In football, as in life, things often do not go according to plan. Just ask Kyle Jefferson.
After finishing third on the team in receiving yards as a freshman behind tight ends Travis Beckum and Garrett Graham, the Wisconsin junior wide receiver has seen his playing time and number of receptions steadily decrease from 2007 to 2009.
Jefferson’s smaller role within the Badgers’ offense has not been due to a lack effort though, according to UW wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander.
“We just have another starter,” Alexander said. “Kyle’s performance hasn’t been bad, it’s just that somebody else has been better.”
That somebody has actually been two players, sophomore Nick Toon and junior Isaac Anderson, who have shown much improvement since last year and moved into starting roles ahead of Jefferson.
Jefferson’s newfound backup role is not unlike that of senior quarterback Dustin Sherer, who has similarly gone from a starting role in the second half of 2008 to third string this year. It is a result neither expected going into fall camp, and a far cry from the success each has enjoyed in the past at Wisconsin.
“It’s tough to play one year and watch the next,” Toon said of Jefferson’s situation. “I actually think it’s harder to do that than to watch and then play, because you get kind of a taste of what it’s like to play as opposed to just kind of wondering what it’s like to play.”
At the same time, however, Jefferson remains proud of the performances of his fellow receivers and their accomplishments. He continues to work hard to improve himself and help others at his position improve through any competition or knowledge he can provide them.
And he has still seen the field in four of the Badgers’ five games in 2009. Unfortunately for Jefferson, however, his role on the team has been limited this year during games, as he has caught just one ball for four yards.
“That’s just kind of the way things have played out this year,” Toon said. “Obviously Kyle came in and contributed right away and had a lot of success, but things happen for a reason. He’s a great receiver, but that’s just kind of the way the cookie crumbled this year for him.”
Taking on a backup role is not the first time Jefferson has faced adversity in his time at Wisconsin. Just a month into his career with the Badgers the 6-foot-4 Cleveland native quickly learned how tough it can be to play wide receiver in the Big Ten.
After catching a pass over the middle from quarterback Tyler Donovan, Jefferson took a devastating blow to the head from Nehemiah Warrick, knocking him off his feet. Of course, Jefferson tries to down play the hit.
“No, it didn’t really affect me,” he said. “I just got up and ran off the field. You know, I had a little concussion or whatever, but I was able to play the next week so I was fine.”
Toon, on the other hand, was a bit more shocked by the hit Warrick laid on Jefferson
“Honestly, like, not being funny at all, when he first got hit I thought he might’ve broken his neck,” Toon said. “I thought he might be done playing football forever. It’s the hardest hit I’ve ever seen in person; I’ll never forget that.”
For Jefferson, the hit is something he recognizes he will forever be connected with, especially with the video clips of it having gotten more than 1 million views on YouTube.
“I’ll be on YouTube probably forever, but it’s no big deal,” Jefferson said. “It’s kind of scary when you first see it, but now it’s kind of funny and you just have to laugh about it.”
Among those viewers is Toon, who says he has seen it “quite a few times.” He is also one of those players who jokes about the hit with Jefferson.
The hit in 2007 was not the last of Jefferson’s obstacles, however. He suffered a concussion in last season’s game versus Minnesota after taking a blow to the head in the second quarter.
Jefferson was knocked unconscious, but retained motion in his extremities. He was taken from the field in an ambulance, and Jefferson was transported to the hospital before being released the following day.
“It took me a little bit longer last year to shake it off,” Jefferson said. “But once I did, I was able to go again and it really wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Since that game, Jefferson has caught just two passes for 14 yards in seven games for Wisconsin. At the same time, Toon and Anderson have improved, moving ahead of Jefferson on the depth chart.
In addition to joking about that devastating hit, Jefferson, Toon and Anderson work together every day as receivers, feeding off the competition each provides for the others. That response — a willingness to do whatever the team needs — to Jefferson’s diminished role with the passing game is one reason he continues to be an essential part of the Wisconsin offense.
“His attitude’s been great and his commitment to everything we’re asking him to do has been great,” Alexander said. “He’s been a better player actually than he has been in the past, but it’s just been a matter of somebody else playing better.”
And while he has accepted his role on this year’s team, Jefferson is not satisfied with simply playing out his remaining time in Madison in a backup receiver role.
With seven regular season games remaining in his junior year and another full season as a senior, Jefferson hopes to continue working toward regaining the prominent role he had as a freshman.
“I’m always, always working to get better and get more playing time,” Jefferson said. “I never get down, I keep my head up and I keep moving forward. My day is coming and you never know when it will be, things happen that you don’t expect in this game.”