DC's Coming

I told you earlier that DC Jefferson texted me and said he'd call as soon as school let out. Well, he did.  And he kept calling me "ma'am" too.

After DC committed to Rutgers Aug. 11, then committed to LSU Oct. 22 and now is committing to Rutgers again today, it would've been very easy to dismiss him as a flake. Or worse, a big-headed prospect. But let me tell you... DC didn't sound like either. At all.

Now, I've always thought it's a little nutty how some people get SO wrapped up in recruiting. Wait until the signatures are on those official letters of intent in February and then get excited, I say. And I'm still going to say that. Still, for what it's worth, DC swore to me that his signature will be on a letter coming through a Rutgers fax machine. "Rutgers was always the best fit for me," he said.

To get all the details of his decisionmaking, and what brought him back to Rutgers, you'll have to check out tomorrow's Record. Until then, though, I can tell you Rutgers' fans might want to give themselves a 12th Man pat for this one. "Knowing I'm going to a place where people want me really helps," DC said. "My mom said the fans have been really supportive."

See, unbeknownst to DC, his mom Yolanda Lane visited Rutgers' Rivals board, ScarletNation.com, a bunch in the early fall. Lane told me yes, she was indeed posting (I told her she must have some fortitude!) and she said, "Most of those people really impressed me. They're so excited about Rutgers and they were so excited about DC." Even when her son de-committed, she said, "I barely saw anything nasty written about him. It makes a big difference when you know fans are like that."

Mrs. Lane was hoping to meet some of the fans personally this weekend, when DC takes his official visit. But she has to have arthroscopic knee surgery tomorrow and so she said she, her husband and her other three boys (DC's brothers are 13,9 and four and according to Mrs. Lane, they're all better football players than DC was at their age!) will make a trip to campus sometime before Signing Day.

DC said he's really pumped for this visit, especially since the only other time he was at Rutgers (for a summer passing camp), he didn't meet many of the current Scarlet Knights. He's been watching them on TV, he impressed me with the various offensive tendencies he rattled off, and he said he can't wait to see some of those playmakers in person. Like Kenny Britt. ("We don't have big targets like him here," DC said.)

Mrs. Lane promised that her son would be eligible, that she just received a test score confirming that. DC promised that that would matter to Rutgers fans in February, that this latest commitment is his last.

Now here's one last little tidbit on how (hopefully) coachable the kid will be should he indeed get here. DC's given name is Lequan Darrel Jefferson. He's always gone by Darrel, but when he got to Winter Haven Senior High, the wide receivers coach was tripping over that and decided to call him DJ instead. Only the coach somehow kept morphing the DJ into a DC and the boy then known as Darrel didn't want to embarass the coach with repeated corrections and so... DC stuck. "I had to get used to it," Mrs. Lane said, "but now I'll call him 'DC' too."

And maybe the rest of us can call him a Scarlet Knight.

Comments

[desiknight]

welcome again to DC and his folks on the banks of the Raritan !! I bet he wouldn't regret the decision of being a scarlet knight !!

excellent article aditi !! keep them coming:)

[Kevin Kelly]

Excellent report Aditi, as usual. This really provided great information. I look forward to your article tomorrow. I think that you are the BEST. I hope the RU fans can see daily updates in the Record as the team prepares for the bowl.

Keep up the GREAT work... Thank you.

[DB]

Nice write up...

[john]

Great to hear DC is back in the fold. I was just reading one of the message boards and saw this quote from a Louisiana paper from his coach.

"(His reasons) just didn't make sense to me, and I don't want to elaborate on what they are," Tate said. "I don't get it. His reasons don't hold water in a man's world. Maybe they do in a boy's world. I hope it's just something that he's going through. It sounds like he doesn't want a lot of competition and that he's nervous about the competition at LSU.

LSU and Rutgers, Tate said, "are apples and oranges. They don't compare. Rutgers had one good year. LSU is playing for a national championship. For a young kid, what other opportunity would you want?"

All I have to say is, what kind of a loser coach is that? No wonder DC has been so conflicted in what school to choose. You just have to wonder what kind of bonuses these guys get when influencing these players to go to a particular school, especially if you're dealing with the SEC which is notorious for these kind of things. As a coach/advisor you give your opinions but in the end if the player and his family are comfortable, you accept the decision he's made and wish them luck. This guys sounds like he's got an axe to grind cause he missed out on some extra goodies. Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, Byron Leftwich, Daunte Culpepper, etc...the list goes on and on, if you're good enough the NFL scouts will find you no matter where you are. The main idea is to be happy and comfortable in the place you've chosen. It kinda sickens me that such a person is in a position to influence impressionable young men.

[Spanky]

Aditi, I hope you take to task DC's coach down in Florida. His badmouthing his own player is totally unacceptable. Plus, reading between the lines, it sounds like he has some kind of personal stake in having DC go to LSU.