By: Chad Wilson – Gridironstuds.com Editor
If you know anything about college football recruiting then you have heard them name Jeff Luc. No other video on the Gridironstuds.com site has been played with as much frequency as the one belonging to the anamalistic linebacker out of Treaure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Some say football players are born and that may be the case here but Jeff Luc took a winding path to get to what you see now.
At this point, I’ve watched hundreds of videos on potential college football prospects. However, when I first watched Jeff Luc’s video, something happened. It was the end of a long work day and it’s 2 A.M. in the morning. I noticed we had a new video submission to the site, so I thought I would check it out before shutting things down. The video tells you with white lettering against a black background that we are going to be looking at Jeff Luc #48 Treasure Coast.
“Never heard of this school. What kind of linebacker wears #48? How good could this be?” I debated taking up my time to watch this. You know it’s 2 A.M. in the morning. “I’ll give it 30 seconds and if it’s whack, I am hitting the sack after I hit the power button on the computer.”
The audio starts with Denzel Washington’s line from “Remember the Titans” where he tells his team that nothing will tear us apart. In the meantime, Luc’s stats roll across the screen. Suddenly there’s three sounds of a whistle. Ying Yang Twins “Stand Up Get Crunk” begins to play. In big letters across the screen the letters promise “BIG HITS!”.
“Ok this is interesting but I’ve seen videos promise this before and fail to deliver and again the kid wears #48. I doubt he’s a killer. Now if he’s wearing #44 or #55 or #56 well then maybe we have something.”
:30 – OH MY GOD! Some quarterback has just been hit by some beast and I am not sure he’s going to get up. “#48 just went into this kid’s soul.”
Jeff Luc is the pride of Port St. Lucie and Treasure Coast High School. In the months since his video appeared on Gridironstuds.com, Luc has enjoyed a thrilling ride through the college football recruiting process that has seen him acquire offers from Coral Gables, Florida to Los Angeles, California and many points in between.
Eight years ago, no one would have thought Luc would be sitting in the seat he’s in right now. Luc, pronounced “Luke” first put on a helmet at age five playing in North Miami, Florida. His brother, Alex, described his play at that age as hesitant. The quarterback that just got licked 30 seconds into his highlight tape wishes to God that was still the case. Luc would play one season as a tot and would retire to what he called “street football.”
Luc’s time on the street was not all spent playing football. Alex says little brother Jeff started hanging with the wrong crowd and started getting into trouble.
:45 Jeff hunts down another quarterback who missed the shotgun snap and wraps him around the neck and plants him into the ground like a mango tree. The lyrics from the Ying Yang Twins grab you by saying HERE WE COME TO GET YOU! “Poor QB should have kicked that ball out of the back of the end zone.”
Jeff’s parents tried everything to get their young son back on track but it just wasn’t happening so something drastic had to be done. The Luc family packed their things and moved two hours north to Port St. Lucie, a more quiet community where there is believed to be less negative influences.
:55 another quarterback meets a tragic end as Luc pursues him with the Ying Yang Twins saying “Tell them why they better run, tell them why they don’t want none”. When Luc catches him, it’s a trip to the track that surrounds the playing field for the QB. The force of Luc’s tackle carries him to this distant location. “Please Lord let that be 4th down and spear that QB from more punishment”
In Port St. Lucie, Luc would correct his path, find academics, religion and football once again. Organized football found it’s way back into Jeff’s plan in 6th grade. No longer hesitant, Alex says “A lot of kids got hurt.” Luc’s time running around the North Miami streets hardened him and football became the perfect outlet to release some frustrations. Luc’s aggression meant he needed to “play up”, a term meaning that you play with kids older than you. For Jeff, that meant 3 to 4 years older.
Luc exemplifies the importance of football in our youth in this country. Often times, a young man can channel his pent up frustrations and unleash them in this controlled environment while learning life lessons in the process. Football and strong parenting may have saved Jeff Luc’s life.
:59 Luc decides to show other talents. He sneaks out into the flat from his TE spot, catches a pass and out races the defense 67 yards for a touchdown. Luc is 6’1″ 235 lbs. “Well now I’m scared, aren’t you?”
