'24 TN WR Amari Jefferson (Tennessee)

[rockytop25]

The choice needs to be football. If he's missing baseball this spring, and didn't play baseball at Alabama (I think?), he's too far behind at this point. And spring practice is too important in football to miss.

He's only going to miss one spring of baseball, which is not completely insurmountable.

 

[TrippieRedd]

He's only going to miss one spring of baseball, which is not completely insurmountable.

It’ll be tough, unless he’s just a flat out can’t miss stuff.

That freshman class is loaded with studs.

 

[vols 30]

Yes, if he thinks he’s good enough to make it above triple a.

There's a lot of guys hitting below .250 with long careers. The standard has changed for the worst in MLB. Analytics has ruined it IMHO

 

[TrippieRedd]

There's a lot of guys hitting below .250 with long careers. The standard has changed for the worst in MLB. Analytics has ruined it IMHO

I meant the money side.

For most, it’s just not worth it. Vols had a player named Mikey Rivera, and he said he was basically homeless playing minor leagues. Now granted he was like a 16th round pick, but he was a pretty good college player

I’d rather go start my career.

 

[NighthawkVol]

He's only going to miss one spring of baseball, which is not completely insurmountable.

With the talent Vitello has assembled, it might be. They're going to have to cut some really good players just to get down to the roster limit this year.

 

[Carp]

- When asked if he'd rather be an all-star center fielder in the MLB or an all-pro WR in the NFL, he said that's not a fair question because Juan Soto just got $700M to play baseball. Who doesn't want that?!

LMAO. Good answer. Baseball contracts have gotten out of hand.

 

[MarcoVol]

Sounds like he loves baseball but doesn’t want to quit football.

I think he ultimately needs to pick one. It’s a tough decision, I’d hate to have that on my mind all the time.

Sounds more bought into football would like to play both if scheduling works

"I definitely would love to [play baseball at Tennessee]," continued Jefferson. "Baseball was my first love. It's the first sport I ever played. I've been playing it since I was four. So definitely I want to play both. It's really just about if we can make it work."

 

[Carp]

The choice needs to be football. If he's missing baseball this spring, and didn't play baseball at Alabama (I think?), he's too far behind at this point. And spring practice is too important in football to miss.

Eh, you can miss several years and still be good at baseball. But he's certainly won't be playing baseball in 2025, at least not for UT.

 

[WebbCobb]

Eh, you can miss several years and still be good at baseball. But he's certainly won't be playing baseball in 2025, at least not for UT.

Hard to miss a few years and then step up in competition

 

[Carp]

Hard to miss a few years and then step up in competition

I'm not gonna say it's "easy" but it does happen and probably more than you think. There are a bunch of high school kids each year that get a major injury early in their senior year of HS and then don't play competitively again for another couple of years while they rehab. And certainly there are cases like Evan Gattis who took a 4 year hiatus after his freshman year of college.

 

[majinVol]

Doing my best with the cliff notes here but I was doing other things with it in the background.

- The coaching change at Alabama was a tough adjustment to make in terms of building relationships with the staff.
- His heart sank when he found out Saban was retiring, but he thinks it worked out for the better.
- He thinks Deboer is a great coach. He expects Alabama to continue being relevant.
- He can play outside or in the slot and doesn't have a preference.
- He decided "a couple weeks" into the season to get the hip surgery, which was "minor". He's off crutches but has a month of rehab remaining.
- Baseball is his first love and he want to play both sports, but he's got to figure out how to manage the time. This year is a no-go because of the hip.
- When asked if he'd rather be an all-star center fielder in the MLB or an all-pro WR in the NFL, he said that's not a fair question because Juan Soto just got $700M to play baseball. Who doesn't want that?!
- He's excited to play with guys he played against in HS and grew up around.
- Boo Carter is a dog. They've had some good battles. He's looking forward to practicing against him.

