It’s a long way from Division II to the Big Ten. Chris Jefferson knows that.
He’s living it, having transferred from Findlay University in Ohio to Purdue this summer. And the senior safety isn’t sure how he will react when he runs onto the field for the first time in front of thousands of fans.
“I don't know,” Jefferson said. “I don't know what it's gonna feel like. I know just when we had our (first) practice (Aug. 6 in Ross-Ade Stadium) in front of the fans, even that was just like, 'Man, like, I'm really here.' ”
Not only is the 5-11, 190-pound Jefferson in West Lafayette, but he's making an impact. He brings a shiny resume to campus as he moves up the college ranks. In three seasons at Findlay, Jefferson notched 110 tackles, 12 interceptions and 10 PBUs.
“He's a player,” said Purdue co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Ron English. “He's instinctive. You can tell he's played a lot of football. He's coachable. He's playing multiple spots for us already. He's a guy who every time he could be with me with, he was.”
English has a term for guys like Jefferson.
“He's just a ballplayer,” said English. “He's a legitimate guy in the sense that he's, in my career, how long it's been, that's the term I use. When a guy has some instincts, loves football, smart, aggressive, tough, all that, I just say he's a ballplayer.”
How has the transition been for Jefferson from the small-time to the big-time?
“I feel like I have transitioned in pretty smoothly, way better than I thought,” said Jefferson, who can play some nickel, too. “I felt like I should be here, feel like I should have been here. So, that's why I made that choice. If I didn't feel like I should be here, I wouldn't be playing my best ball. I just came in, guys treated me like I've been here. So, it's been great.”
Credit Purdue staffers T.J. McCollum (football recruiting associate/QC) and Nate Dennison (director of football recruiting) for unearthing Jefferson. They identified him and brought him in for a workout. Jefferson picked the Boilermakers over Michigan State and Temple.
“Whenever we heard he was coming over here, he was D2 player of the year,” said fellow safety Cam Allen. “So, all of us, we were looking at his film, we were like, ‘Yeah, we got a playmaker coming to our side of the ball.’ And then he got to practice, he put it out there. So, now as a post player, you can put him anywhere on the field, he is gonna get to the ball.”
As a junior, Jefferson led Findlay with 32 tackles, two interceptions and four PBUs during a 4-2 DII 2021 spring season. Findlay competes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). The Euclid, Ohio, native appeared and started in all 11 games in 2019 and was Associated Press DII first-team All-American after making nine interceptions and 62 tackles with six PBUs.
Coming out of Benedictine High in Cleveland (same school as former Purdue guard Gene Mruczkowski), Jefferson focused more on basketball than football but says he had a few FCS offer. But overall, Jefferson was overlooked in the recruiting process and ended up at Findlay. It was hard to ignore his production the last three seasons.
“My confidence has grown a lot,” said Jefferson. “When I came here, I deserved to be here, and I felt like, I gotta prove it. I got to prove it to these guys, especially to the team that I deserve to be here. Now, I feel like I proved it to them. So now, my confidence is on the rise.”
Safety cohort Sanoussi Kane has been impressed.
“Chris, he's a ballhawk,” said Kane. “He's gonna go get that ball. You can tell by the way he plays, the instincts that he has, he's a great post player. When you are in a Cover 3 deal, you understand that you got a post player behind you, Cover 3, Cover 1, that you can lean on Chris because he's gonna go make that play.”
Jefferson has been running with the No. 2 secondary alongside Kane in camp. Allen and Marvin Grant (who has been dealing with injury) project as the first-team safeties as Purdue pushes toward its season opener on Sept. 4 vs Oregon State. That’s when Jefferson will run onto the field for the first time.
“(Cornerback) Cory Trice, he told me that's a feeling you can't describe,” said Jefferson. “I love playing in front of the crowd. I love playing in front of crowds, so I just know that's gonna be one of the best days of my life, the first time I'll be able to run out there. That's gonna be so amazing.”
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