After an offseason full of hype and promise was shattered by alatenight bar brawl, LSU senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson’s return to the football team was one of mixed emotions when he rejoined the Tigers last week.
When asked if he was innocent in the scuffle, Jefferson gave a curt response.
“I’m not obligated to talk about that,” he said.
Despite losing his starting job to fellow senior Jarrett Lee, Jefferson returned to a 4-0 LSU squad ranked No. 1 in the nation, and has already added a rushing touchdown to his stat line in his first game back Saturday against Kentucky.
But the Destrehan native said the long road back hasn’t been an easy one.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to be back,” Jefferson said. “It was a tough situation for me and definitely a learning experience. I can’t imagine anybody else in the country has gone through what I went through, but everything happens for a reason.”
After being indefinitely suspended from the team in August, rumors regarding redshirts or transfers surfaced around Jefferson.
“[Redshirting] was a thought at first, but once I was getting further and further throughout the legal process, I didn’t feel the need that redshirting was important,” Jefferson said. “If I would have got seven or eight games deep into the season and I hadn’t played yet, that would have been a consideration.”
Some thought he may never throw another pass for LSU, but Jefferson said he was “positive” he would play again this season, and said the unfavorable experience has made him a better person.
“I don’t regret anything,” Jefferson said. “God puts people in certain situations for certain reasons. I thank him for putting me in that situation because I learned a lot from that situation. I’m a lot more wiser and a lot more smarter than I was back in August.”
Jefferson kept in touch with the team throughout the entire investigation but said he has not yet apologized to the team as a whole.
“I didn’t have to apologize because we all were there,” he said. “At the time, I was just being a college student. I wasn’t trying to get myself into trouble, I was just enjoying myself with my teammates. The toughest thing that I learned was that you never know how popular you are until a certain situation like that.”
In his first game back, Jefferson took the field to a mix of boos and cheers.
Jefferson said he “definitely” heard the boos, but shrugged it off, chalking it up to the emotional fans, which have also given him support in his return.
“A lot of my fans that are really my true fans are happy that I’m back, and I received a lot of encouragement,” Jefferson said. “I was standing right next to Miles, and I told him I was going to score the touchdown for the team. Once he gave me the opportunity … I had to do whatever it takes to get into the end zone, and that’s what I did.”