Junior defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson turned up the intensity at Kentucky last week. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Country Strong: CeCe Jefferson a Gators Headliner
Friday, September 29, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
The junior from Baker County is coming off his best game of the season and is instrumental in Florida's success.
It's football season, so Saturdays are booked for Leo. Ordinarily, Leo's is a happening place on weekends in the small town of Macclenny, located about a 45-minute drive north from UF's campus.
"They pour in,'' said Rock Rhoden, a longtime friend of Leo's and proprietor of Rock Contractors, Inc., headquartered in an office building located in front of the carwash. "It's a hangout, really."
Perhaps never more so than in the winter of 2014-15 when Gators junior Carl Deon Jefferson – better known as CeCe thanks to his mom -- was one of the top defensive lineman recruits in the country.
As Rhoden talks about Jefferson, the reigning Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, his mind drifts back a couple of years. He looks around the outdoor carwash, which is located under a pair of tall shade trees and features a paved roadway between one of the trees and a storage building. When it's busy, customers pull up, order a wash and are welcome to take a seat in plastic chairs next to the smoker or a picnic table under the trees until their vehicle is finished.
That winter three years ago was unlike any since Leo's Carwash opened many years ago.
"Kirby Smart spent three days right there,'' said Rhoden, pointing toward the chairs by the smoker. "I can tell you every big coach in the SEC came by here."
Smart, in his second season as Georgia's head coach after a decade at Alabama, tried hard to lure Jefferson to the Crimson Tide. He wasn't the only one.
"Nick Saban was the first head coach here," Rhoden said.
In the end, the Gators landed Jefferson after some last-minute concerns on National Signing Day whether he was going to stay committed or flip to Ole Miss or another school in hot pursuit. Leo Jefferson, CeCe's father and the operator of, as you probably have guessed – Leo's Carwash – can chuckle at all the drama more than two years later.
"I've been a Gator all my life,'' said Jefferson. "Florida recruited me in '86 when Galen Hall was there. I was hardheaded and didn't get my grades. I knew CeCe wanted to go to Florida."
*****
CeCe spent his share of time at the carwash while growing up. Baker County Middle School is only a couple of blocks away. That is where the young Jefferson began to resemble something more than your average playground hotshot.
Rhoden, who played at Georgia Southern and has served various stints as a youth and high school coach over the years, was CeCe's middle-school coach. He was the team's star running back. Leo nicknamed him Jim Brown.
In all his years in Baker County, CeCe is one of a kind in Rhoden's view.
"CeCe had never run the ball in his life and not a team in North Florida could stop him. CeCe has put us on the map."
Jefferson continued to grow and eventually started to play defense full-time at Baker County High, located between Macclenny and Glen St. Mary, Jefferson's sleepy and rural hometown.
By his senior season, Jefferson was a five-star recruit. He was undersized (Jefferson is listed at 6-foot-1, 242 pounds on UF's current roster) compared to some of the defensive linemen you see in the SEC, but that didn't stop coaches from finding their way to Baker County.
Florida defensive line coach Chris Rumph first heard of Jefferson when he was an assistant at Alabama and then-Baker County head coach Ryan Sulkowski, a graduate assistant at Clemson during Rumph's time there, contacted him.
Rumph liked what he saw on film and by serendipity, when Rumph arrived at Florida in the spring of 2015 following a season at Texas, he and Jefferson joined forces.
"A big, big personality,'' Rumph said. "He's a kid you want to be around all the time. He wears his emotion on his sleeve, so you know if something is going on with him. He's not scared of success. A lot of guys are."
Jefferson's impact reaches beyond his ability on the field. Sulkowski left Baker County after Jefferson's junior season to take a job in Tennessee. He has shared a story about Jefferson many times, one that shows the humility and maturity that you hear about Jefferson from talking to his teammates and coaches.
In a game during Jefferson's junior season, he sacked the Camden County (Ga.) quarterback with Baker County well on its way to a lopsided loss. Sulkowski and his assistants were not happy. Sulkowski told Jefferson he looked silly to celebrate a sack under the circumstances and embarrassed himself.
Jefferson got the message.
