2015 Vegas DE close to first offer

2015 defensive end Noah Jefferson out of Las Vegas (Nev.) Liberty may be on the verge of his first offer. The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder is seeing his recruitment pick up as he's put together a strong junior season.

"A lot of schools have been calling my coach," he said. "I've heard Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Arkansas, UCLA, California, Florida State and Georgia a lot.

"I've heard Utah has contacted my coach possibly about offering, but I don't know for sure. They may be on the verge. The rest of the schools want me to come to junior days and their elite camps. They are really starting the recruiting process with me."

This season, Jefferson has only visited UNLV due to his brother being there.

"I went just to watch my brother play," he said. "I like the coaching staff, they are cool with me."

However, Jefferson is eyeing visits potentially to USC and UCLA sometime after the season.

He noted five schools stand out early.

"My top five would be Florida State, Georgia, UCLA, Notre Dame and Alabama," he said. "It's the coaching staffs they have and the history. UCLA has a good sports psychology program, they are the No. 1 school for that and that's what I'm looking to study. While, Florida State and many of these other schools have nice campuses and good athletes that do well in the NFL."

Wherever he eventually goes, Jefferson is looking for a few things.

"First, I'm looking to see if they have psychology as a major, I want a good program for that," he said. "Then, I'm looking at how many players go to the NFL from the school. I want to see how they prepare their players and then the relationships the players have with the coaches both on and off the field."

Jefferson has helped Liberty to the third round of the playoffs this week as he has posted 8.5 sacks on the year.

"I'm playing both ways, tight end and defensive end," he said. "Now, my footwork off the ball is really standing out. I'm coming better on the pass rush and my hand technique has improved. On offense, I'm also able to separate off my routes and beat defenders."