AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -While his Air Force teammates wandered out for practice last spring, Tim Jefferson made his way to his dorm room and cracked open the books.
Cramming was the only way out of his predicament. The sophomore quarterback was teetering on the brink of academic ineligibility and needed to improve his grades – fast.
So he skipped most of the spring workouts, joining the Falcons only on Saturdays. By studying political science instead of his playbook, Jefferson lost his grip on his starting job.
But that was the least of his worries.
Although the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year fell behind on the football field, he caught up in the classroom.
Falcons in their season opener Saturday against second-tier Nicholls State.
“It was driving me crazy inside, not being able to play,” Jefferson said. “Whenever I have to sit out and watch other people play and I can’t, it eats me up.”
The elusive Jefferson had quite a freshman campaign, starting the last eight games in leading the Falcons to the Armed Forces Bowl. He threw for 655 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for another 387 yards and three scores.
But that guaranteed him nothing heading into 2009.
He knew it was going to be that way, expected nothing less. Jefferson was competing with Asher Clark and Connor Dietz for the starting job, and they had the advantage of extra snaps in spring drills.
“I didn’t have a job going into the summer,” Jefferson said. “After I chose to sit out the most of the spring, I knew that I wasn’t going to have a position locked down. I knew I was going to have to work harder to gain my spot back. It was just motivation.”
The position battle went on all camp and was only recently resolved when Air Force coach Troy Calhoun elected to go with Jefferson. Clark will switch back to tailback, a position he played last season when he rushed for 588 yards and five touchdowns.
Still, the Falcons aren’t ruling out the possibility of using Clark at quarterback.
“I definitely have to be ready,” Clark said. “I have to retain some of it. But my main focus is running back.”
Now, it’s on to Nicholls State, a squad that’s a virtual mirror of the Falcons. Both teams run the option offense, a style that usually presents difficulties to a defense.
Yet both see this version every day in practice.
“We’re no stranger to (the option),” Colonels coach Jay Thomas said. “I understand how it gives folks fits. It’s one thing to do it in practice, another to do it in a game. We’ll see how much we know about it Saturday.”
The Falcons are learning quite a bit about the Colonels, a team they’ve never faced. While Air Force is 13-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision schools, the team is taking nothing for granted.
To guard against complacency, Calhoun has harped on how potent the Colonels have been. Nicholls State stunned Rice, 16-13, in the 2007 season opener, and has had a player taken in each of the last three NFL drafts.
“It’s obvious they’re talented,” Jefferson said.
Nicholls State also has a big threat in senior Antonio Robinson, who averaged 25.1 yards per catch last season.
“We expect him to upgrade his game this year,” Thomas said. “He made some big plays last year.”
The same can be said of Jefferson, who became just the fourth freshman to start at quarterback in school history. He showed his versatility in a win at UNLV, rushing for 99 yards while throwing for 162 and two scores.
Still, it took an academic scare this spring for him to realize just how much football meant to him. He buckled down and hit the books to get back on the field.
The lesson?
“Take care of my business ahead of time and don’t fall behind,” Jefferson said, smiling.
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