The Only Place He Wants to Go.

Coming out of Edison High School, Rolando Jefferson was a 5-star wide receiver and many thought he might be the best athlete at his position in the country. That was in 2009 and Jefferson was so sold on the Ducks he pushed a young man he calls his brother, Cliff Harris to the Ducks. However, things didn't quite workout for Jefferson, but he'd like to make Eugene his final destination.

"He didn't even want to go to Oregon," Rolando Jefferson says of Cliff Harris. "I pushed him there and now I want to end up a Duck."

An academic casualty made him ineligible to sign a National Letter of Intent in 2009 and most thought that was the last time a talent like Jefferson would ever be heard from again. However, Jefferson has been determined to make things right for himself. He is currently enrolled at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California and surprisingly in his first year playing college football. The good news is that he is hard at work academically and expects to earn his AA degree next May. How is he doing in school?

"Last term I got four As and a B," Jefferson proudly responded. "If I do my business, I'll get my AA degree."

Getting his AA degree is the first hurdle he must get over. He has been in contact with Oregon Coach Gary Campbell but the Ducks made it clear that they want to see him get his "stuff done," before they re-offer. Oregon offered Jefferson while he was at Edison, but now he has to prove he can get it done in the classroom. He hasn't spoken to Campbell since just before enrolling in CoS, but he is relying on Harris to keep the Duck coaches up to speed on his progress.

Since the clock will start on August 3rd for Jefferson, he will have three years of eligibility if he gets his AA next May.

Jefferson is so anxious to become a Duck, he isn't interested in anyone else.

"Oregon is the only place I want to go," Jefferson said. "I'm not really interested in anyone else."

That is pretty convincing, and if Jefferson still has the same football skills he had when he was in high school, that could be big news for the Ducks. His team in high school had some pretty good talent. Along with Harris, was T.J. McDonald at USC and Marquis Cooper who is now with the Florida Marlins organization.

COS Head Coach Robert Dougherty knows he has quite a talent in Jefferson but also knows the score in terms of what is expect of Jefferson academically. Recently, Dougherty spoke with JCFootball.com's Scott Ekland and had this to say.

"If you've followed recruiting the past couple of years, you know about Rolando," Dougherty told Ekland. "He's a real special player and he was recruited really heavily out of high school at Fresno Edison. He didn't qualify so he had to go to a JC and he ended up down at one in Mississippi, but things didn't work out for him down there so he came back up here and we've got him now. Oregon is all over him right now, but I think a lot of schools want to see what his transcripts look like before they go on him. He's got the ability to be in the top two or three wideouts in the nation this year. He's that special."

Standing 6-3 and weighing in at 190 pounds, Jefferson has a recorded 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. The former Edison player has a lot of potential, however whether he ends up Oregon or anywhere else for that matter, he has to finish in the classroom. Time will tell on how he does, but as the 2011 season starts, the Ducks have a big fan in one of the top players in JC ball.