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Fort White quarterback Tyler Jefferson drops back to pass during Tuesday’s practice. Jefferson already has college offers from FAU, Kentucky, Maryland and Connecticut. (JORDAN KROEGER/Lake City Reporter)
FORT WHITE — He’s only played five high school games and hasn’t even reached his full potential.
Tyler Jefferson is only scratching the surface of how talented he can one day be, but college coaches are already taking notice of the sophomore quarterback at Fort White.
Despite covid-19 shutting down spring football, Jefferson put in the work over the summer to catch the attention of several Division I schools. Between working out on Saturdays in Georgia with quarterback coaches Denny Thompson and Rhodney Donaldson and attending camps throughout the summer, four colleges offered the 2023 quarterback before the 2020 campaign ever began.
First it was FAU. Then came Kentucky and Maryland. Connecticut joined the party shortly thereafter, too.
The secret is out on Jefferson.
“It picked up about the middle of the summer,” Jefferson said. “I went to a lot of different camps and had a lot of training and that’s when college coaches starting calling me.”
Jefferson attended a few camps throughout the summer, most notably the Under Armour Elite Underclassmen Camp, and he started catching the eyes of college coaches. FAU’s staff got its first look at Jefferson while he was training with Thompson and Donaldson, coaches who he rotates Saturdays with to improve his game.
The Owls offered Jefferson on July 7 before Jefferson went back up to Georgia to work out with Thompson, who owns 6 Points Philosophy. That’s when Maryland called.
“They didn’t offer right away,” Jefferson said. “They said they wanted to go through the recruiting process first.”
Well, the following Saturday Jefferson met up with Donaldson again and that’s when Kentucky called. Two days later, the Wildcats offered him on July 15.
That began a chain reaction. Maryland then pulled the trigger on an offer on July 16 and Connecticut did the same one day after.
“It definitely surprised me because it all came within like a week,” Jefferson said. “My first one was the first week and then the next week I got three other offers within three days so it definitely was surprising. But it was exciting though.”
Jefferson is coming off of a freshman year with Fort White where he missed the first five games rehabbing from a torn ACL. He had to learn a lot on the fly after missing all of training camp and it showed with an up-and-down experience where he completed just 35 percent of his passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 145 yards and three more scores.
But you can throw those five games out due to the circumstances. Expectations have been raised in Year 2 and the Indians are expecting a big season out of their young QB and he’s out to prove them right.
Jefferson put in a lot of work in the offseason after covid-19 shut down spring ball. That’s why he spends his weekends with Thompson and Donaldson and attends as many camps as he can.
Fort White coach Demetric Jackson has had his share of highly recruited prospects during his tenure but none may be as talented as Jefferson. Jackson says Jefferson sets himself apart from everyone else with his work ethic.
“Tyler works his butt off and his upside is great,” Jackson said. “He’s 6’2, 220 pounds as a starting sophomore so he’s going to get bigger and schools know that. And the thing is, he goes to all these camps and colleges and gets good work in, so these scouts are seeing him work. They know that he’ll put the work in. And with his size and the potential to get bigger, that’s all a bonus. I think he’ll get 20 or 30-plus offers by the time it’s all said and done.”
Bigger schools could come calling soon, too.
Alabama was the first school to call him this offseason and Jefferson’s father, Rufus, says his son is in their top three prospects for the 2023 class. The Crimson Tide are waiting for coronavirus cases to drop some before getting Jefferson on campus for a visit.
Florida State and Miami said the same a couple of weeks ago. The Hurricanes are eager to see how Jefferson performs in his first couple of games before extending an official offer.
It could be a little overwhelming for a young sophomore but Jefferson is trying to not let it bother him too much. He’s excited about the interest he’s receiving from schools but even more excited to get his high school season started, which begins Friday at Santa Fe.
“I’m not trying to think about it a lot right now, especially since it’s really early on,” Jefferson said. “I’m only going into my sophomore year so I’m going to try not to think about it. I’m focusing more on my team and getting my team ready to play these games. I’m chasing that ring.”