Tony Jefferson, the 6-foot, 197-pound four-star middle linebacker/safety from Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, Calif., already has 22 scholarship offers but says he has narrowed down his list to five.
“This is the third time I’ve changed my top five,” Jefferson laughed. “But I feel good about these five. It may still change but right now I’m liking these guys.”
Jefferson, Scout.com’s No. 4 middle linebacker nationwide, said he now favors USC slightly over Florida, Georgia, Penn State and Oklahoma. All of his favorites have offered as well as UCLA, Miami, Oregon and Stanford, among others.
“I was at a USC practice last week and really liked it,” Jefferson said. “I’d say they are on top right now.”
So what is it about the Trojans that give them the edge? “I like the intensity they play with and practice with. They just never stop going.
“I also really like the coaches a lot,” Jefferson said. “They are all great and I love how they all really get involved and get into the practices. They just love what they do. It’s all about competition over there but it’s still fun.
“They also really do a good job of making people feel at home,” he said. “They have a lot of recruits from out-of-state and they are all family.”
Jefferson says that USC is recruiting him the hardest and he likes his chances of playing early there. "Looking at their depth chart got me pretty excited,” he said. “I could probably end up playing safety early there.
“They have like three safeties that will be leaving,” he said. “They said that even me being able to play as a true freshman is a possibility.”
From Jefferson’s most recent top five, USC is the only school he’s already visited. He has also attended junior days at UCLA and Stanford (where he was committed to at one time).
“I’d really like to go to camps at all five of these schools but I doubt I’ll be able to,” he said. “I may just have to wait and take my official visits. I plan on taking all five and I’ll start setting them up as soon as I can.”
Although Jefferson hasn’t visited the Florida campus, he does have a lot of family in Florida. “We have family throughout different parts of Florida,” he said. “I like it there.
“Plus, the Gators are the No. 1 team right now,” Jefferson said. “They are looking real good.”
Much like with USC, Jefferson says the thing that stands out about the Gators is their coaching staff. “I love Urban Meyer,” he said. “He’s a great guy. We communicate a lot and he’s just a big kid. He’s a man who acts like a kid, which is cool.”
He says the Gators aren’t sure about which position he would play for them. “The offensive coordinator wants me for offense and the defensive coordinator wants me for defense,” Jefferson said. “They talked about possibly using me as a utility guy.”
Another SEC school in Jefferson’s top five is Georgia. “I want to major in engineering and I’ve heard they have a really good engineering program there,” he said. “It’s a good school overall.
“Willie Martinez (defensive coordinator) and my dad have a good bond,” he said. “They are both in the ministry and get along really well.”
Jefferson says the Bulldogs are recruiting him for defense. “They plan on using me like a linebacker/safety,” he said. “Where I’d get to blitz a lot.”
Another school that is recruiting Jefferson on the defensive side of the ball is Penn State, which also likes him at linebacker. “They are a linebacker school,” he said. “They always have the best linebackers there and I could see myself fitting in with their defense. It’s one of the best in the country.
“They made it to the Rose Bowl last season and I think coach Joe Paterno is just unbelievable,” he said.
Rounding out Jefferson’s top five is Oklahoma, whom he says he visited when he was younger. “I remember I really liked it there,” he said. “It seemed like a nice place.
“I also have a great relationship with their coaches,” Jefferson said. “They seem to try and get to know you more than some of the others coaches. I feel like I have a good relationship with the whole staff and not just the head coach or my position coach. They really go out of their way to bond with you.”
Jefferson says he’ll be graduating in December and hopes to make an early decision. “I may decide in September or October,” he said. “Or I might just keep it silent. I’m playing in the Army All-America game so I might just announce during the game.”
He 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.
“I can run through people,” he said. “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,” he said.
“I think strength is about 70-percent of the game and I try and lift a lot,” Jefferson said. “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.”
Jefferson says he can bench 255-pounds, squat 455-pounds and has a 28-inch vertical jump.
He’d like to major in engineering and reports a 3.0 core GPA and a 1400 SAT.