Jefferson thankful to be at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Sitting in front of reporters after practice is not exactly how many Florida players want to spend their time. However, there is one wide receiver that was enjoying the moment. Van Jefferson.

"[I'm] thankful they cleared me," said the Ole Miss transfer.

Jefferson only received word that he picked up the NCAA waiver last Wednesday - which means he will be eligible for this season if the SEC also sends in its waiver.

"There's one more step, so I'm praying it still gets cleared quick," he said, "but right now I'm just focusing on camp and just going out there with my teammates."

Jefferson was among a number of Ole Miss athletes that decided to transfer away from the program after feeling they were misled by the Rebels' staff about the investigation around that school. According to the receiver, the Gators were an obvious pick for personal and professional reasons.

"I was born in Florida. All my family is in Jacksonville," explained Jefferson. "I had [UF head] Coach [Dan] Mullen and [wide receiver] Coach [Billy] Gonzales come talk to me, so I just feel like this is the place for me and I could come here and make some things happen.

"I knew what Coach Mullen did at Mississippi State with his players like Nick Fitzgerald," added Jefferson on why he chose Florida despite the problems offensively over the years. "I knew his offense could be explosive so there was no hesitation."

It also helped that with a new staff in town, Jefferson would not be too far behind the curve since everyone would be learning a new offense at the same time.

"There's a new staff and I was a new player coming in so I felt like it was a win-win situation so it worked out, it all worked out."

With the addition of Jefferson, the Florida receiver room has depth and talent - certainly a recipe for a better passing game.

"They already had some great guys in here so I'm just coming in here, trying to play with them," said Jefferson. "I feel like this offense is going to be very explosive so just need to look out for it."