Quarterback La'Darius Jefferson pumped over UCF commitment
Scott Frost and staff have landed their top quarterback, La'Darius Jefferson.
The Muskegon, Mich., dual-threat passer, who called UCF his "dream school," pledged on Sunday afternoon to become the fourth member of the Knights' 2018 recruiting class.
"First of all, I just want to thank God and my family to get me where I am today," Jefferson said. "They've helped me to become a great young man. I want to thank all the coaches and people behind me. As for committing, I felt like I was ready. I've been jealous seeing other people commit. I'm ready to help make this class better. UCF has everything I'm looking for. Academically, it's a great school. It's the best opportunity for my future. I felt like it was the best decision for me to a be Knight. To be honest, UCF is like a dream school for me. Now I want to get this class rolling and get some more guys committed."
Jefferson, a native of Columbia, Miss., who moved to Michigan in the seventh grade, says he's had his eye on UCF ever since the Fiesta Bowl Championship season of 2013 when the Knights finished in the top 10.
"I remember when UCF and Blake Bortles were playing at Louisville and Teddy Bridgewater," Jefferson said. "Big game. I remember them driving down the field and scoring, seeing all the weapons they had on offense. Blake Bortles was a big guy, doing big things with his arm. I remember thinking about what I could do as a quarterback with my running ability mixed in with my passing ability. I've always liked UCF since then, playing with UCF on (EA Sports) NCAA Football (video game), along with Ole Miss and LSU."
As a junior, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Jefferson completed 53 of 82 passes for 957 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 929 yards on 122 carries and 19 more scores. And that was sharing reps with senior Kalil Pimpleton, who signed with Virginia Tech.
Early offers had come in from Ball State, Toledo, Navy, Air Force, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, Tulane and Buffalo. UCF entered the picture on April 28.
"I remember one night I was on my phone and Coach V (Mario Verduzco) inboxed me out of nowhere," Jefferson said. "I had got an offer from Navy previously, so maybe my tape was floating around the conference. He texted me and said he would be talking to me real soon. Everything took off from here.
"Coach V and Coach Frost did a great job recruiting me. The main thing that sold me is what I can do in this offense with my arms and legs. I'm a dual-threat. They've been telling me I can do big things, like throw for 3,000 and run for 1,000. Win games. That's the big thing. I want to win games, win AAC championships, bowl games and a national championship. I remember when Blake Bortles won the Fiesta Bowl. That really got to me. That's what I want to do in this offense."
Jefferson, who had jumped to the top of UCF's wish list at quarterback, says he thinks he surprised the coaches when he told them he was ready to commit.
"They really didn't know it was going to happen today," he said. "But I've been thinking about committing for a week now. I've been seeing other quarterbacks commit and getting their classes started, like Emory Jones (Ohio State) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), and I want to do that for my class. Help UCF get the ball rolling and get people to commit."
Jefferson, who is thinking about majoring in aerospace engineering, hopes to visit UCF early in the season on an official visit. In the meantime, he's ready to start building the class around him.
"I know we had three commits and now I'm the fourth," he said. "I'm going to be reaching out to guys and start recruiting to get more on board."
