Editors note: This is the first installment of the 2011 Enterprise-Journal All-Area football team. Wednesday’s edition will unveil the 2011 Coach of the Year
A.J. Jefferson had a large burden on his 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound frame entering the 2011 season.
Jefferson collected a cool 144 tackles and 19 sacks in 2010 to help North Pike advance to the Class 3A state championship.
His performance skyrocketed his Division I value and earned him distinction as one of the top 12 players in the state of Mississippi after being named to the 2011 Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen team.
While North Pike failed to make the playoffs this year, Jefferson’s individual performance on the field was hardly a slouch.
He led the Jaguars in tackles (110) and sacks (12) to earn the 2011 Enterprise-Journal Defensive Player of the Year.
“Even though the season didn’t turn out how I wanted it to, I still feel like I played up to my expectations,” Jefferson said. “I really wanted to become more of a leader to the team. Last year I really wasn’t that vocal leader because we had 14 seniors.”
Labeled as a pure pass rusher, Jefferson did the most with what he was given.
He averaged at least one sack per game against opponents who rarely even threw the ball. Only a handful of teams passed more than 10 times a game against the Jaguars, leaving Jefferson’s opportunities scarce.
North Pike played in a district with Columbia, Tylertown, Lawrence County, South Pike and Purvis, all of whom run a variation of the Wing T or option offense.
Jefferson agreed his numbers would have been a lot higher if he played in a pass-happy league.
“But I mean it’s high school football, you aren’t really going to face a lot of teams who sit back and pass the ball a lot,” he said.
And while Jefferson prefers to go straight at the quarterback, he still played a pivotal role in controlling the line of scrimmage in North Pike’s rush defense. Jefferson had more than 10 tackles in all but one game for the Jags.
The sack and tackle totals are especially intriguing considering the amount of double teams and cut blocks he faced and the number of teams game planning against him.
“Most of the time, you see an offensive player game planned against,” said North Pike coach Chris Smith. “But a defensive player, you game plan against because he can take over a football game. And A.J. was that type of player. That’s just a testament to his ability and his work.”
Teams like McComb, Tylertown and South Pike all had specific plans to run at Jefferson with trap plays to negate his strength and speed.
To Jefferson, that was the ultimate sign of respect and a tribute to what he’s meant to North Pike during the last four seasons.
“I’m pretty much cool with everyone we play against, and every time I would talk to them about the game when we played against them, they would always say something about (how to limit me in the game),” Jefferson said.
Jefferson even drew praise from one of the top coaches in the state, Tylertown’s Walter Denton.
“He means a lot to that program,” Denton said. “He got them to Jackson (for the state championship) last year.”
Jefferson’s next stop will be in a Division I college uniform. Where that will be has yet to be decided.
Jefferson has until the first week of February before National Signing Day to decide between Ole Miss, Mississippi State, USM and Louisiana Tech.
He is scheduled to take official visits to all four schools beginning in early January.
