OU's Tony Jefferson reportedly 'trashed' by former coaches
Published: 1/23/2013 12:52 PM
Last Modified: 1/23/2013 9:21 PM
Norman was in the midst of a peaceful winter afternoon Tuesday, when Charlie Campbell, reporting from the Senior Bowl for the NFL draft website WalterFootball.com, included this item in his notebook:
"Another safety prospect that is trending in the opposite direction is Oklahoma safety Tony Jefferson. Scouts are saying that Jefferson has been getting trashed by some of his former coaches for horrible practice habits and a lack of work ethic in the weight room. Jefferson has a lot of physical talent, but it is really going to hurt his draft stock to have former coaches telling NFL teams to pass on him.
"A couple sources said they wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson has a free fall in the draft from a second-day pick to the third day. It will be really important for Jefferson to test well and interview well at the Combine."
Now, this wasn't like Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter or even Mel Kiper going on SportsCenter and dropping the hammer on Jefferson. Besides, if Jefferson tests and interviews well at the Combine, it should dispel any negative stuff swirling around him.
It's not the ramification of the bulletin that was newsworthy so much as the bulletin itself. Either:
A) It's all bunk, and when Jefferson is drafted in the second round, Campbell might ought to send him a fruit basket.
B) The former coaches "trashing" Jefferson are OU staff members.
C) The former coaches "trashing" Jefferson are former OU staffers like Willie Martinez or Brent Venables.
One at a time.
A) I covered Jefferson for three years and don't remember anything specifically directed to him about "horrible practice habits" or "lack of work ethic." Now, coaches didn't put him on the same pedestal as Landry Jones. But most of what I heard was positive and appreciative.
I'm not refuting Campbell's report. He's the one at the Senior Bowl, not me. But if you're forcing me to choose sides, just from my experience around Jefferson, I'll take "don't buy it."
B) This floors me. What good would it do for Bob or Mike Stoops to "trash" Jefferson? If they're doing it, it must be because they either believe it, or are doing it out of spite as payback for his leaving early.
I dug back into interview transcripts of the past three years, searching only for things said about Jefferson, trying to come up with any clues that would connect past statements to Tuesday's bulletin.
The most "controversial" thing I could find Mike Stoops (or any OU coach) saying about Jefferson was after the 2012 Oklahoma State game, when Jefferson bit on OSU's play action and gave up a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half:
"He does some things that really aggravate you, but he comes back and does so many good things. He has a chance to be special, and getting him to understand the little things, the finer things that make players great, has always been my struggle with Tony. Understanding technique, discipline in your reads. When he learns that, he will be a dominating player.
"That's still a process for him, because that's how he plays. He plays very aggressive, and it gets him in trouble. It got him in trouble the other night. He knows that, so he's smarter than that. He's played too much football to not know that, and know the importance of position, especially when you're a deep half player or quarter player, you can't...
"You've gotta be patient, can't force the game, and you've gotta understand where your other players are. We didn't even need him in the run. That's what's so frustrating. He's better than that.
"That's a young, immature mistake, and he's not a young, immature player. He's a very mature guy; he plays very maturely. He just made a mistake, and it cost us."
That to me sounds like a coach frustrated over a football mistake by one of his most reliable players, not a guy slacking in the weight room.
As to the "spite" angle, that's a loooong shot. These coaches are 40- and 50-somethings, not 12-year-olds. But just to review what Mike Stoops said about the pro prospects of Jefferson (and Aaron Colvin) the week of the Cotton Bowl:
"Tony is in a little better position physically, but technique-wise, he needs a lot of… Technique is a big part of being a great player, and vision, training your eyes to see the right things. They understand. Both of them have good common sense. That's important. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and where they need to improve. You've got to do that or neither will last.
"They need to work hard at their games and their craft. If they do, which I think they will, they'll have a chance to play a long time...
"You know what's hard? When money is involved it's hard to be rational with kids. That's what people don't realize. They want to listen to the agents of the world and people who tell them things. The reality is when you get out there, it's not what you think it is. It's a lot different. It sounds good. But when you gotta go out there and you gotta produce and your life is on the line every single week, you'd better be ready for it. Or you're gonna get run over.
"It all sounds good right now, until you have to show up there and play. And then you have to do the things to earn that money. That's what kids don't realize. That's a whole other world. It's a bigtime job. You've gotta be prepared for it.
"So you want to be the best prepared you can be when you go to that job, or you won't last. First impressions are a big thing. I've been in that situation. That's important. If you're not taken at a certain (draft) position, you're irrelevant. I just hope they're ready for it to where they can stay. You want to have staying power when you go. That, to me, is the most important thing. Because you only get one shot at it. Or you're going to be in trouble.
"Then you've got your next 60 years, and then what do you do? You know what I mean? Those are life decisions. They have to understand that. Things get jumbled when kids that never had any money have the chance to make money... So we'll see."
Could Mike or Bob Stoops be frustrated by a player they feel isn't doing the sensible thing by leaving early? Sure.
But not to the point of "trashing" him. I just can't see that.
C) I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this option.
A tweeter reached out to Jefferson Tuesday night asking about Martinez, Jefferson's position coach before Mike Stoops returned to OU.
Jefferson's response: "lol trust me it wasn't."
Jefferson wasn't taking the general matter as lightly. A little later Tuesday, he tweeted: "y'all be careful who y'all let pat you on the back, they could be patting you on ur back to find a soft spot, just to stab you in it!"
It was enough to make the whole situation mind-boggling, and a little sad.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