Personal takeaway: Seems like a kid with great parents. Seems very intelligent and respectful. Also has great style! It sounds like he'll be a two-way athlete in 2026.

love it and thank you for posting the breakdown

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Doing my best with the cliff notes here but I was doing other things with it in the background.

- The coaching change at Alabama was a tough adjustment to make in terms of building relationships with the staff.
- His heart sank when he found out Saban was retiring, but he thinks it worked out for the better.
- He thinks Deboer is a great coach. He expects Alabama to continue being relevant.
- He can play outside or in the slot and doesn't have a preference.
- He decided "a couple weeks" into the season to get the hip surgery, which was "minor". He's off crutches but has a month of rehab remaining.
- Baseball is his first love and he want to play both sports, but he's got to figure out how to manage the time. This year is a no-go because of the hip.
- When asked if he'd rather be an all-star center fielder in the MLB or an all-pro WR in the NFL, he said that's not a fair question because Juan Soto just got $700M to play baseball. Who doesn't want that?!
- He's excited to play with guys he played against in HS and grew up around.
- Boo Carter is a dog. They've had some good battles. He's looking forward to practicing against him.

Personal takeaway: Seems like a kid with great parents. Seems very intelligent and respectful. Also has great style! It sounds like he'll be a two-way athlete in 2026.

There has been mention of his speed. Is he close to Hyatt speed? Does his athleticism and speed project to be at difference maker level? Any residual fear from his injury?

 

[rockytop25]

For anyone that wants to watch

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

Sounds like he loves baseball but doesn’t want to quit football.

I think he ultimately needs to pick one. It’s a tough decision, I’d hate to have that on my mind all the time.

Definitely should go baseball. Less wear and tear on the brain. If he is good enough in baseball, he can have a long career.

 

[VOLINVONORE]

Definitely should go baseball. Less wear and tear on the brain. If he is good enough in baseball, he can have a long career.

But, if you love football, it is difficult to let it play second fiddle.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Definitely should go baseball. Less wear and tear on the brain. If he is good enough in baseball, he can have a long career.

Get to campus give both a try and make a decision. Does not have to just guess. Both coaches can provide guidance. A few FB practices should be enough to compare and contrast with the room .

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

just how they like it....low cost

Not every move is about money like some make it out be. Sure who doesn’t want money but there are other things like playing time for one of many. I am sure they are a few that only care about the dollar, but folks on message boards broad brush every player into being money hungry greedy and by and large overall it isn’t the players. The NCAA was a power wielding greed machine that got too big for their britches and never did come up with a common sense plan to all this years ago when it could have. Now the greedy are these agents who try to work deals for players that aren’t even looking for deals. The outside interference and tampering problems are the problems that need to be tackled. Once a player signs a NIL deal with a university, the player nor the agent should be able to talk about any new deal before the player enters the portal. No agent should be working or initiating any deals for any player before he enters the portal. Or at the very least a agent should not be working or shopping new deals for any player that hasn’t expressed a desire to his agent to do so.

 

[bicenTENNial]

I was all district in both sports in high school but my future was in baseball... However getting to hit people and get out any frustration you might have without going to jail made me love football more than the sport I was better at..I would've never given it up.

 

[LouderVol]

But, if you love football, it is difficult to let it play second fiddle.

I think most people wouldn't mind a second fiddle that made them 700 million. especially if its a close second.

and with the way contracts escalate that 700 million will go from being high to average pretty fast.

 

[Volinnooga]

I was all district in both sports in high school but my future was in baseball... However getting to hit people and get out any frustration you might have without going to jail made me love football more than the sport I was better at..I would've never given it up.

You still playing, bro?

 

[bicenTENNial]

You still playing, bro?

I'm almost 50 brother, but believe me if I could still play I would

 

[orangebloodgmc]

I was all district in both sports in high school but my future was in baseball... However getting to hit people and get out any frustration you might have without going to jail made me love football more than the sport I was better at..I would've never given it up.

I still smile when I recall one of my little soccer players tell me, "Coach I won't be back this fall, gonna play football. I just gotta HIT somebody."