Jordan Jefferson facts for kids
Jefferson (9) with the LSU Tigers in 2011
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| No. 9 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | August 25, 1990 Covington, Louisiana, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 223 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Destrehan (LA) | ||||||||||
| College: | LSU (2008–2011) | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career Arena statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at CFL.ca (archive) | |||||||||||
| Player stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||||||
Jordan Jamal Jefferson was born on August 25, 1990. He is a former American football player who played as a quarterback. He played college football for the LSU Tigers from 2008 to 2011. After college, he briefly played professionally for teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Early Life and High School Football
Jordan Jefferson grew up in St. Rose, Louisiana. He went to Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana. There, he became known as one of the best high school quarterbacks in the country.
Junior Year Success (2006)
In 2006, during his junior year, Jordan led Destrehan to a great start. They won their first six games without any losses. However, he got a broken wrist during a game, which stopped his season early. Even with the injury, he completed 81 of 143 passes. He threw for 1,666 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also had only 4 interceptions.
Senior Year Championship (2007)
As a senior in 2007, Jordan helped his team win the Class 5A state championship. Destrehan High School finished the season with a perfect 15–0 record. He completed 188 of 290 passes for 2,846 yards. He also threw 24 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. For his amazing performance, Jordan was named the best offensive player in his division. He was also chosen for the Class 5A All-State first-team.
Jordan finished his high school career with a perfect record as a starting quarterback, winning all 21 games he started. He was named an All-American high school player by SuperPrep Magazine. Scout.com considered him one of the top 20 quarterbacks. Rivals.com also rated him highly, calling him one of the top 10 pro-style quarterbacks.
College Football Career at LSU
Jordan Jefferson played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was a key player for their team from 2008 to 2011.
Freshman Season (2008)
In 2008, as a freshman, Jordan played in seven games. He started two of them, including the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl. In that bowl game, LSU won 38–3 against Georgia Tech. Jordan was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his great performance in the game.
Sophomore Season (2009)
During his sophomore year in 2009, Jordan was the youngest starting quarterback in the SEC conference. He started 12 out of LSU's 13 games. He missed one game due to an injury. As a starter, he led the team to 8 wins and 4 losses. He threw for 2,166 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also had 7 interceptions. LSU played in the 2010 Capital One Bowl but lost to Penn State.
Junior Season (2010)
In the 2010 season, Jordan shared quarterback duties with Jarrett Lee. He threw for 1,253 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He also ran for 450 yards and scored 7 rushing touchdowns. Both of these rushing stats were records for an LSU quarterback. Jordan helped the Tigers achieve a 10–2 record in the regular season. They went on to beat the Texas A&M Aggies 41–24 in the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic. In that game, Jordan threw for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 67 yards and scored 1 touchdown.
He made an important pass to running back Stevan Ridley in LSU's game against Alabama on November 6. The Tigers won that close game 24–21.
Senior Season (2011)
Jordan faced some challenges at the start of the 2011 season. He was not allowed to play for the first part of the season. However, he was allowed to rejoin the team later.
Jordan returned to play in the fifth game of the season against Kentucky. On his very first play, he scored LSU's first touchdown of the game. This gave LSU a lead they kept for the rest of the game. In his first four games back, he completed 6 of 10 passes for 123 yards. He also threw 2 touchdowns and had no interceptions. He rushed for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns in these games.
Key Game Against Alabama
On November 5, LSU played a big game against Alabama. Jordan came into the game at important moments. He helped LSU drive 74 yards to tie the game before halftime. In overtime, Jordan made a key play that set up the game-winning field goal for LSU. After this game, Jordan became the starting quarterback for the final five games of the year.
Strong Finish to the Regular Season
Jordan's final three regular season games were LSU's best for total yards gained. In all three games, LSU gained over 450 yards. Before this, LSU had only gained over 450 yards once in the previous nine games. Jordan had a perfect passing game against Ole Miss. He also passed for over 200 yards against Arkansas. When Jordan started as quarterback, LSU scored almost 10 more points per game. They also nearly doubled their rushing yards. Jordan finished the regular season with a high passer rating, which was the best among SEC starting quarterbacks.
Post-Season Games
Jordan led LSU to a big 42–10 win over Georgia in the 2011 SEC Championship Game. In the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, Jordan played against an Alabama defense that was looking for revenge. Even though Jordan completed almost 65% of his passes, the Alabama defense made it tough for LSU's offense to move the ball.
College Statistics and Records
During his college career, Jordan Jefferson threw for 4,733 yards and 34 touchdowns. As of 2020, he ranks sixth for career wins by a starting quarterback at LSU with 24. He is also tied for seventh in LSU history for passing touchdowns (34). At the end of his career, he was sixth in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (12).
Jordan holds the LSU record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,018 yards. His ability to run the ball made opposing defenses pay attention to him. This helped LSU win games by running the ball effectively. Because LSU focused on its running game and Jordan shared time with Jarrett Lee, Jordan's passing yards were sometimes lower. He threw for less than 100 yards in 11 games he started. However, LSU only lost 3 of those 11 games.
| LSU Tigers | ||||||||||||||
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| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2008 | 5 | 2 | 36 | 73 | 419 | 83.8 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 134 | 2.7 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 12 | 12 | 182 | 296 | 2,166 | 180.5 | 17 | 7 | 112 | 171 | 1.5 | 1 | ||
| 2010 | 13 | 13 | 119 | 209 | 1,411 | 108.5 | 7 | 10 | 123 | 450 | 3.7 | 7 | ||
| 2011 | 9 | 5 | 61 | 100 | 737 | 81.9 | 6 | 2 | 75 | 263 | 3.5 | 3 | ||
| Totals | 39 | 32 | 398 | 678 | 4,733 | 121.4 | 34 | 20 | 359 | 1,018 | 2.8 | 12 | ||
Professional Football Career
After his college career, Jordan Jefferson tried out for professional football teams.
NFL Scouting Combine Performance
Jordan was one of eight LSU players invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. This event allows college players to show their skills to NFL teams. Even though he had a lower grade before the Combine, Jordan was the only quarterback to finish among the top five in every test. Among quarterbacks, he finished first in the 20-yard shuttle and tied for first in the bench press. He also finished third in the 40-yard dash and the vertical jump.
Time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jordan was not chosen in the 2012 NFL draft. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers invited him to their rookie minicamp. The team signed Jordan to a contract on May 7, 2012. He was later released a few days later.
Playing in Other Leagues
On August 10, 2012, Jordan signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He was part of their practice squad. He was later released by the Alouettes.
Jordan then signed with the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League for the 2013 season. He became the starting quarterback for the team. In 2014, Jordan signed with the Omaha Mammoths of the Fall Experimental Football League. He was the starting quarterback for the Mammoths. The team finished their only season in second place with a 3–1 record.
Coaching Career
In February 2019, Jordan Jefferson was hired as a graduate assistant coach for wide receivers at Colorado State.
Family Life
Jordan has two brothers, Justin and Rickey. Both of his brothers also played college football at LSU. Justin was chosen 22nd overall in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Images for kids
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Jefferson (9) with the LSU Tigers in 2011