"Coach, you're right,'' he said. "That will never happen again."
Jefferson gets his personality from Leo, who is as outgoing as his son is. Meanwhile, Annette Moore, CeCe's mother, is the voice of reason and more reserved. She does not like the spotlight and declined an interview request for this story.
Nevertheless, whenever CeCe is home, there's no place he would rather be than at Annette's kitchen table when she serves one of her famous feasts, topped off by a strawberry cake usually. He enjoys family visits for many reasons, but 2-year-old son "Little Luke" changed everything.
"Being a father, it's definitely a big role to take on,'' CeCe said. "I'm 21 years old, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. Every time I see my son, he's a reminder of who I'm working for and what I'm working for. I use him as my motivation because every time I want to quit, I just see a picture of him in my head. I can't let him down. I want to give him a lifestyle I didn't have growing up."
*****
Jefferson's value to the Gators was on display for everyone to see in last week's 28-27 come-from-behind win at Kentucky. Jefferson finished with five tackles, including a pair of sacks on back-to-back plays in the second quarter.
The game was tied 14-14 when Kentucky drove to UF's 21-yard line right before halftime. However, Jefferson and Khairi Clark dropped Wildcats quarterback Stephen Johnson for a 5-yard loss on second down, and on third down Jefferson sacked Johnson for a 3-yard loss, forcing a 48-yard field goal attempt that Austin MacGinnis missed with 16 seconds left before halftime.
With the game starting at 7:30 p.m., the Gators spent most of the day at the team hotel. Jefferson arrived at Kroger Field ready to make a statement the way N.C. State senior Bradley Chubb, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Week, did earlier in the day in the Wolfpack's upset of Florida State.
Rumph referred to Chubb's performance as a personal challenge to Jefferson later in the afternoon. He then left him alone when the team arrived at the stadium.
"In the locker room when Coach [Randy] Shannon was talking to the team, he was standing up and sort of had his back turned,'' Rumph said. "He was just staring at the board. You could feel the energy coming off him. He was so locked into the zone that I didn't say anything to him. I think everybody knew that he was at that place."
Jefferson and Florida's defense will try to recapture some of that intensity on Saturday. The No. 21-ranked Gators face Vanderbilt in a noon start at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Jefferson sets the tone on the field.
"He's poised,'' linebacker David Reese said. "He's played since his freshman year."
Fifth-year senior defensive end Jordan Sherit considers Jefferson as important as any player on the team. Jefferson's intangibles make a difference.
"CeCe's one of those guys that's always had that extra motor," Sherit said. "He's a guy that loves football. You don't see it as much anymore. He brings that background, that love for the game, to do the defense."
*****
Back in Baker County, those who know Jefferson best are proud of his accomplishments and his future prospects. Jefferson is eligible to enter the NFL Draft after this season.
Most draft analysts have Jefferson rated as a mid-to-late-round pick based on his college career and concerns about his size. He is perhaps more suited to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense in the NFL.
If Jefferson continues to make plays like Saturday, he likely has a future in the game beyond UF.
"We probably won't ever have another CeCe,'' Rhoden said. "He is such a good and humble kid."
Jefferson developed a strong work ethic growing up in a rural area, where he was not shy to jump in and help family and friends with physical chores. His background has served him well in football. Rumph saw signs from the start they would work together well.
Jefferson is confident but not cocky. He is a vocal leader and playful teammate. And don't let his size fool you.
"For a guy that's not a big-big guy, he is very strong, just country strong," Rumph said. "He has real, real strong hands for a guy his size. That versatility, along with just being country strong, is rare."
Leo Jefferson remembers when he was CeCe's age. He was different than his son.
Unable to attend UF because of grades, he tried a junior college in Mississippi. He stayed a week. He later enrolled at a junior college in Kansas and lasted a season. Eventually, he came back home and settled in.
"I made those mistakes,'' Leo said. "That allowed me to help him stay on track."
CeCe is doing fine. That big personality of his is a good fit for the Gators. Same as at home and at Leo's Carwash.
His advice if you plan to visit: "Tell them CeCe sent you. They'll treat you right."
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