Jefferson young but takes control

LSU sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson isn't guaranteeing a victory at Georgia this Saturday.

He's just guaranteeing the Tigers won't be so friendly this time around.

Jefferson watched from the sideline last year in Baton Rouge as Georgia erupted for a 52-38 win, a game ultimately decided by Bulldogs linebacker Darryl Gamble returning two Jarrett Lee interceptions for touchdowns. Lee threw 16 interceptions last season, including an NCAA-record seven that were returned for scores, but Jefferson has been picked off only once in six career starts.

"I've never had a problem with throwing interceptions," Jefferson said. "I've got great ball control, so I'm never really worried about throwing picks. If I don't feel comfortable with the pass, I can always run the ball. That's one of my main advantages."

The advantages are adding up for the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder, who replaced Lee as the starter late last season and earned offensive MVP honors in the 38-3 surprise drubbing of Georgia Tech at the Chick-fil-A Bowl. He turned 19 a week before the start of this season and became the youngest Tigers quarterback to start an opener since Y.A. Tittle in 1945.

Jefferson has connected on 62 of 101 passes (61.4 percent) for 708 yards and seven touchdowns in four games this season, ranking sixth in pass efficiency among Southeastern Conference quarterbacks and 43rd nationally. The only statistical knock is his 7.01 yards per attempt, which ranks 49th among the top 50 in efficiency.

Last Saturday at Mississippi State, however, Jefferson threw for a career-high 233 yards, which included a 39-yard strike to Terrance Toliver in the first quarter and a 58-yard touchdown to Brandon LaFell early in the third.

"That was my first completion over 40 yards, so that made me more comfortable with the deep ball," he said. "I'm not saying I wasn't before, but I was really relieved when we finally completed a ball over 40 yards. That made me feel good, and I know that made everybody else feel good, too."

LSU coach Les Miles is more comfortable with Jefferson than he was a week ago. The Tigers had relied on tailbacks Charles Scott and Keiland Williams and controlled Jefferson passes in the first three games, but Mississippi State held LSU to 30 rushing yards on 31 carries.

That forced Jefferson to win it, along with a 93-yard Chad Jones punt return and a late defensive stand, of course.

"What Mississippi State's defense did to our offense was put everybody they could up in the box," Miles said. "They said to us, 'Throw it,' and we did. Our quarterback, in my opinion, handled the situation very well."

Georgia weakside linebacker Rennie Curran is hoping Jefferson, who ranks third on the team with 21 rushing yards a game, chooses to scramble.

"When we've got a quarterback who can run," Curran said, "we look at that as an opportunity to get a hit on him and hopefully put him out of the game."

The Tigers have yet to produce a big offensive showing behind their veteran tailbacks, quality receivers and maturing quarterback. They actually rank last in the SEC in total offense with 310 yards per game and have failed to score 31 points in any contest.

Yet the bottom line is winning, and LSU is 4-0 for a third straight year, which is a program first.

"I just think I was getting too excited earlier this season," Jefferson said. "I was overthrowing some deep balls, but I think I've calmed down."

Jefferson, who lives just outside of New Orleans, quarterbacked Destrehan High to the Class 5A state title in 2007, throwing for 2,846 yards with 24 touchdowns and three interceptions. He was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the '08 signing class.

He is the youngest starting quarterback in the SEC and takes snaps for the nation's No. 4 team, but he doesn't see any of that as pressure. He's just happy to have the chance so soon.

"When I was in high school and Coach Miles recruited me, he told me I would wind up being the starting quarterback one of these days," Jefferson said. "Sure enough, it happened at the end of my freshman year. I kept Coach Miles to his word, and he came through with it."