Tim Jefferson hadn’t said much about the possibility of becoming Air Force’s all-time winningest quarterback, but after getting his 23rd victory as Falcons starting quarterback to pass Dee Dowis, he acknowledged it was pretty special.
“I must say, it is an honor,” Jefferson said after Air Force’s 63-24 win against Tennessee State. “I’m very grateful for it.”
Without missing a beat, Jefferson did what he has done whenever he has been asked about that record, which is deflect the attention to his teammates.
“The quarterback doesn’t win a game by himself,” Jefferson said. “When you look at this record, you especially have to look at the senior class. We’ve gone through the grind and we’ve done this together. It’s not just me. It’s people like Jonathan Warzeka, Asher Clark, Jon Davis and Anthony Wright, it’s all of us. Put as asterisk by my name when you look in the record book at this record. It’s not just me.”
Jefferson’s effort on Saturday was worthy of his record-setting day. He completed 11-of-13 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. His teammates understood the importance of Jefferson’s record.
“You can go down the list – Blane Morgan, Mike Thiessen, Dee Dowis, Shaun Carney – guys that have been in the program that have proven themselves to be pretty good players,” Warzeka said. “To put T.J. above all them, that says a lot about him. He’s not going to admit it, but he’s a pretty good quarterback.”
Jefferson is correct – the QB doesn’t win the game by himself. Its stupid to even call it a record.
Jefferson still belongs near the top, but he still hasn’t shown he is the Morgan-Dowis category. In fact his rep took a hit with his crappy showing vs TCU. He’s gotta show up and show up big @ Boise, @ ND or @Navy. Big time QB’s put up their best efforts in big time games.
I do not know why this is a big deal, of all the other qb’s mentioned only carney had a 4 year opprotunity to start. Jefferson is certainly a great qb for AF but definetly behind Beau and Blane Morgan, Dee Dowis and Shaun Carney. I would lump him in a catagory with Thiessen, Louthan and Perez. But he has a few games left to prove himself in the upper echelon.
I have to agree with Bluefan…TJ has shown flashes of being the most all around talented QB in AF history, but unfortunately he has been woefully inconsistent and injury plagued. The Morgan brothers didn’t have TJ’s ability but you just knew they would find a way to win.
I saw Jefferson at his first start against SDSU back in ’08 and thought “that kid’s a thorobred”. Comparisons at this point are premature, he’s still got 3/4ths of his senior year to play. His story is still being written and it has every chance to be a mighty special one. Save the comparisons for Jan.
Jefferson’s legacy will be written this October. There is nothing that could happen on the weak back half of the schedule that would salvage a winless October. Another Air Force fan I was talking to asked when the last time Air Force won a game in which they were not favored. I thought about it and I figure it must be Notre Dame 2007. Four years is a long time to go without winning one as a dog.
The answer is the bowl game vs. Houston at the end of the 2009 season. Air Force was 4.5 point underdogs. That’s not really that long considering they were underdogs only 3 times last year.
I’m baffled at TJ’s lack of respect from AF fans. This guy was Calhoun’s first recruit and was brought in specifically to run his offense. All of the other qb’s mentioned were Deberry guys that came here as “true option” guys. His teams have consitently been one of the top rushing teams in the country and the running backs (Asher) have benefitted by having a pitch first guy running the show. The guy has had a stellar career which may include 4 strait trips to bowls to go along with an awesome winning percentage – regardless of competition. You would have to search hard to find games that you can pin a loss squarely on his shoulders. You can point to struggles with TCU all you want but I doubt it was his decision to go for it on 4th down at midfield on the opening drive.
Two CIC wins with clutch plays should elevate TJ with you skeptics. Those are games that should forever seel his legacy at academy.