Jefferson was born on May 5, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[2] He attended Capitol High School and is one of three of their alumni to play in the NFL.[3] He began attending McNeese State University in 1975.[4] As a sophomore in 1976, Jefferson helped McNeese win their first Southland Conference championship while reaching the Independence Bowl.[5] He was the team leader and conference leader with seven interceptions on the season and placed seventh in the nation in that category, being a unanimous first-team choice on the all-conference team.[4][5] He also received selection to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana team.[6]
Jefferson again led McNeese in interceptions in 1977 and was named second-team all-conference.[5][7] As a senior, he led the team in interceptions, with six, for the third straight year and also led the conference in that category, being a unanimous first-team All-Southland choice.[5][8] He ended his collegiate career with 19 interceptions, which ranked second in school history and in the top 10 all-time in state history as of 2014.[5]
Selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 1979 NFL draft, Jefferson was placed on injured reserve before the season began.[9] He was waived in October and claimed off waivers by the Houston Oilers.[10] He appeared in five regular season games as a backup and later played in the team's two playoff games, for seven combined appearances in the 1979 season.[2] He became among the first 10 NFL alumni in McNeese history.[11] Jefferson was placed on injured reserve to begin the 1980 season.[12] He was waived prior to the 1981 season.[13]
Jefferson was named in a poll to the Southland Conference 1970s All-Decade team in 2013 and one year later was inducted into the McNeese State Hall of Fame.[5] He wrote a book on his life, titled Memoirs: The Legacy of a Professional Football Player, in 2019.[14]
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