Jefferson gives NU commit No. 17
New Orleans (La.) Warren Easton Senior High linebacker Pernell Jefferson reached out to HuskerOnline.com Saturday during his official visit to Lincoln. He gave us a heads-up that he was having a great time and had seen enough to switch his commitment to Nebraska.
"It's going good and I am committing here," Jefferson's text read.
The 6-foot-2, 236-pounder gave Oklahoma his verbal pledge on Aug. 10 of last year, but the Sooners just picked up a verbal pledge from junior college linebacker Kapri Doucet and they are waiting on word from a couple other highly ranked linebacker prospects.
So Jefferson took this weekend's official to NU and switched his pledge to Nebraska. He announced his change of heart on twitter Saturday evening.
Jefferson told HOL in another text message the reasons why he decided to play his college football at Nebraska:
"I love the atmosphere here and I've had lots of fun," Jefferson stated. "Everybody out here is nice and I love the coaches. Coach (Trent) Bray is a truthful coach who coaches you hard and will let you know what you're doing wrong."
When Jefferson informed head coach Mike Riley and the rest of the staff of his decision they were very pleased.
"They were extremely excited," Jefferson recounted. "Coach Riley took me into his office and they talked to me about it. They were all happy for me and they told me 'congratulations’ and thought I would be a great part of their family."
Jefferson was asked what most surprised him about his visit to Nebraska, and he replied:
"Just about the fans and everyone in Nebraska and how friendly they are," Jefferson shared. "Like, I was sitting outside and a lady came up to me and was friendly and asking me questions. I told her about all the offers that I had and she told me she thought I would like Nebraska."
His player host was fellow Louisiana native Tyrin Ferguson, and though having some New Orleans area players already in the program was appealing to Jefferson, that's not what ultimately convinced him to commit to Nebraska.
"Tyrin played for [Edna] Karr, and yeah, we connected. I mean, it really didn't play much factor in my decision, but it's always good to have other people around from home."
His future position coach at NU is leaving things open for now, and that's just fine with Jefferson.
"Coach Bray says he's going to teach me to play all three linebacker positions and that I could end up playing any of them in his defensive scheme. The strengths of [my skill set] are quickness, reading the blocks and the line, and blitzing."
Jefferson's commitment is another domino to fall among the Cornhuskers' remaining recruiting targets and gives Nebraska 17 total pledges for their Class of 2016.