Malik Jefferson, the Mesquite Poteet standout who went on to play linebacker at Texas and is on his way to the NFL, better have an appetite.
And I hope he likes pizza, because he’s getting a year’s worth of Pizza Hut za for free after being taken in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Why, you may ask?
Pizza Hut – which replaced Papa John’s as the official pizza sponsor of the NFL – dreamed up the “Pi Pick” promotion heading into the draft. The 78th pick was set to receive a year’s worth of free pizza. Pick No. 78 is round 3, pick 14.
Pi, the mathematical constant representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, is, of course, 3.14.
Jefferson was a five-star recruit coming out of Poteet High School in 2015 and was considered the top linebacker in the country and the No. 1 overall recruit in Texas.
Here’s this from The Associated Press on Jefferson’s prospects coming out of Texas, where he played three seasons:
Few linebackers are more gifted athletically than Jefferson, who becomes a frustrating evaluation because of the extreme positives and negatives. He has good size and downright explosive movement skills, closing rapidly and with violence when he reads a play properly. The same tools make him dangerous as a blitzer and offer upside in coverage, though he's undeveloped in the latter area.
Jefferson is much less comfortable moving backward than forward, undermining his athleticism with poor coverage awareness. Such issues speak to a broader lack of instincts, as he routinely takes false steps, bites on misdirection and overpursues ballcarriers, opening cutback lanes. He also is inconsistent as a tackler, hitting with power but failing to wrap up at times.
If it ever clicks for Jefferson, look out, but he's mostly a see-ball, get-ball player right now. He must become more disciplined against the run and use his gifts better in coverage, or he'll always be a better athlete than player.