Van Jefferson explains why he joined former rival Dan Mullen over following Shea Patterson
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Two of the players to leave Ole Miss after the 2017 season were Van Jefferson and Shea Patterson, who landed at Florida and Michigan respectively. Jefferson was asked about his former teammate when meeting with the media in Atlanta. He recalled how Patterson tried to get him to follow along to Michigan, but Jefferson had his sights set on playing for Dan Mullen.
“(Patterson) asked me,” Jefferson said. “He’s like, ‘Where are you going to go, man?’ I said, ‘Man, I think I’m going to go to Florida.’ He’s like ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Coach Mullen, the way he’s talked to me, how he’s going to change the program around, I want to be part of that.’
“He was still trying to persuade me, but Coach Mullen is doing a great job in his first year, especially playing in a big-time bowl game a top tier program. It’s going to be exciting.”
A reporter questioned how confident Jefferson could be in Florida after the Gators went 4-7 in 2017. Jefferson pointed to what he had seen up close in the Egg Bowl rivalry.
“I played against him,” Jefferson said. “You see what he did at Mississippi State, how he turned that program around. I knew when he came here, he would do it at Florida, especially at a top program. Not saying Mississippi State is not a top program.
“I guess like a — I don’t want to say it. So I think him just doing that, seeing that at Mississippi State. Coming to Florida, he was going to be a success.”
Whether 2018 will be Jefferson’s only season playing for Mullen has not been settled yet. As a redshirt junior, he could enter the 2019 NFL Draft.
“I don’t know,” Jefferson said when asked if he’s coming back. “We’re going to see after the bowl game and things like that. I don’t want to get too much into that. I’ve got an idea of what I want to do.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
