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CeCe Jefferson finalizes deal with Gators

 
CeCe Jefferson speaks to the media after announcing that he will sign with University of Florida on national signing day from his home in Macclenny, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. [Associated Press] 
CeCe Jefferson speaks to the media after announcing that he will sign with University of Florida on national signing day from his home in Macclenny, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. [Associated Press] 
Published Feb. 10, 2015

GAINESVILLE — It took longer than expected, but the strange saga of Florida recruit CeCe Jefferson has finally come to an end.

On Monday, Florida announced it had received Jefferson's signed national letter of intent, officially making him a member of the Gators' 2015 recruiting class.

The nation's No. 2 defensive end and No. 9 overall recruit according to ESPN (No. 7 overall according to 247Sports), Jefferson had the Gators in limbo since Wednesday's national signing day. After he announced during a live telecast on ESPNU that he would attend Florida, choosing the Gators over Auburn, he never faxed his letter of intent.

For the past several days, he has been mired in a controversy that included his father refusing to sign the letter and Jefferson reportedly wavering after Florida's DL coach Terrell Williams resigned to take the same position with the Miami Dolphins.

Through it all, Jefferson continued to insist via social media that he intended to play for Florida. He even attended the UF-Kentucky basketball game Saturday night.

Jefferson is a five-star recruit who could see immediate playing time for the Gators. He missed most of his senior season with a shoulder injury but had 68 tackles (22 for loss) and 17.5 sacks as a junior.

FRAZIER INJURED: Junior G Michael Frazier is expected to miss Thursday night's game against Ole Miss with a sprained ankle he suffered in the Kentucky game, and his status beyond that is questionable, coach Billy Donovan said.

"How long he'll be out is really hard with these things," Donovan said. "… It could be a couple weeks. It could be three days. It could be a week. I just don't know right now, got to see how it responds to the treatment."

Frazier is averaging 13.2 points and 30.5 minutes. He's also the lone starter from last year's Final Four team. Freshman Chris Chiozza, who started four games in place of Frazier this season, most likely will start vs. the Rebels.

"It's going to be difficult because he's one of our main scorers, a big leader, when he's on the court," Chiozza said. "But his experience, he knows when he's not playing, he can still be a great leader while he's not playing, he can give us a boost, some energy, just being on the bench."

MUSCHAMP'S RIGHTS: AD Jeremy Foley understands Gator fans' anger over former coach Will Muschamp and his new role as Auburn's defensive coordinator.

Florida lost four key players to Auburn, but Foley said Muschamp is well within his rights.

"First of all, it's a one-year conversation," Foley said. "I get the angst that that causes. But at the end of the day, we terminated Will. It's not like he moved on on his own. We terminated his contract. We said we needed to go in a different direction. He's free to work. He's free to go get a job. He's free to do his job.

"I imagine Auburn was recruiting some of those guys before he got up there. And Will's a good recruiter. So is Jim McElwain. Look what he did on signing day, look at what he did a couple of days prior to signing day. We're all fine. It's good conversation, it's angst, but, you know, we terminated Will's contract. He's free to go make a living like anybody else."

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Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Gators.