Four-star down to four

If a four-star prospect could be considered underrated by recruitneks then Anthony Jefferson (6-2, 180, 4.5) from Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral could be your man. Jefferson does so many things good and without fanfare that sometimes he gets left out of some conversations when talking about the best players in California.

When you take a closer look at his performance on the field over the last two years, you will find out that Jefferson has been playing at a very high level.

As a senior, Jefferson hasn't given up a touchdown from his cornerback position and when you consider that he plays in the same league as five-star playmaker supreme, Robert Woods who was the catalyst for state champ Gardena (Calif.) Serra.

While Jefferson was still in the game against Serra, they were only down 14-7 in the fourth quarter, but Jefferson had to leave the game because of cramps. Still the 21 points that Serra scored against Jefferson and his Cathedral teammates was the least amount of points Serra scored in a single contest all year long.

It would be impressive if Jefferson only accomplished that feat once, but he also shutdown Woods when the two teams played each other their junior season.

There isn't another player in the Golden State who can say they have had the same type of success against Woods. Even when Woods would catch the ball, Jefferson made outstanding open field tackles and as those who have seen Woods play understand that's no small task.

Jefferson was a playmaker on both sides of the ball for Cathedral. From his wide receiver position, he hauled in 63 receptions for 1,286 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 20.4 yards per catch. He added 222 yards on the ground rushing the football and scored an additional three touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jefferson racked up 42 tackles, 13 pass deflections, two interceptions (one that he returned 64 yards for a score), one sack and one forced fumble.

Jefferson also stood out on special teams. He had 148 punt return yards and scored two more touchdowns while averaging 24.7 yards per punt. He also averaged 26.7 yards on kick returns and he even blocked two field goals.

Thing are getting more specific on the recruiting trail.

"Anthony has pretty much narrowed things down to four schools," Cathedral assistant coach and Jefferson's dad, Anthony Jefferson Sr., said. "His top four schools are UCLA, USC, Oregon and Cal. He will take his official trip to UCLA on January 15th and then will make up his mind soon after."