ST. MATTHEWS -- Through it all, Alshon Jeffery never doubted himself.

So, when his former head coach at Calhoun County High School, Walt Wilson, called him Thursday to deliver the news -- his SAT score combined with his “A” in an online summer school course was good enough to finally have him accepted to the University of South Carolina -- the star wide receiver took it in stride.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Jeffery said from home Thursday afternoon. “But, it wasn’t tough. It was just something that I had to do to get myself into the real world and get through.”

The real world for Jeffery begins Sunday when he makes the move from St. Matthews to begin classes for the second session of summer school at the University of South Carolina. It is a day Wilson has been looking forward to for a long time. Never before, Wilson said, had he had such a heralded recruit whose academics had been the topic of discussion for so long.

“This has been a marathon,” Wilson said. “It’s like this here, we are out here, I’m in Charlotte, but I’m about to have a couple (phone calls). It’s a long, long journey man. I saw the finish line, and we stuck the head over.”

Wilson added that he was extremely happy for Jeffery, whose brother, Charles Ben, was an elite receiver at Calhoun County, signed with USC, but never panned out.

“I’m tremendously happy for him,” Wilson said. “He’s got a fresh start. That’s what he has gotten. It’s strictly from God. It happened this way for a reason. You need to, sometimes if you want something, you have to work a little extra for it and he had to work. I am just happy for him. He will be the first one out of those talented brothers (Shamier Jeffery is a standout receiver for the Saints) to get out of there. That means so much to this community because he has broken the trend. That’s why I am happy for him.”

Jeffery heads to the Gamecocks with high expectations. In the face of that pressure, he said he just wants to contribute this season and that the rest was “in God’s hands.” The signing of the big, physical receiver, who originally committed to Southern Cal, was a coup for the Gamecocks back on National Signing Day. Ranked as the 99th best prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, the Under Armour All-American and Shrine Bowl selection hauled in 30 passes for 693 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior season.

While Jeffery down played it a bit, Wilson said it is just a matter of time before his former player lives up to the expectations.

“Football wise, that’s the easy part,” Wilson said. “That right there, that comes natural to him. That’s the easy part. I have no doubt about that one. That is the easy part. And, the thing about it is, Alshon has it. I keep saying that. And, now the world will get a chance to see it. He just has it.”

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532.

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