FERRIDAY — Ferriday High School two-way athlete Richard Jefferson may have played both offense and defense this past season, but in college he’ll be able to focus on just one position.

The Trojan senior signed with Louisiana College on National Signing Day Wednesday, and he said the Wildcats will use him strictly as a cornerback.

“I feel good about playing corner,” Jefferson said. “It’s something I know I can do, and I’ve been practicing there for a while.”

Jefferson said he took two visits to Louisiana College, and the second visit on Jan. 20 sealed the deal for him.

“They made me feel really at home,” Jefferson said. “It’s only an hour and 20 minutes from home, so that was very important. My mom, family and friends can see me play at my home games.”

But Ferriday principal Michelle Bethea made a noise as if Jefferson had forgotten to mention someone with that list.

“And my principal,” Jefferson clarified, grinning.

For Jefferson, the idea of playing college football was something he didn’t think would happen for him four years ago when he first started playing high school football.

“I wanted to play baseball, but when they called me and told me that I could play football, I was excited,” Jefferson said. “They said they liked my footwork, how I closed on the ball and my speed.”

But Ferriday head coach Richard Oliver said he wasn’t at all surprised Jefferson is getting the chance to play at the next level.

“To me, he was probably the most valuable player we had,” Oliver said. “At quarterback and cornerback, he was probably playing almost every snap each game. To grasp our system and do such a good job at quarterback speaks to what kind of athlete he is and what kind of person he is.”

And it was in 7-on-7 drills that Oliver said Jefferson really stood out.

“We realized that, at the corner position, he could play college football,” Oliver said.

Now that he’s getting the chance to do that, Jefferson said it was a relief for him to finally sign somewhere.

“It’s a big weight off my back,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson had a 2.96 grade-point average and scored an 18 on the ACT.