Five-star Jefferson unsigned
Mike Farrell
Rivals.com Football Recruiting
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.
CeCe Jefferson announced yesterday he would sign with Florida, but has yet to send his NLI.
"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 NCAA prohibits coaches from publicly commenting on unsigned prospects.
Clearly, the Jeffersons aren't impressed with the lack of communication over the defensive line coach change or the recent actions of the staff.
"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".
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