Louisiana QB ready to roll
One
of Louisiana's top quarterbacks can't wait for the 2002 season to get under way.
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When it does, St. Thomas More's
Tatford
will get his first opportunity to lead his team onto the field as the starting
quarterback.
"I'm really anxious right now," Tatford said. "I'm dying
to get started. It's my senior year, and I'm finally getting the chance to
start. We had a great summer, played real well in a couple of pass-skel
tournaments, and won one of them. My arm strength is a lot better than it's ever
been, and our receivers have improved a lot. We've got some good chemistry
going, so I feel like we're going to put up some big numbers."
The 6-foot-4,
212-pound Tatford played sparingly as a junior behind starter Jerry Babb, who
went on to sign with Louisiana-Lafayette. But this year should be his chance to
sign, and many college scouts are already paying attention.
"I'm hearing a
whole lot from Ohio State," he said. "They've shown me the most interest. I've
gotten a ton of letters from them recently. Also Southern Miss, Auburn, LSU,
Florida and Baylor.
"I don't have any offers as of yet. Most of the coaches
say they want to see me play this year as the full-time starter. They want to
see some film from the first few games, then they'll be able to tell me more."
Jefferies said he hasn't pinpointed any clear favorites yet.
In addition to
being a football standout, Jefferies is one of the region's top baseball players
and maintains a 3.85 GPA in the classroom. He's already scored a 21 on his ACT.