[2nd UPDATE w ESPN Rankings] Bruins Get HUGE Commit From Tony Jefferson (Who Dropped U$C*)
by muircoach on Aug 17, 2009 7:29 PM PDT
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PrintThough it was worth a second bump to highlight BruinGold82's find below. GO BRUINS. - N
Alright everyone. UCLA just got a huge commit from one of the top players in the country. Tony Jefferson, from Eastlake HS, Chula Vista, made it official......and this is great news. The guys is a flat-out stud!
According to Rivals he is the #50 prospect overall in the country. A four-star pick. He had offers already from U$C, Florida, and Georgia.....but he picked the Bruins. I really hope we can hold on to this guy through the process as people will be coming hard for him until he signs his name on the dotted line.
He played outside linebacker in HS, but he is projected as a safety. By the time he comes in, R. Moore will be a star and probably a year away from moving to the NFL, so this guy will come in, compete, and be ready to shine for 3-4 years.
Rumor is also that Jefferson was locked and a silent verbal to U$C, but became unhappy with the coaching staff and called CRN to become a Bruin. You gotta love it. This guy is blue and gold the whole way. Still a year away from becoming a Bruin, and he is already sticking it to the cheaters across town. This is a big deal, that other 4-5 star recruits will take notice of. CRN and staff are awesome!
UPDATE (N): Just days ago Jefferson dropped U$C*. More details after the jump.
Scout.com's has this bio on the latest Bruin commit:
Tony Jefferson finished his junior season with 88 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumbles caused and two recovered. Offensively, he had 1,328 yards rushing for 28 touchdowns. Jefferson says he can bench 255-pounds, squat 455-pounds and has a 28-inch vertical jump.
Sophomore stats and honors: 77 tackles and three picks. Was named a First Team All-State Sophomore, All-CIF, All-League and Defensive Player of the Year.
Jefferson would like to major in engineering and reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1400 SAT.
Jefferson: “I can run through people. That definitely makes it easier because most people can’t put a move on me. I go at 100-percent and don’t let guys escape. I can keep them contained.
“On offense I’ve been told I’ve got some great spin moves.
“I think strength is about 70-percent of the game and I try and lift a lot. I also work hard on my route running and run to stay in shape. I want to be able to cover as well as I can tackle.”
Needless to stay a big time get for Rick Neuheisel and UCLA. Check out our up to date commitment list here.
Welcome to Westwood Tony. GO BRUINS.
UPDATE II (N): Tony Jefferson is now the number 1 ranked athlete on ESPN's recruiting board:
He's could fit as a hybrid safety, particularly in a bandit role, due to his impressive physical tools and skill set. He hits the hole fast on offense and wastes no time accelerating downhill. Deceptively very strong. Reaches top speed by his second or third step and that great burst combined with his rare quick-twitched body, low center of gravity and determination allows him to spin his way out of a lot tackles. Never stops his feet on contact and has great balance and body control. Very light and smooth on his feet as well. He shows he can make defenders miss without gearing down much in his lateral cuts. Shifty and elusive through traffic and can slide through the small creases just as they open. Displays a great burst separating in the second level, but may be a bit quicker than fast. Bottom line, Jefferson is very dynamic and an exciting prospect to watch on both sides of the ball. If he were a tad taller he may be one of the more highly-rated prospects in the past few classes, but he does utilize his low center of gravity to his advantage and plays the game fast, physical and with great intensity on every snap. Excellent athlete who may enter college as a strong safety and grow into a disruptive outside linebacker.
HT to for BruinGold82 for the find. Let's hope CRN and his staff can hold on to him. GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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1400
wait a second, is that on the new 2400 scale? cause that’s really low.
regardless, fantastic get.
by maccabita4life on Jul 22, 2009 11:50 AM PDT reply actions
But if its disregardig the Writing
as many collegiate ranking systems do, that’s a fantastic 700 average for both reading and math!
So who knows :P
His academics have to be strong
As mentioned below, he was originally a Stanford commit.
Insert witty signature of your own choosing here.
by Flapjacks McGurty on Jul 22, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Not too bad...
What kind of scores do you think most of the athletes come in with? 3.0 with a 1400 (about a 920 on a 1600 scale). That’s serviceable, and I’m sure, not on the lower end of things.
Jefferson was set on UCLA over the weekend
but took a couple days to call coaches, cancel visits, etc. One thing that isn’t mentioned here, but is huge is that Jefferson will be coming in this winter to get a head start. He’s in class right now, taking summer school so he can graduate early and get to Westwood.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jul 22, 2009 11:54 AM PDT reply actions
That is nice
then he can use the offseason to study schemes, and work out and be involved in spring ball. I am excited to see how well that worked for Morrell Pressley this Fall, since he did the same thing.
Interesting
that you said word is that he became unhappy with the coaching staff at $c. I just read that he said "I committed to UCLA last night, It’s a great school and I just felt honesty with the coaches" Honesty must have been missing somewhere else…
From what I'm hearing
He was SC’s to have for a while, but then started looking at other safetys. Whether it was normal recruiting where a program cools on a guy or Carroll and staff had been lying to Jefferson the whole time and Jefferson finally found out is something I’ll let you decide.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jul 22, 2009 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions
I am assuming that Jefferson
is a very bright kid. He originally committed to Stanford, according to ESPN. I apologize if I am doing this wrong, and please let me know if I am so that I am not breaking any rules, go to:
It is free material on and has a great few paragraphs written about Mr. Jefferson. Safe to say, the people at the WWL believe this kid is a big-time recruit and will make a huge impact in Westwood.
On another note, please let me know if I linked it wrong of if their is any other protocal for doing it differently. THANKS!
First Stanford
Then USC, and now us? I don’t have a lot of confidence that we can hold on to this kid, but I hope we do.
Like him a lot
physical kid who will blow people up. I know the staff is on them but we need to ink more DT’s IMO.
*Correction* Not Chula Vista HS
Chula Vista is the city, Eastlake is the high school.
WOW
There’s a play about 60% of the way through on the ESPN video where he just BLOWS UP a screen pass. His closing speed is incredible. If he has the hands to be a ballhawk, we could have an Ed Reed in our secondary.
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