The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Jefferies on fast track with NFL in mind
There’s a rule in the Jefferies’ household, and the rule is courtesy of Christina Jefferies.
“If you get a C in one of your classes, see me,” said Jefferies.
Jefferies has been a speech pathologist for Mentor Schools for more than 30 years. She and her husband Steve have raised a daughter and two sons with great success. The oldest is Valerie, who graduated from Duke. The middle child is Christopher, a Youngstown State grad who played basketball there. The youngest of the three is Cameron, a 2016 Riverside graduate who spent the last two years at Bowling Green as a cornerback and made 12 starts.
That’s just the beginning of Cameron’s story. The football part seems easy compared to what he’s currently undertaking as a student-athlete. It’s all part of plan to pursue his dream of possibly one day playing in the NFL.
First, some background information. Cameron played the last two seasons at Bowling Green as a cornerback, and was a starter in 2017. He had 36 tackles with seven passes defended, and also returned a fumble for a touchdown in BG’s loss at Michigan State. At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Cameron has developed into a fast, athletic cornerback with growing NFL potential.
Turnover with the BG coaching staff the past two seasons made up Cameron’s mind to pursue opportunities at another school. He announced in May via Twitter he was transferring.
But to transfer as an underclassman and not sit out the 2018 season, per NCAA rules, Cameron needed to become a graduate. So he met with his advisor at BG to devise a plan.
“He said, ‘This is almost impossible,’” said Cameron, who took collegecredit courses at Lakeland Community College while at Riverside to lessen his course load.
What seemed impossible to his advisor — earning an undergraduate degree in two years — wasn’t to Cameron. To pull off the feat, he’s undertaking a brutal course load which includes seven classes, and 21 credit hours. The target date to finally his catch his breath and graduate is Aug. 3.
All of which has Cameron’s mother proud, but also concerned.
“I said, ‘Are you insane?’ ” Christina said with a laugh. “He said, ‘Mom, have I ever gotten aC? I can do this.’ ”
As a teacher with more than 30 years experience, Christina knows the rigors of academics, especially on student-athletes. Couple that with the fact this is her son, well ...
“I was very nervous about the 21 credit hours. Very nervous,” said Christina. “But Cameron has a dream, and he said this is something he needs to do to make that dream happen. I told him, ‘Go for your dream.’ As a parent, you can’t deny that to your child.”
The first step toward that dream is graduation. Cameron is taking four BG classes in a summer-shortened semester that ends June 22, then three more in another shortened semester that ends Aug. 3. Pulling off that big summer course load will earn him his undergraduate degree in two years.
“I knew it would be exhausting and draining, but I never thought it would be this hard,” said Cameron, who has a 3.2 GPA.
“You have to stay ahead of things.
“And for me there’s a lot of pressure. If I fail a course, I don’t graduate and I’m at home and have nothing.”
That would ruin his plan, but Cameron isn’t thinking about that. He’s confident he will graduate on Aug. 3. A day later on Aug. 4, he’s expected to be at a new college, and on a new team. That’s the question, which college and which team?
Cameron is training regularly — sometimes twice a day. He needs to keep up that routine. He has offers from UNLV, Arkansas State, and his two finalists, Cincinnati and Nebraska. He’s expected to make his decision in about two weeks.
Giving up any type of summer break isn’t the only sacrifice Cameron made. Before he made his decision to transfer, he interviewed for a summer internship with Toyota in Michigan, and got it. The summer work would have paid him $15,000, said Cameron. He passed on the opportunity.
“Once I made my choice, there was no looking back,” he said. “It was tough decision though. But when it came down to pursuing football, I’ll always choose football.”
No matter his choice, Cincinnati or Nebraska seem like can’t-miss opportunities. The Cornhuskers are led by first-year coach Scott Frost, a former standout quarterback for Nebraska in the 1990s. The Bearcats are led by second-year coach and former Ohio State assistant and player Luke Fickell. Also of note is UC’s cornerback coach is Mike Mickens, who coached Cameron at Bowling Green before recently joining Fickell’s staff.
“This isn’t an academic move for me,” said Cameron, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in marketing, and perhaps a second. “It’s about what’s going to help me pursue my dream and get me to the NFL.”
With two years of eligibility remaining, he might have time to earn that second master’s, but he believes he’s going to a college that will better prepare him for that NFL team.
The next steps — graduation and his next college decision — are almost here Cameron. Getting there has been hectic and not easy, he said.
“If I’m not willing to bet on myself, then I don’t believe in myself.”