CeCe Jefferson and Florida update

[jbcarol]

Zach Abolverdi @ZachAbolverdi  ·  45 minutes ago

Leo Jefferson said he's fine with CeCe's mom signing his LOI. "I'm not the only one in the house. If she wants to sign it she can."

...Said whenever his son is comfortable with Chris Rumph and ready to fax his LOI to UF, he's OK with it.

[jbcarol]

Heather Crawford @HeatherFCN  ·  9 hours ago

@CourtneyReports talked w/ Baker Co star #CeCeJefferson tonight.What he has to say about his Letter of Intent at 11p.http://fcnews.tv/1zqxY3g

Above link is ESPN Analyst Derek Tyson's recap.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/videos/sports/2015/02/07/23028623

CeCe: I held out because I did not know who the coach was going to be.

Denies that his parents are holding him back

Reporter claims he will meet with McElwain before the Florida - Kentucky basketball game.


Courtney Jasmin @CourtneyReports  ·  11 hours ago

@cecejeferson7 very gracious with his fans. He spoke with everyone and took lots of photos! #teamsideline

[jbcarol]

Edgar Thompson @osgators  ·  1 hour ago
On NSD, CeCe Jefferson was quick to admit he enjoys the drama of recruiting during the age of Twitter: http://bit.ly/1C4sh8C

Gators' top commit CeCe Jefferson is quick to admit he enjoys the drama of recruiting during the age of Twitter.

Jefferson stirred up his share of emotions among fan bases during the process.

Moments after he committed to the Gators Wednesday outside his home in Glen St. Mary, Jefferson discussed his philosophy on social media.

"Twitter was fun, man," he told reporters. "It's a business, though. You have to keep the fans excited. They're the ones who come support you. Really without the fans, the games are boring.

"I had fun with it."

The "fun" continues.

While UF coaches and Gator Nation continue to wait for Jefferson to send in his scholarship papers, the five-star defensive end is taking his sweet, tweet time.

Jon Shumake, the sports editor at the Baker County Press, Jefferson's hometown newspaper, tweeted Friday Jefferson told him he was not sure whether he would send in his letter of intent this weekend. Yet, Jefferson remained, "100 percent" committed to the Gators, per Shumake.

Two hours later, Shumake tweeted on his account (@JonShu89) Jefferson said he planned to sign his national letter of intent next week.

Keith Niebuhr @Keith247Sports  ·  Feb 5
Not the least bit surprised #NSD drama found who it found. To my colleagues in the biz, what say you?

[jbcarol]

7 @cecejeferson7  ·  3 hours ago
Im a Gator and my LOI will be turned in soon,my dad and coach Collins had a long talk today. 🐊🐊🐊🐊

[jbcarol]

Zach Abolverdi @ZachAbolverdi  ·  13 hours ago

CeCe Jefferson's LOI won't get faxed at a set time. He's just gonna randomly do it & break the news himself on Twitter. That's how he rolls.


Sounds Clowny

[jbcarol]

G7orG8? retweeted
BCHS Yearbook 2015 @BCHSyearbook14  ·  3h 3 hours ago

@cecejeferson7 since you're not at school... AGAIN.. here's the info you need about your superlative pictures:

[jbcarol]

G7orG8? @cecejeferson7  ·  5 hours ago

Today is the day that I officially become a Florida Gator,sorry for the wait #GatorNation! Sending my LOI in shorty 💯🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊

[jbcarol]

Zach Abolverdi @ZachAbolverdi  ·  6 hours ago

ICYMI: McElwain talks Georgia recruiting, CeCe Jefferson saga | http://recruiting.blogs.gatorsports.com/20254/mcelwain-talks-georgia-recruiting-jefferson-saga ... via @Gator_sports #Gators

McElwain also has to land the big fish in his own backyard, which he did on signing day with the commitment of local five-star defensive end CeCe Jefferson.

"At that point (when recruits hold off), you can't take any of it personal," McElwain said. "You move on and do the best you can. In that particular case, he always wanted to come here. And it was a good fit. So it worked out in the end. Yet he wasn't the first one that hasn't signed on signing day. That's happened before."

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/ZachAbolverdi/status/795086636296142848

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Florida's College Football Playoff hopes lived for just four days.

UF debuted at No. 11 in the first rankings Tuesday, and ESPN analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Greg McElroy said the Gators had an outside chance at becoming one of the four teams in the playoffs.

But that dream died less than three minutes into the Arkansas game Saturday, which was effectively over after Luke Del Rio's pick-6. Florida's inept offense managed just 3 points in the 31-10 loss to the Razorbacks.

Gators coach Jim McElwain and his team looked mentally defeated in post-game interviews. By then, reality had set in.

"Obviously, we're out of the playoffs," defensive tackle Caleb Brantley said.

As unrealistic as it seems now, that was Florida's goal in 2016. The players made that clear following their second-half collapse at Tennessee, saying no UF team had won a national championship without one loss.

"CeCe (Jefferson) told us in the locker room, it's not over," Del Rio said. "Our season's not over. It's not like we're 2-7 here. We didn't play well Saturday, but we're a good team."

And it's a team that can still win the SEC East. Even if the Gators lose one more game, a division title could happen if they get some help. Florida won't go to Atlanta with the top-10 ranking it wanted, but the trip isn't out of reach.

"CeCe just told the guys to keep their heads up," offensive tackle David Sharpe said. "We've still got a lot to play for. It showed a lot of character that the guys hated to lose more than they love to win."

Sharpe called Jefferson one of the team leaders, who now face the challenge of trying to galvanize this group. Not only did Florida's confidence take a shot Saturday, but there's not a lot positive to help the Gators regain it.

But UF safety Marcus Maye said Jefferson did his best to keep morale high.

"It was big," Maye said. "He just basically told us we've still got to keep working. We can't fall apart. We've got to stick together.

"He said we've got a bunch of ball left and he wouldn't go out on a Saturday with anybody else. So, it was definitely a good message."

McElwain delivered a similar message to the team, but he's not focused on winning the division later this month.

[jbcarol]

Florida's CeCe Jefferson: Gators need to 'beat teams to sleep' to get respect

"There's just something special about this team," he said. "... Everyone has that same common goal: Come in, be successful and win a championship.

"Have a 15-0 season?" Jefferson pondered. "We just have to come out and beat teams to sleep from start to finish. I don't even know if that's going to be enough for people to start respecting us again."

Hogs almost beat Gators to death last year.