MORGANTOWN — Jordan Jefferson looks every bit the part of a Power 5 defensive lineman at 6-foot-2 and 298 pounds, what he does off the field and in the weight room is something not many get to see.
From the time he arrived in Morgantown nearly three years ago, Jefferson has held a standard no one else on the Mountaineers has been able to achieve.
“He was the strongest person on the team as soon as he walked in,” linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo said. “He and his dad (A.J.) do power lifting. The strength was always there. It’s ridiculous. He could probably power 2,400.
“He’s just as explosive as some of the skill guys. He was top 10 in the jump test (Monday), right there with skills and backers. He’s right there behind me and he’s 300 pounds. That’s pretty ridiculous that he can do something like that.”
When Chandler-Semedo hosted Jefferson on his official visit, just looking at him told the story: Legs the size of tree trunks and a butt to match. It’s always been in Jefferson’s pedigree and it’s something he is proud of.
“My bench is over 445, my squat is 635, clean and jerk is about 375 — not too bad,” he said with a smile.
While his strength and work in the weight room has always been there, his play on the field is something that needed to come along and took some time to improve. Forced into action as a true freshman in 2019, Jefferson admittedly wasn’t ready for Big 12 football. Depth issues at defensive and nose tackle plagued the Mountaineers most of the season.
“I had to kind of learn on the fly. Coach Jordan Lesley, my position coach, said I had to get ready to play,” Jefferson said.
In 2020, the depth along the entire defensive front was improved, and Jefferson also battled an injury that hampered most of this playing time. After playing in 11 games as a true freshman, he only had 40 snaps as a sophomore, taking a redshirt and learning how to play nose tackle.
“From my freshman year to now, it’s a night and day difference,” he said.
And it’s not from a physical aspect, which has always been something Jefferson never had to worry about. Learning and knowing you can’t bully your way through offensive lineman at this level took some time, but he believes he’s there now.
“For me it was more the mental side of it. I think I had the strength part down, he said. “I had get through the transition from high school to college, to learn the playbook and develop mentally. For me, it was more me knowing what I could do, if that makes sense. Once I got that part down it was a lot easier.”
The fruits of labor are starting to pay off — Jefferson had what he called the best game of his career last week at Kansas State, finishing with four tackles, including two for loss.
“I knew it was going to come eventually. Coaches are always saying ‘Stay patient. Do what you can control. Do your job.’ I played free and had a good game.”
So how did Jefferson, a Navarre, Fla., native, end up at West Virginia? He was recruited by head coach Neal Brown and Lesley while they were still at Troy.
The only other Power 5 offers Jefferson had were Louisville and Kansas State.
Once the offer came in from Brown again, this time with the Mountaineers, he scheduled a visit and the rest is history. And at this rate, Jefferson’s weight room numbers may also remain history.
Jefferson and WVU will host Texas at noon Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium.
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