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Five schools are heavily in the mix for 5-star DE CeCe Jefferson (photo courtesy 247Sports)
It's crunch time for CeCe Jefferson, a 5-star defensive end rated as the No. 7 prospect in the country by the 247Sports composite.
Ole Miss is visiting the Glen St. Mary, Fla., standout today, per Baker County head coach Tom McPherson. Alabama and Auburn will be there tomorrow. The 6-foot-2, 275-pound Jefferson is making his official visit to LSU this weekend. Florida and Gators' head coach Jim McElwain visited Monday.
Those are the five schools still in the running for Jefferson's signature, and he's not sending any signals to say who's on top. McPherson said his announcement will be at Jefferson's house on Signing Day (Feb. 4) and it will be televised by ESPN networks either at 1:05 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. central time.
"If he has made his mind up, he will wait till Signing Day for sure," McPherson told AL.com. "The more people say that somebody's No. 1 or No. 2, the more he likes it.
"I think everything's still pretty status quo. He's going to announce on Signing Day. This last week is going to be important for all these schools to make their last pitches to him to see how they can swing things in their favor."
All five head coaches have made their allotted one in-home visit to Jefferson during this recruiting period. Alabama assistants Kirby Smart, Bo Davis and Tosh Lupoi will visit Thursday. Auburn assistants Will Muschamp and Lance Thompson, and maybe others, will also visit later this week, likely Thursday.
Jefferson was considered a Florida lean early in the process, but with Will Muschamp's dismissal and Muschamp landing at Auburn, the Tigers emerged into the mix with Jefferson's prior relationship with Muschamp. The last time he visited Auburn before this season was his ninth grade year, McPherson said.
Jefferson took an unofficial visit to Ole Miss last weekend and made pit stops in Tuscaloosa there and back, McPherson said. Jefferson has made numerous trips to Alabama and took his official visit during the season.
"He had already been to Ole Miss on an official during the season," McPherson said. "He just went back out there. I think he's trying the best he can to take these last couple of weeks and tie up all these loose ends. It's not that he's got any bad choices, but it's a pretty important decision for the next four years, so he's trying to make sure he's got all his loose ends tied so he can make the best decision for him."