It’s not often you hear a player call a rival team “blessed,” but Florida DL Cece Jefferson could not help but gush when asked about his former position coach, Chris Rumph.

“Coach Rumph, that’s my boy. It hurt when he left,” Jefferson told reporters. “He’s a rare guy. Those guys at Tennessee, they are blessed to have him.”

Rumph was initially retained by Florida coach Dan Mullen, but left in December to take a position on Tennessee’s staff. Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt worked alongside Rumph at Alabama during the 2011 and ’12 seasons when both were assistants on Nick Saban’s staff.

Rumph recruited Jefferson to Alabama in 2013, his final season at UA. He joined Jim McElwain’s UF staff in 2015 and served as Jefferson’s position coach on the defensive line the past three seasons. At UT, Rumph’s title is co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach.

In three seasons with Rumph as his position coach, Jefferson recorded 106 total tackles, including 28.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.