave the latest on the status of his star QB1 heading into this weekend on the road at Mississippi State.

“You have to participate in practice on Wednesday in order to travel to the game, so that we’ll check that box. I can tell you he’s going to be on a plane,” Pittman said. “Assuming [I don’t hear] that he doesn’t practice at all. If he practices at all, he’ll be able to play. … I have no idea because I don’t know how well because I don’t know how he’s going to react to physical movement.

“If he reacts really well, then we’ll have a decision to make on what we’re going to do moving forward, depending on how much he practices today.”

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After leaving the game for one play midway through the fourth quarter, Jefferson returned briefly and finished out Arkansas’ final scoring drive. But he did not appear in either of the two series following the final field goal make of the game for the Razorbacks, which cut the Crimson Tide lead to 42-26. Instead, reserve quarterback Cade Fortin played.

So far this year Fortin is 4-of-10 passing for 35 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s added one carry for nine yards as well, while Malik Hornsby, who was second on the depth chart ahead of last Saturday’s loss, is also available for Arkansas.

With Jefferson’s availability not yet known, Arkansas will have to ready other options in the event he can’t play. Arkansas is set to travel to No. 23 Mississippi State for a game that will kick off at noon ET on Saturday on the SEC Network.