Once a spectator, Navarre's Jordan Jefferson thrilled for Senior Bowl role, opportunity
An annual trip to Mobile with family during his boyhood days gave Navarre High grad Jordan Jefferson the chance to dream big when watching the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
“My dad, my uncles and cousins, they used to take us every year when we were kids,” said Jefferson, who finished his collegiate career in 2023 as a starting defensive tackle at LSU. “Watching those games, the players, it’s crazy to think back now.”
He’s now living a moment once only imagined, as one of the 146 players competing next week to boost an NFL future during practices that lead up to the 75th annual Reese’s Senior Bowl on Feb. 3 at Hancock Whitney Stadium, located on the University of South Alabama campus.
“It’s just surreal,” said Jefferson, a 6-foot-4, 317-pound player, as he looked around the gymnasium Wednesday night at the Gateway Church of Christ in Pensacola where fellow Senior Bowl players visited with kids involved in Pensacola’s NFL FLAG youth football program.
“Just growing up in this area and now I am playing in it, man, it’s a blessing,” said Jefferson, a former PNJ All-Area defensive player, who began his collegiate career in 2019 at West Virginia, then used his extra year of eligibility after four seasons at WVU to play in 2023 for the LSU Tigers. “I’m not taking it for granted. It’s special.”
He was among 10 players Wednesday visiting with children and signing autographs. Members of the Tate High football team helped lead kids through light drills with soft footballs before the Senior Bowl players arrived.
The event was originally scheduled at the University of West Florida’s Pen-Air Field, where Senior Bowl players have visited in past years, along with Blue Wahoos Stadium, but the threat of inclement weather moved the event to an indoor location.
“I started thinking about that last week when looking ahead at the weather,” said David Wilson, director of the NFL Flag Pensacola program, which is sponsored by Pro Football Hall of Fame legend Derrick Brooks, a Booker T. Washington High graduate. “I am one of the church elders here now and I met and said I need a backup (site), because I didn’t want to call it off even if it’s bad weather.”
Brooks, who was the defensive MVP out of Florida State in the 1995 Senior Bowl, before launching his decorated NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was named to the Senior Bowl’s 75th anniversary all-time team.
He was among many Pensacola area players, including current NFL veteran Jeremy Reaves, who played in the Senior Bowl game. Three years ago, former Navarre High star Michael Carter, launched his NFL career with a strong performance during the week and in the game.
Carter recently completed his third NFL season after being acquired by the Arizona Cardinals.
“I remember watching that one,” said Jefferson, who was played at West Virginia at the time. “It was a big deal watching (Carter) in that game.”
Jefferson has been training with other Senior Bowl players at EXOS Athletic Performance facility adjacent to the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze.
“Kinda brings me back to my roots … where it all started for me and where I was once training at,” Jefferson said. “It has been a blessing coming back home, seeing a lot of familiar faces and giving back to my community, making an impact on these kids.
“I am blessed to be in the position I am to do this. I’m very fortunate.”
Jefferson played in 12 games for LSU finishing with 16 solo tackles, 17 assisted tackles and two sacks. He forced a fumble in LSU’s comeback win against Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa. His strength includes bench-pressing 495 pounds during a workout.
“He is really hard to move,” said Jim Nagy, executive director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl and former NFL scout. “He’s a guy we started watching over the summer (in 2022) when he was still at West Virginia. He’s broad, he plays really strong at the point of attack.
“He had a really nice year. You’re always looking for defensive linemen that can stay square and when they get hit by guards on the side they don’t move. He is pretty immovable.”
On the other side of the ball, two of the Michigan Wolverines’ starting offensive linemen, LaDarius Henderson and Trevor Keegan, both of were vital in Michigan’s two playoff wins to claim the national title, are training with Jefferson at the EXOS facility. Both were engaging with the youth players and Tate players during Wednesday’s event.
“This is my first time in Pensacola and the Gulf Breeze area and it’s beautiful out here. I love it,” said Henderson, a 6-4, 315 pound offensive tackle, who grew up in Texas, near Dallas, began his career at Arizona State before transferring to the Wolverines before the 2023 season.
“I started playing football late. My first year playing was in 11th grade,” said Henderson, who played in 523 snaps for Michigan this season. “So my first time watching the Senior Bowl was probably my senior year in high school.
“For me, the draft process is so fun to watch. I‘m a guy who has watched the draft from round one to round seven every year. And now it is awesome to be part of something you see as a kid.”
Tate Aggies junior wide receiver Christian Neptune, who is entertaining various college offers, was among several of his teammates who got the see how the Senior Bowl players interacted with kids. They group has helped coach the young kids in the NFL FLAG program as part of a community service acknowledgement.
“It’s such a blessing,” he said. “I know at my own school sometimes I get asked for an autograph. But with the kids, I just try to make sure they are having fun out here.
“Seeing these guys (Senior Bowl players), it’s cool and it’s awesome to be part of this.”
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: The 75th Reese’s Senior Bowl
WHEN: Feb. 3, 12 p.m. kickoff
WHERE: Hancock Whitney Stadium, University of South Alabama, Mobile.
TICKETS: $18
INFO: www.seniorbowl.com/tickets
TV: NFL Network
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: LSU, Navarre alum Jordan Jefferson returns to Pensacola for Senior Bowl visit