Ninth grade rolls around and Jeff enters a brand new Port St. Lucie high school called Treasure Coast. As is typical for first year programs, Treasure Coast would play a varsity schedule with J.V. type players comprised of grades 9th and 10th. Jeff would take his spot on the offensive and defensive lines and have an up front view of an 0-10 season that first year.
Year number two would not bring much more success as Treasure Coast would go 3-7. Jeff would see some action at fullback and TE on goal line situations. The big hits were still there and people were still getting hurt. Referees are beginning to take notice to and asking Jeff to dial it back a little. The head coach would be let go at season’s end and current Treasure Coast head coach Bill Kelley would be ushered in.
2:16 – Some team decides to run the swinging gate for an extra point. The QB or maybe it’s the kicker takes the snap and looks for an open receiver. What he finds is #48 coming through the line in a hurry. The ball is released but not soon enough. Luc plants his helmet in his chest and makes him feel the earth in ways he never has before. “Why Jeff? Why did he need to be dealt with that way?”
The arrival of Kelley changed things for Luc and the Treasure Coast football program. The new staff, with an eye for talent, moved Luc to the position he was born to play, linebacker. It’s a move that Treasure Coast High School opponents would regret in 2008. Luc would smash the opposition and the defensive unit led by new defensive coordinator Irvin Jones, would mob through the schedule posting the most shutouts in the entire Treasure Coast region and rank #1 in rush defense.
Treasure Coast High finishes 7-3 but just misses the playoffs. However, the Titans led by Luc have made their mark. Kelley, wisely implements a recruiting coordinator, Aaron Shepard who doubles as special teams coordinator. Treasure Coast is a young football program so Shepard has his work cut out for him.
3:16 – I’m fully captivated by this video now. A Treasure Coast opponent runs a slant route (obviously they did not watch film or read the scouting report). I scream out no as the ball is released and the inevitable happens. Luc meets the wide receiver, plants his shoulder pads in his stomach, lifts his feet off the ground and drives him into the 25 yard line where chances are the kid is still laying there today. Ying Yang Twins still telling us “Here We Come to Get You”. Yeah no kidding! “Why Jeff, why?”
Luc’s video finds it’s way onto Gridironstuds.com in January when brother, Alex, posts it on the site. Shepard is getting the word out and school are starting to take interest but I can’t contain myself. The morning after I viewed the tape, I call any and everyone about Jeff’s video (believe me, I almost called people at 3 A.M. in the morning when I first watched it.). I am telling everyone about the rated R movie I just watched packed with violence. I tell people how this linebacker from Treasure Coast patrols the field like Jason from Friday the 13th bringing football players to a ghastly end. The floodgates would soon open and Luc’s popularity hits Britany Spears status in recruiting circles.
Coaches are playing the tapes in high school and college football offices across the country. I myself gathered a number of coaches in a hotel room during the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic in Orlando to view Luc’s exploits on film. Luc’s tenacity prompted one coach to exclaim loudly, “Oh, he’s so explosive!”
4:34 – A Ft. Pierce Central wide receiver attempts to make a catch on a crossing route and you can see the panic as he tries to get away but Luc is right behind him. This one is the most vicious and amazing. With a player accelerating away from him, Luc generates enough force from behind to flip the kid’s feet off the ground and above his head. Luc, with firm grip on the wide receiver, delivers him to the ground head first. Needless to say, the pass is incomplete and the player does not get up. “What responsible parent would let their child play against Treasure Coast with this man-child lurking around on defense?”
Sunshine Preps would remake Luc’s video and believe it or not, it’s a more violent version. The first three clips would make any parent pull their kid out of football and get more interested in sports like golf and tennis. The new video brings even more attention to Luc and Treasure Coast.
The attention would land Division I programs at Luc’s feet, make him a Top 10 recruit at both Scout and Rivals and have him declared as the number one prep linebacker in the country. Along with that would come invites to combines and camps. I would have the first opportunity to meet Luc when he attended the Nike Camp at the University of Miami in March.
