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+---- Thread: *Longshot: Jake Jefferson's Rookie Journey (/showthread.php?tid=44396)
*Longshot: Jake Jefferson's Rookie Journey - thecanadiancanuck - 04-01-2023
[1767 words, ready for grading]
For those who watched the S40 Prospect Bowl, all they would have seen from Jake Jefferson was a project, and they weren't wrong. While everyone at the tournament was new to the pro leagues and he did show some flashes of talent, there were a lot of things that needed to be cleaned up. Due to this, as well as teams not needing quarterbacks as urgently, Jefferson fell all the way to the 11th round of the DSFL Draft, where the Kansas City Coyotes took a shot on him with the final pick of the round. He would start as the backup quarterback behind incumbent Mathias Mayhem, expected to see spot action as a gadget player as well as a secondary running option behind rookie back Eilliot Berry. The Coyotes had a lot of young players in an expected rebuild year, and Jefferson would get an opportunity to refine his skills and become a more polished passer.
Week 1 would have been a rather inauspicious debut for the rookie quarterback for a game where he only touched the ball twice, but all it took was one big play to get some swagger in his step. Already down 14-0 to the London Royals in the first quarter, Jefferson took the snap, faked a pass and then ran to the left on a designed draw play. The defense was caught completely off guard by the play and he ran 34 yards untouched into the end zone for his first professional touchdown. While he didn't do anything else the rest of the game, coming back in for a single incomplete pass, Jake Jefferson had managed to put a jump in his step and shown off what he could do with his legs.
The young quarterback settled into a backup role for the next few weeks, mostly coming in on short-yardage situations when the team needed to catch the defense off-guard for a first down. His biggest moments were on the practice field and in the film room, working tirelessly to break down his plays on the field and find ways to improve wherever he could. Over the next few game weeks, Jefferson could see the fruits of his labour start to work out as his passes were cleaner and were able to hit the receivers in the right spots to maximize plays. Another part of his game that saw improvement was his pocket presence. While playing for the Aggies he had a tendency to pull the ball down and run for yards if his first option wasn't there, but with coaching he was more consistent with going through his reads and not trying to force throws that weren't there as much.
Jefferson's big break came in the second half of the season came against London. With his improvement, he met with coaches and Mayhem frequently throughout the week in preparation for scheming him into more plays, since they would be substituting more often during the next game and going forward. The game started out with Mayhem running most of the plays, and other than a kickoff return for a touchdown the Coyotes were in a great spot. Early in the second quarter, the defense got a big stop and a solid drive ended with Jefferson calling his own number and punching it in from the 3-yard line, his first touchdown since the draw play in Week 1.
With both offenses firing on all cylinders throughout the second quarter, a wild stretch of drives culminating with two straight London touchdowns left the game at a 31-28 edge for the Coyotes with under two minutes to go before halftime. The two-minute drill didn't get too much going, but the team had a trick up their sleeve. 70 yards from the end zone, the offense lined up in a typical I-formation to disguise the play. Jefferson called for the snap and then immediately ran for the left side of the line, catching the tired Royals defense by surprise. The half was almost over, and none of them were expecting a QB run at this point in the game. A couple of lucky blocks and number 9 was off to the races, outrunning the entire defense for a 70-yard touchdown. It would end up being the longest rushing touchdown of anyone in this DSFL season.
The game did quiet down after that frenetic first half, as each team would only exchange one more touchdown in the third quarter, but Jefferson's day wasn't done yet. Early in the fourth quarter, he added his first career passing touchdown with a 28-yard strike to tight end William Barkley, putting the game out of reach for good. When the dust settled with a wild 55-42 win, Jefferson had put up 128 yards in the air and 101 on the ground (with 70 coming on one play) and three touchdowns. Even though he was still the backup, the rookie had put the league on notice with his skillset and potential as a dual-threat quarterback.
The season continued on, and while Jefferson didn't repeat his explosive performance from the London game he was quickly becoming a very competent option for short-yardage plays for the Coyotes, elevating his passing stats to decent after a rough start. Where he shone was in the ground game, where he was effectively the team's backup running back in terms of yardage and hanging around 15th place in the league for rushing yards. If the team needed three yards for a first down, he'd go out and get it. Around this time he also started getting calls from teams in the big-league ISFL, inquiring about his future which really made him think. While becoming a starting quarterback in the ISFL would be a tough sell with the current starters hanging around for a long time and the current wisdom firmly aimed at traditional pocket passers to run pro-style offenses, he'd shown a lot with his legs in his rookie year. If Jefferson wanted to focus on it, he could use his speed and agility to eke out a role on a team as a wide receiver, or even put on a little muscle and play running back.
At last it was the final week of the season, and while Kansas City was nowhere near the playoffs at 3-10, there was a lot to like about this group. The defensive line had been standouts for the pass rush, consistently getting to quarterbacks for huge sacks and forcing a lot of fumbles. Rookie running back Eilliot Berry consistently flattened defenders for huge gains and was a fan favourite for his powerful running style. Wednesday's practice was different than those before in that Jefferson was getting more of the first-team snaps, and this was clarified afterwards when the coach called him into the office. "Jake, we've really liked what you've done for us this season, working hard to up your game and it's been really paying off in your play on the field. We'd like to see more of what you can do, and you'll be getting the start for us on Sunday. Keep it up." The young quarterback was surprised at this news, but managed to collect himself. "Thanks Coach. I'll be ready."
That day quickly rolled around, and for Jefferson he was focused on keeping himself mentally in the zone for the game. In terms of the standings, this game meant nothing since both teams were already out of the playoffs, but he knew that this would be an audition of sorts for him for ISFL teams and that he needed to show what he could do at this position to get more opportunities at the next level. The playbook was the same as he was used to in keeping plays simple and clean, but Jefferson was easily able to get into a rhythm with fellow rookie Berry, who was aiming for the rushing title, and the offense was in sync early in the season finale. The quarterback called his own number on the first drive for a 1-yard push into the end zone, then led another drive down the field where he put the ball in Berry's hands for another short score. Mathias Mayhem came in for a few plays to keep the defense honest with the threat of a deep ball, but it ended up being another Jefferson snap that led to paydirt when he found his safety valve Andrija Divac for another short pass that made it into the end zone and put Kansas City up by three scores in front of an appreciative home crowd. While that was all the scoring that would come from the offense on the day, it was still Jefferson's most efficient day as a passer by far and the Coyotes were able to lock it down the rest of the way for a 30-14 victory.
In the weeks that followed that final game, the field of play largely shifted to the film room and the meeting room as opposed to the field. With the greater scrutiny that would come with the lead-up to the ISFL draft, he was now working with an agent from a big sports firm. She was fairly new to the game herself, but the agency had some pretty high-profile clients so it seemed like it would work out fine. More teams came calling, most of them making the same inquiries about Jefferson making a position switch, and there were some serious conversations being had. "You ever played wideout before?" his agent inquired one day, her tone serious. "Nah, I haven't," he shot back with an easygoing confidence. "I know there are other QBs out there that have switched though, and I think I can work with the skill set I've got to be solid at the position and get better as I go." One call did come in that was intriguing. The team inquired about Jefferson as a WR like the other teams, of which he had refined a response at this point, but this team also didn't totally close the door to him being able to stay at his position. "It's definitely going to be a long road ahead to get to that point," Jefferson's agent advised him. "If you're going to play QB in the big leagues, you'll have to work harder than you ever have before." He simply closed his eyes in response, then opened them again before answering. "I'll work as hard as it takes and more. It's a dream to play that position at that level, and if a team takes that chance I want to prove everyone right."