Jackson Jeffcoat is living lean, at the moment.
Residing in a hotel near Redskins Park, Jeffcoat is living out of a bag with minimal belongings: two pairs of underwear, two T-shirts, two pairs of shorts. Some socks and cleats roundout the wardrobe.
“I either need to get my parents to send me some stuff or go to the mall and buy a couple things just to get me through the week,” Jeffcoat said.
After being undrafted out of Texas, Jeffcoat is on his second NFL team of the preseason. He was signed to the Redskins’ practice squad on Tuesday. The Seattle Seahawks had cut him Aug. 24.
Jeffcoat, the son of former Dallas Cowboys great Jim Jeffcoat, is learning quickly about fringe life in the NFL. He thought he had a shot to stick with Seattle after signing as an undrafted free agent. They moved him from defensive end to LEO, a hybrid rush position the Seahawks use. Following injuries to other linebackers, the Seahawks moved Jeffcoat to strongside linebacker. He scrambled to learn the spot prior to preseason games.
“It was definitely tough to pick it up that fast, get in and get all the technique down,” Jeffcoat said. “I guess they didn’t see enough from me that they liked that they were willing to invest in me, even in a practice squad spot.”
He flew to Jacksonville to workout for the Jaguars. The Redskins called just before Jeffcoat returned home to Colorado from his Jacksonville workout. He came to workout at Redskins Park, was signed, and now is going through life rapidly doing small loads of laundry.
Jeffcoat is also trying to adapt to standing pre-snap. He did it some at Texas when the Longhorns had to defend zone-read offenses. But, coverage and rushing from a linebacker’s spot is new to Jeffcoat, who played a more traditional defensive end spot since he first played football.
Jeffcoat’s football world has changed quickly. He arrived at Texas regarded as the top defensive end in the country. Last season, he won the Ted Hendricks Award given to the country’s top defensive end. The 2011 Hendricks recipient was Jadeveon Clowney. Jeffcoat was also a consensus All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year last season.
“Definitely some adversity. It’s been tough not knowing what happened during the draft,” Jeffcoat said. “Going undrafted. Then going to Seattle and thinking it was going to be right there. It’s been rough, but it’s looking better now that I am here.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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