Leo Jefferson still remembers the first time he put his son on a football field.
Surrounded by kids five years older and several pounds heavier, a 7-year-old CeCe Jefferson lined up against his opponents in a Macclenny pee-wee league game just 40 minutes north of Gainesville. He played running back and linebacker.
No pads.
No holding back.
It didn’t take long for CeCe to turn heads, even at such a young age.
“He wasn’t messing around, I promise you,” Leo said emphatically.
“He was out there hitting them.”
Now, the 6-foot-1, 261-pound defensive lineman is still punishing quarterbacks and offensive lineman, albeit on a bigger stage in The Swamp.
CeCe’s 3.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles-for-loss last year helped him earn Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team honors, and he’s shown flashes of more to come this season.
The sophomore is equipped with all the tools and intangibles to become the next player in an impressive line of standout defensive linemen drafted from Florida — a lineage that includes Dante Fowler, Dominique Easley, Sharrif Floyd and Jonathan Bullard, all early NFL Draft picks.
But for now, CeCe isn’t feeling the pressure. He’s focused on making his mark in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and helping Florida reach a second straight SEC Championship Game.
That’s a testament to his unselfish demeanor.
After UF’s 40-14 win over Missouri, CeCe raved about his teammates — players like Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson.
It was clear the humble defensive lineman wasn’t interested in talking about himself.
“I was just doing my job,” he said.
“Nothing special.”
• • •
Two prime examples of CeCe’s quirky personality came during his time at Baker County High School.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban was set to visit the high school during CeCe’s senior year.
Baker County’s coach at the time, Tom MacPherson, was a Crimson Tide fan. He was understandably excited but could see CeCe didn’t match his enthusiasm.
“CeCe, you’re not excited?” Leo remembers MacPherson asking his son.
“Coach, he puts on his pants the same way I do,” CeCe told him.
A five-star prospect, CeCe wasn’t fazed by the recruiting storm that followed him everywhere he went. While some may have let it inflate their egos, CeCe stayed grounded.
CeCe’s initial high school coach and for most of his prep days, Ryan Sulkowski, recalled one game during CeCe’s junior year against Georgia’s Camden County. CeCe sacked the opposing quarterback late in the game and celebrated.
His coaches took issue with it. Baker County was losing by a large margin at the time.
That Sunday following the loss, Sulkowski told CeCe he looked foolish and embarrassed himself.
Ashamed, CeCe took the point to heart.
“He looked at us, and this is how you know you have a mature kid,” Sulkowski said.
“Coach, you’re right,” Jefferson told him. “That will never happen again.”
Sulkowski said that was just one specific example of CeCe’s character, which was molded by his family.
Born Carl Deon Jefferson, the nickname “CeCe” stuck when he was young after his mother, Annette Moore, called him by the name.
She didn’t like his real name, one that Leo gave him in honor of his father, also Carl.
He’s the youngest of four children — two sisters and one brother.
Leo described his son as a “home boy” that hung around his parents often growing up.
Leo, who owns a carwash and detailing business, took CeCe to all his practices and games growing up, and goes to every UF football game.
Leo even introduced CeCe to basketball, which he picked up with ease. He played through high school and was offered a scholarship by Virginia Tech.
“His first year he broke a shot-blocking record that was sitting around for about 25 years,” Leo said.
The father-son bond Leo and CeCe shared played a major part in shaping CeCe’s character, especially his immense amount of smiling.
“He gets that from me,” Leo said. “If you were to interview people about me, that’d be the first thing they’d tell you.”
CeCe’s family also acted as a support system when CeCe’s son, Luke, was born in August 2015.
With CeCe busy with football and school, everyone has pitched in to help take care of him.
Sometimes Luke is with his mother in Macclenny, and sometimes Leo and Annette watch him.
“We’re all in,” Leo said.
But CeCe knows it will only last so long.
Eventually, his goal is to support his family by playing professionally.
But CeCe doesn’t see that as pressure on him.
“I just think about my son, and that makes me get up and go out,” he said.
“Because that’s something I have to do.”
• • •
Off the field, CeCe is a calm, fun-loving kid.
But on the field, he becomes a tornado that imposes its will on players in his path.
“He’ll knock you down then help you up,” Leo said.
Even back in his ninth-grade days, the storm was in motion.
CeCe was tasked with lining up against The Bolles School’s John Theus, a tackle who starred at Georgia before the San Francisco 49ers drafted him in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
After the game, Theus offered high praise for a high school freshman.
“Mr. Jefferson, that’s the strongest person I ever went up against,” Leo remembers Theus saying.
Just a year later, CeCe dueled with Columbia High’s Laremy Tunsil, a first-round tackle out of Ole Miss taken by Miami in the same draft as Theus.
CeCe didn’t back down.
“They went 50-50,” Sulkowski said. “He got the best of Laremy more than a few times.”
Matchups against Theus and Tunsil were only a foreshadowing of what was to come in the SEC at Florida.
Despite CeCe still being an underclassman, his coaches and teammates continually praise his play.
“The guy, you wish you had more of those. I wish we had more Carls because Carl enjoys it,” coach Jim McElwain said.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can take a lesson or two from Carl.”
Even though running back Mark Thompson doesn’t share the field with CeCe, he can feel his presence.
“When he’s in the game,” Thompson said, “you know he’s in the game.”
But CeCe’s effect might be felt most outside of The Swamp, and outside of football. It’s hard not to catch his contagious smile. Most can’t resist.
McElwain is just another victim.
“You talk about a guy who not only loves this university and his teammates but loves the game,” McElwain said.
“I look forward to seeing him every day. Makes me smile.”
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @pinakk12.
