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Phil Jeffs, a 6-6 280 OT from Ontario, is a 2021 commit who will be joining the Minutemen in January. I blogged about Jeffs back in June.
The following article about Jeffs appears through the courtesy of the writer Mike Davies and with permission of the Peterborough Examiner. The original article is available here.
"MIKE DAVIES
Examiner Sports Director
Phil Jeffs learned values and principles playing football in Peterborough that helped him land a full ride scholarship to the University of Massachusetts.
The 18-year-old Trent Hills native took a winding path he called “a roller coaster” to get to this point.
He started with six-a-side football in Grade 9 at Campbellford District High School. The six-foot-seven, 280-pound offensive tackle played two seasons for the Peterborough Wolverines junior varsity team winning an Ontario Football Conference championship in 2017 while also playing for Team Ontario. He transferred to Holy Cross Secondary School in order to play 12-a-side football. He then transferred in Grade 12 to St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, CT. Midway through the school year a family emergency which required him to return home to help his father Doug run the family’s dairy farm brought him back to Ontario. He finished high school at Clarkson Football North in Mississauga.
College recruiters on both sides of the border first took notice of Jeffs in Grade 10. Boston College, University of Connecticut and Iowa State were among the schools he narrowed his choice to before verbally committing to the UMass Minutemen in June. He’ll sign his letter of intent next month when the signing period opens Dec. 18.
“It’s a lot of relief,” said Jeffs. “A lot of people won’t understand the hard work and a lot of sacrifices that had to be made to get to this point. It’s a lot of relief because you feel a lot better about yourself and that those sacrifices are paying off.”
Several factors made UMass his first choice.
“They showed a ton of interest and I felt like that was the place I was going to be best set up to succeed and have the best chance to play after that level if that chance is there,” said Jeffs. “The very first time I ever talked to them there was genuine interest. You could tell the people really cared and they weren’t just interested in you as a football player, they were more interested in you as a person. They showed me a lot of support and how the next couple of years of my life were going to look.”
Jeffs will study education and begin classes at UMass, in Amherst, Mass., in January. He’ll train with the football team in the spring and begin playing as a freshman next fall.
Jeffs said he was a young kid kind of full of himself when he came to the Wolverines and coaches Joseph Joncas and Bond Bjorgan, who also coached him at Holy Cross, helped straighten him out.
“It was really humbling,” he said, of getting exposed to a wider football community. “it taught me a lot of great values and principles I live by and try to emulate and use in my everyday life. The coaches really helped mold me as a person and gave me a lot of values I still use.”
Jeffs is finished high school and is currently training with Joncas to prepare himself for UMass,
“Coach Joncas is so much more than just a coach,” he said. “He helped out so many guys. I know I’m not the only one thinking this. There are a lot of guys who would do anything for him. He’s done so much for so many people. It’s rare to see when someone cares as much as he does.”
Jeffs is taking education because the idea of being either a teacher or coach appeals to him.
“I really want to help people in the ways I’ve been helped. I’ve had a lot of great people help me get to this spot. I sure as heck wouldn’t have made it this far without a lot of people helping me and being there for me,” he said.
mike.davies@peterboroughdaily.com
Trent Hills native Phil Jeffs played one season of offensive tackle for St. Thomas More School in oakdale, CT before committing to the University of Massachusetts Minutemen’s football program for 2021. St. Thomas More School Photo."
