Linebacker Malik Jefferson has been a leader on and off the field for Texas.
Despite highs, lows, linebacker a leader on and off the field
Just over three years ago, on Dec. 19, 2014, a universally hailed linebacker from Mesquite Poteet High School stood on stage in front of friends, family and a flock of media members.
Armed with an enchantingly toothy grin, he positioned a black, Longhorn-emblazoned hat on top of his cascading dreadlocks. During that same ceremony, the linebacker’s teammate, four-star receiver DeAndre McNeal, followed suit.
McNeal didn’t last long under former UT coach Charlie Strong. He was suspended in August 2016 for violating team rules and transferred shortly thereafter. But the linebacker remains.
Living up to expectations
Malik Jefferson’s journey has been strange, particularly for a five-star recruit who arrived in Austin with astronomical expectations. He started nine games as a true freshman and earned Big 12 defensive freshman of the year honors, but UT lost seven games.
As a sophomore, Jefferson went from defensive savior to benched midway through the program’s third consecutive seven-loss campaign. The demotion didn’t last, but most objective parties deemed his second season a failure.
Jefferson sequestered himself from the spotlight for months after the 2016 season. Rumors of a rift between the junior and new coach Tom Herman following a February meeting stoked questions about what his role might be within this new regime.
The coach pushed back against the notion of a fissure in their relationship.
“Malik is a fantastic leader, fantastic ambassador for our program,” Herman said. “In February, we had a really good heart-toheart about what he wanted to get out of this season. He said, ‘Coach, I want to be as good a linebacker and as good a leader and teammate as I can be.’ I said, ‘Great.’ ”
Still, Jefferson was not among the Longhorns chosen to attend Big 12 media days. And he was not selected as one of four team captains for the 2017 season.
None of those factors seemed to weigh on Jefferson when he broke that extended media silence in August. It seemed this was all by design.
“I didn’t mind it at all,” Jefferson said. “I had a long talk with my family and we all discussed it. It’s something that I needed to do to focus on myself, to look at myself, because sometimes you’ve got to look in the mirror to find your mistakes. Hearing the outside noise, it’s kind of hard to distinguish that. But it definitely helped me.”
“I opened my chest,” Jefferson said. “And gave its contents to defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
He sounded like a convert who had discovered something profound in a new religion or philosophy. But the results vindicated Jefferson’s revamped mindset.
He paced UT with 110 tackles, second most in the Big 12, and 10 tackles for loss. He tied for the team lead with four sacks and was named the conference’s codefensive player of the year.
Among Big 12 teams the Longhorns ranked second in total defense and third in scoring defense, up from seventh and eighth, respectively, last year.
An early end in Austin?
Though Jefferson (6-3, 240) is as talented as any Longhorns linebacker since Derrick Johnson, there is a chance he could leave school without a single winning season or bowl title. Texas (6-6) will enter the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl at NRG
Stadium on Wednesday needing a victory over Missouri (7-5) to avoid a fourth consecutive losing season. That hasn’t happened to UT since the 1930s.
Jefferson, who is battling a severe turf toe injury, is doubtful to even play in the bowl game, according to Herman and Orlando. Given his potential as an earlyround NFL draft pick, the world likely has seen his last game in burnt orange.
But as fellow juniors DeShon Elliott, Holton Hill, Connor Williams and Michael Dickson announced their choice to turn pro, Jefferson wavered. Maybe he wants one more shot at redefining a complicated legacy. Maybe he wants to boost his draft stock. Or maybe he isn’t ready to leave.
“It’s going to be a hard decision,” Jefferson said following a 27-23 loss to Texas Tech. “Looking in that locker room, I look at those guys to the left and right of me and I just smile because I love the things we’ve been through. It’s been a tough past three years, but guys understand the love that I have for them.”