Despite knowing Luc’s dimensions 6’1″ 235 lbs., seeing his weight room numbers, 345 lb. bench, 600 lb. squat and seeing what he did to opponents on film, I am still blown away by physical size in person. Luc is freakishly big. He is the most muscled up high school football player I have ever seen (sorry Marvin Jones). Luc caught the eye of the coaches working the camp and the spectators as well who mostly hurried to get out of the way when Luc strayed outside of the field of play. Luc amazed all in attendance when he locked down running backs on pass routes displaying great athleticism for a kid his size. A couple of brave souls called Luc out in the 1-on-1 drills prompting a coach to tell one of the running backs that he wants him to go D-1 so you might want to stay away from Luc before he embarrasses you.
4:45 – An opponent is running a reverse. It does not work. Luc sniffs it out, grabs the diminutive wide receiver and thuds him to ground so hard I think I saw some books move on my bookshelf. “They must be playing rock, paper, scissors in the offensive huddle to see who’s going to be the unfortunate one to get the football next.”
You would expect from all that I have told you thus far about Luc that this young man is someone to stay away from. If you have on pads on a Friday night and you aren’t wearing the Treasure Coast Titan colors you are probably right. If you are in any other setting then you couldn’t be further from the truth.
Luc is perhaps the most humble athlete I have encountered. His gentleness off the field draws you in. While trying to ask him questions to do this story, Luc insisted on letting me know that his success and attention would not be possible without his teammates and coaches. He would not let me go on without him mentioning some of his teammates that deserve scholarship offers. Wide receiver Pat Harris, fullback Cedric Wilcox, QB Dylan Parker, safety Lamarcus Brutus, defensive lineman Deon Rogers, cornerback Keenan Smith and fellow linebacker Ed Foley were some of the names Luc mentioned.
He has turned his life completely around through football and faith. Luc now sports a 3.7 G.P.A., is on track to graduate early and wants to be an engineer major in college. As for what college that would be, that’s the big question that Luc will keep people waiting on.
” I don’t have a favorite right now,” Luc says, “I like them all.”
That’s a lot to like considering that Luc is holding offers from over 40 schools. USC’s Ken Norton stays in regular contact as does the University of Miami’s former great Michael Barrow. University of Florida’s Charlie Strong is hot on Luc’s trail as are the mountain of schools vying for his services. With an early graduation planned, Luc has to make a decision by December. All eyes and ears will pointing in Treasure Coast High School’s direction this Fall awaiting Luc’s big decision. It’s a long way from the rough kid running the North Miami streets getting into trouble.
6:06 – another player playing football ends up on a track courtesy of Jeff explosive hitting ability. It’s just another violent scene that has left me feeling sorry for kids all over the Treasure Coast area.
Despite it being 2:15 A.M. in the morning the first time I watched Jeff’s video, I would watch it three more times to make sure I saw what I saw. I went through a lot of emotions, laughter, amazement and sorrow watching his highlight video. There’s little wonder why I instinctively duck every time I hear the song “Stand Up & Get Crunk” by the Ying Yang Twins.
As I hang up the phone with Jeff during a recent talk, he reminds me and almost insist that I remember to pray. His religious beliefs and humbleness are a testament to his maturity, rebirth and of his parents’ will to make the most out of their child. O.k. Jeff, I am going to pray but my biggest prayers are saved for the families and players that have to face Jeff this year because, like it or not, Here He Comes to Get You!
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To view the original Jeff Luc highlight video with the Ying Yang Twin “Stand Up and Get Crunk” audio, click here.
To view the Sunshine Prep’s updated and more violent version, click here.
As a footnote, Port St. Lucie County, where Jeff Luc’s high school Treasure Coast is located is feeling the pressure of our economic times. As a result they have made some budget cuts which included cutting the J.V. football program at Treasure Coast and reducing the coaching staff from 7 to 4. To counter this, Treasure Coast is fund raising any way they can and that includes accepting donations on their great team website TitanBornTitanBred.com. Check out the site and if you are in a position to and if your heart moves you, make a donation to keep their program running strong. Football and athletics play an important part in so many kids lives.
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Great article Chad! Really praying for Luc to come back to the 305 and sport that Orange and Green. It’s all about the U!
Go Canes!