April 22, 2008

New Brunswick, NJ (UWIRE) -- The snap was a foot over the head of the Winter Haven High School quarterback as the ball sailed 15 yards behind him, but seeing the ball on the ground behind him, just waiting to be recovered by the hungry defense didn't faze him. The 6'4" 240-pound quarterback stayed calm as he ran back to recover the ball, fought through the defensive line and scampered into the end zone for a touchdown.

Standing in the end zone was incoming freshman quarterback D.C. Jefferson, in the midst of leading his school to a victory over conference rival Bartow during his senior season.

Jefferson, who decommitted from LSU to play for the Rutgers football team this fall, has shown in high school on plays just like this that he can be the kind of playmaker that the team will need to replace senior quarterback Mike Teel in the years to come.

The gun slinging quarterback that threw for 1,627 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior season en route to All-County honors from the Lakeland Ledger said he decided to come to Rutgers because of the friendly atmosphere and good learning environment.

"I really like this place, and I like coach [Greg] Schiano and everyone else," Jefferson said. "They are some great people to be around. It is a great opportunity for me to learn from good people.

"I came up during the summer for a week camp that they had. The campus is really nice and coach Schiano is really cool about everything."

According to Rivals.com and ESPN, Jefferson is the 16th best quarterback in the high school Class of '08 and is one of the top 100 high school players in the State of Florida.

"He is like getting a free pass to the carnival: You can ride all the rides with D.C.," said Charlie Tate, his high school coach, on ScarletKnights.com. "He is a big quarterback who can make all the throws and does a good job with his ball handling. He plays football pretty comfortably and has the ability to do a lot of things."

Jefferson echoed the thoughts of his coach and said he is a versatile quarterback that can make things happen.

"I can run in the pocket and make plays on my feet," Jefferson said. "I can scan the field well, and I can throw the ball where I need to."

Despite such high accolades on scouting Web sites like Rivals.com and Scout.com, Jefferson said he does not feel pressured to live up to the hype or perform immediately at the college level.

"I don't look at what [Rivals.com] says about me," Jefferson said. "I only hear about what they say if somebody else tells me, so it really doesn't matter what those sites say about me."

It is expected that Jefferson will compete with quarterback Jabu Lovelace and RU's newest verbal recruit, Cardinal O'Hara's Tom Savage, for the starting job when Teel leaves. It is also possible for Jefferson to redshirt this fall to give him an extra year of eligibility and an extra year to learn the system.

"I would love to get out there and play my first year, but if coach Schiano wants me to redshirt, I guess that's what I have to do," Jefferson said on the possibility of redshirting next season.

Jefferson concluded the interview by giving a message to Rutgers fans, showing his excitement of coming to the Banks.

"I just want to [tell the fans] to be ready for me to come," he said. "Because I can't wait to get up there and hit the field."

(C) 2008 Daily Targum via UWIRE