AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Tim Jefferson had that calm, collected senior look Monday as he began his final preseason camp as an Air Force quarterback.
His demeanor was in sharp contrast to the Jefferson who stood on the same practice fields as a freshman. His only credential at the time was that coach Troy Calhoun said Jefferson was the first recruit he talked to when he was hired as Fisher DeBerry’s successor after the 2006 season.
At his first practice with the Falcons in 2008, after a year at the AFA Prep School, Jefferson was unknown and unsure.
“It was like a fire hose effect my whole freshman year,” Jefferson said. “It was hard to grasp everything that was being thrown at me. I didn’t get the big picture. I remember going through everything my freshman year, the cadet area, everything. I’ve been here a long time and I know how much I’ve had to progress.”
Even with his head swimming in the magnitude of balancing cadet work and football, he pulled himself together to begin what has become a memorable college career.
Now it’s time for the final touch.
“The sky’s the limit,” Jefferson said. “I think we can have a really good team. I can get better and the team can get better.”
Calhoun has preached the importance of having an experienced quarterback, and few coaches have one with more experience than Jefferson.
“He is a good decision-maker,” Calhoun said. “He knows where his players should be when we line up. We change that from week to week in terms of our game plan. Maturity always has been one of his strengths.”
Jefferson will be adding to an already impressive resume.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior from Atlanta is the only service academy quarterback to start in three consecutive bowl games. Also, he and Rich Haynie (1971-73) are the only starting quarterbacks in Air Force history with three winning seasons.
Even though Jefferson knows the AFA offense and is comfortable running it, Calhoun wants the Falcons to be more efficient in the passing game in Jefferson’s senior season. Last year, Jefferson completed just 51.6 percent of his passes, a figure Calhoun would like to see raised by 10 percent.
“We were in the top 30 in pass efficiency last year, but if we could complete 60 to 65 percent of our passes, we’d be much better off,” said Jefferson, who has completed 53.9 percent in his AFA career.
Footnotes. Air Force’s freshman players will be available for practice starting Thursday. . . . Calhoun also is looking for improved special teams. “We have to get more length out of our punting and our kickoff-coverage unit as a whole has to be better,” he said.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
