When a handful of Auburn’s players met with the media on Monday, they’d yet to look at film on the Arkansas Razorbacks, who the Tigers are set to see this Saturday.

However, for Auburn’s returning defenders, watching film wasn’t needed for them to remember what it was like to go against Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, who gave the Tigers’ defense trouble last fall as the Razorbacks went on to pick up a 41-27 win in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“From last year, I remember him being so big and being able to push the ball downfield,” said Auburn veteran defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett.

It was early in the second quarter during last year’s game that Jefferson was met in the backfield but shed the tackle. He then folded over another Auburn defender before dragging a third into the end zone with him.

Jefferson’s 13-yard touchdown rush was his second scoring run of the afternoon.

At 6-foot-3 and a hair under 230 pounds, Jefferson is a lot to bring down.

“It’s amazing some of the tackles he gets out of and then extends plays,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze on Monday. “I mean, you watch him enough, you know you’re not going to get him on the ground every single time. You just hope that those are not explosive runs or explosive passes that happen after you miss him. But he’s very, very strong and very, very difficult to get on the ground.”

Jefferson’s rushing stats don’t jump off the page this season.

While the Arkansas quarterback tallied 640 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last fall, Jefferson has only recorded 292 yards and two touchdowns with his legs through nine games this season.

And some of the regression in Jefferson’s ground game was likely the result of Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks bringing in a new offensive coordinator at the start of the season as Dan Enos joined Arkansas’ staff.

However, Enos’ honeymoon phase in Fayetteville didn’t last but eight games as the Razorbacks’ offense sputtered. The final straw came after Arkansas managed just three points in a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State on Oct. 21, leading to Enos being relieved of his duties.

“I think it’s pretty clear they were frustrated with what they were doing and I think it’s a pretty stark difference,” Freeze said when asked what’s been different about the Arkansas offense since Enos’ firing.

The very next week, Arkansas put up 39 points in a 39-36 overtime win over Florida on the road.

During that win in Gainesville, Jefferson rushed for 92 yards – the most of any game this season by more than 40 yards – with wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton behind Arkansas’ offensive play calling. Jefferson also rushed for his first touchdown since the Hogs’ season-opener versus Western Carolina against the Gators last Saturday.

“They’ve kind of gone back to playing like they did last year offensively, it appears,” Freeze said. “And they seem much more confident, so we’ve got our hands full with that.”

The Arkansas offense went from averaging 267 yards of offense against SEC opponents under Enos, to putting up 481 yards of offense against Florida the very next game, making it hard to put a finger on what version of the Arkansas offense might take the field on Saturday afternoon against Auburn.

And those questions haven’t helped Freeze and the Tigers’ coaching staff during film studies.

“I think it’s a pretty good bet that you throw a lot of the film out unless you’re just looking at personnel,” Freeze said. “Probably need to pull a few games from last year, in my opinion, and what they did at Florida.”

If the Razorbacks’ offense comes out looking similar to how it did last season, Freeze might have a bit of an advantage.

In 2022, Freeze and the Liberty Flames marched into Razorback Stadium and squeaked out a 20-19 upset as Freeze’s Flames forced Jefferson to toss a pair of interceptions and allowed the Hogs to convert just 4-of-16 third downs.

Jefferson was also held to just 36 rushing yards on 16 tries against Liberty last fall, while the Razorbacks’ ball carriers combined for just 144 rushing yards on the day for an average of 3.4 yards per carry.

“I can’t remember exactly what our theme was that week, but our kids played really hard that day and stopped their run,” Freeze said of last year’s game in Arkansas. “That’s something we need to do this week also.”

Fortunately for Auburn, the Tigers’ defense has been rolling.

Albeit against two of the lesser offenses in the league, the Auburn defense has given up an average of just two touchdowns in its last pair of games against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

Against the rush, Auburn’s defense has allowed a combined 284 yards on 65 carries – good for an average of 4.4 yards per carry.

“Our defense, we take challenges like this personally,” said Auburn defensive back Keionte Scott. “With them getting some momentum and us having some momentum, it’s going to be fun. I feel like we hunt the ball very well. It’s going to be a challenge.”