Great article on Justin Jefferson in today’s StarTribune

Paywall

Yeah looks like a good article. Will
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Sorry about that, I thought it was free.

There are still basketballs bouncing in the backyard of the Jefferson home in St. Rose, La., the soundtrack of a shared love between John and Elaine Jefferson and the echoes of pitched battles that forged their three sons in the Louisiana heat.

The teams for 2-on-2 were almost always the same: the Jeffersons’ oldest two sons, Jordan and Rickey, against John and his youngest son Justin.

John had played a few pickup games in New York’s Rucker Park during his time as a Division II basketball player, and spared his sons neither the dunks he could throw down nor the trash talk he would dispense after he did it.

The four Jefferson men played for hours in the backyard, shirtless in the heat. Cuts and bruises were the toll for drives to the rim, and the day each boy could finally beat his father came after years of struggle.

Justin arrived at Destrehan High School measuring just 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds, but possessing the know-how that could only come from years of tagging along in Death Valley and running routes with his brothers. If his growth spurt arrived in time, it seemed fated he would take off.

“Even when he was in seventh and eighth grade, his dad would tell us, ‘He’s going to be the one,’?” Destrehan High School offensive coordinator Greg Boyne said.

It all came together during his final two years at Destrehan with the mirthfulness that would become his signature at LSU: Jefferson would catch punts in practice with one hand, always sneaking in one more round after longtime head coach Steve Robicheaux shot him a look to quit.

During a state quarterfinal game against Mandeville his senior year, Jefferson scored on a crossing route in the final seconds of regulation. He was the holder for the extra point that would have sent the game to overtime.

“I’m scripting the overtime, and I kind of hear the crowd make a noise,” Boyne said of the extra-point attempt. “I look up, and I guess he was excited from scoring, but the ball went right through his hands. He was as good a holder as we’ve ever had, and it went right through his hands. It went back to about the 15-yard line. He just sprinted back, picked it up, and threw a perfect pass to the up back [for a two-point conversion] to win the game. “That’s typical Justin — a mistake, but I’m going to fix it, I’m going to make it right, and that’s what I do.”

Not wanting to lose at all’

The fact Jefferson starred for one of the nation’s most successful — and most closely-watched — college programs means his origin story has by now acquired something approaching mythic status through its numerous retellings.

One of its staples, the idea that he was lightly-recruited coming out of high school, is just not true, Boyne said.

Recruiters didn’t spend much time pursuing Jefferson, he said, because it was understood that as long as his grades were good enough, there was no question he’d follow his brothers to LSU.

He’d attended games at Tiger Stadium from the time he was 9, and Jordan started playing there as a true freshman, riding the highs of big wins and hearing the biting criticism of the quarterback that got so bad, Boyne vowed he would never go back after sitting in the stands for one game.

When the top-ranked Tigers beat No. 2 Alabama at Legion Field in 2011, Justin was in the visitor’s locker room after the game to celebrate with his older brother after what he still calls the best game he ever saw.

“Going into the locker rooms afterward, and just seeing the excitement, the joy, even the sad [times], you can really tell who wants to win — who would just give it their all,” Justin said. “That’s one thing I have [picked up]: just not wanting to lose at all.”

Jefferson spent much of Vikings training camp as the team’s third wideout behind Adam Thielen and Bisi Johnson, but has played in different spots both outside and in the slot, made a number of highlight catches and shown a nuanced understanding of the position that stems from both his time in LSU’s Joe Brady-coordinated prostyle offense and the extra sessions with his brothers.

“I’ve been very impressed,” Kubiak said. “We ask a lot of him trying to teach him our offense, moving around a bunch. Didn’t take the approach of we’re just going to ask him to do this or that. You know what I mean? We kind of threw it all at him and he’s responded.”

On Sunday, for the first time in years, Jefferson will play a home game without his parents there to watch. John and Elaine will view the game at home, hopeful they’ll be able to travel to U.S. Bank Stadium at some point this season or go to the Vikings’ Christmas Day game in New Orleans.

Great Tiger