Five-Star Recruit Commits To Florida And Signs Letter Of Intent...But His Dad Won't Let Him Send It In
Hell yeah! Easily my favorite part of National Signing Day. Happens every single year, all the pomp and pageantry dies down and you end up with a parent somewhere who is PISSED about their kid’s decision and refuses to send in the LOI. Probably my favorite story ever was the kid in 2013 who picked Arkansas so his mom took his Letter of Intent and literally ran away with it, like left the state and went into hiding with it, because she wanted him at Miami.
Good times, good memories. Now we’ve got a kid who picked UF, signed the LOI live on camera, but remains unsigned because his old man won’t let him send it. Obviously your first thought is great, another overbearing overprotective dad trying to live vicariously through his son. Just let him make his own damn decision and get out of the way.
But maybe there’s more to it than that?
RIVALS – Five-star defensive end CeCe Jefferson has yet to sign his letter of intent for Florida and his father, Leo Jefferson, explained why on Thursday.
Leo said CeCe himself is not ready to sign it.
“He told me that yesterday after his announcement,” Leo said, adding he would have been glad to sign and fax the letter to Florida if that’s what his son wanted.
The holdup, Leo said, is because Gators defensive line coach Terrell Williams is reportedly leaving after just one month to accept the same position on the Miami Dolphins staff. Williams will reportedly be replaced by Texas defensive line coach Chris Rumph.
“The Florida staff never told us he was leaving,” Leo said. “We don’t know (Rumph) at all.”
Leo said that the in-home visit with Gators coach Jim McElwain was rushed, they stayed for an hour and rushed out the door to see a 2016 prospect and only talked about the new dorms and the new facilities on the visit. The visit paled in comparison to the other in home visits, according to Leo.
Though Florida is CeCe’s “dream school,” neither he nor Leo felt good about the Gators staff or the changes at defensive line coach, according to Leo. Leo’s wife doesn’t want him to go to Florida and both parents felt CeCe should go away from home to grow up and get away from all the Gators fans in Baker County and his friends that might distract him.
Regardless, “if CeCe wants to go to Florida, we are on board,” Leo said.
Leo also mentioned concern about Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley being involved in the firing of assistant coaches and how involved he is in the program. Leo doesn’t believe that McElwain will have the power at Florida that Nick Saban, Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn, Les Miles and others have at their schools.
Leo wouldn’t divulge what school he and his wife prefer for CeCe.
“The coaches at Florida wanted the letter signed by 8:30 this morning so they could go on vacation,” Leo said. “(McElwain) was only head coach of all the ones recruiting him that hasn’t called as of 1 p.m. Coaches from schools CeCe wasn’t listing as finalists have all called, but Florida has not called him.”
“The staff should have considered being honest with us about the (coach) change,” Leo said. “They haven’t pursued CeCe nearly as hard as others and I’m not sure why.”
Leo added, “they aren’t going on vacation anytime soon because we’re not sending that letter”.
Seems a lot less sinister and a whole lot more understandable when you put it in that context.
But then there’s the other side of the coin. ESPN’s Derek Tyson reporting that Jefferson and his family were well aware Coach Williams would be leaving for the NFL.
Who knows, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. Doesn’t change the fact that the guy who is going to be coaching you for the next 4 years and grooming you for success and a possible NFL career just up and bolting definitely changes the situation and can easily affect your decision. I wouldn’t blame him for rethinking things in that case. But that’s up to him to decide, not an overprotective dad. Seriously “Leo won’t divulge what school he and his wife prefer for CeCe.” Bro it doesn’t matter, it’s not about you. Let him make his own decisions.