Alabama wide receiver Amari Jefferson (#17) catches a ball during practice.
After committing to play baseball for Tennessee since 2021, freshman-elect Amari Jefferson decommitted last August to play baseball and football at Alabama.
“I came back from my first visit and told my father that I wanted to commit immediately, and he told me that I had to wait.” Jefferson said Sports illustrated about his move to Alabama.
Jefferson first committed to Tennessee to play baseball in June 2021. He toured Alabama for the first time and Tennessee again in 2023 before changing his commitment in August 2023 and enrolling in May 2024.
“I knew in my head it would be Alabama, but I wanted to be absolutely sure,” Jefferson said.
Although the Chattanooga, Tennessee native committed first to baseball and then football, he has no shortage of talent in either area and will likely be an asset to both programs.
A 4-star receiver, he helped Baylor School to a state championship in his junior year. He was Tennessee’s 2023 DII-AAA Mr Football after catching 74 passes for 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns.
“Alabama is getting a dynamic playmaker,” said Erik Kimrey, head coach at Baylor School. “He can score anytime he touches (the ball) from anywhere on the field. What sets him apart is his approach to the game. He’s an elite competitor who is also very intelligent.”
According to On3Jefferson is currently the 34th best high school wide receiver in the country and the sixth best high school football player in Tennessee.
Although he originally signed a contract to play under former head coach Nick Saban and said his decision was “dependent on how he develops receivers,” he decided to stay with the program after Saban’s departure.
“I think the future of the program is in great hands with Coach DeBoer at the helm and the new coaching staff they have brought in,” said Jefferson BamaOnline“I don’t think we’re going anywhere anytime soon.”
DeBoer expressed the same enthusiasm about Jefferson, saying at the SEC Media Day in July that the bankruptcy trustee “extremely talented” and “highly praised”
On the diamond, Jefferson is just as dominant. He had a perfect game score of 9.5 – making him a “potential top-10 pick and/or college prospect at the highest level” – a batting average of .436 in his senior year and an on-base percentage of .547 in his senior year.
“His athletic potential is as high as anyone I’ve ever coached,” Baylor School head coach Greg Elie said. “What he’s done by splitting his time between sports, going from a 7-on-7 training camp to a 98-mph fastball, is really hard to do. His skill set is sensational.”
His impressive statistics come with rankings to match. According to Perfect Game, Jefferson is ranked 273rd overall and 48th as an outfielder, but in Tennessee alone he ranks sixth overall and second as an outfielder.
“For a guy who spends half his time playing another sport, it’s scary to think what he could become,” Kimrey said. “For Amari, the sky’s the limit.”
