Jefferson (personal) is stepping away from the team and will not play this season, David Smoak of ESPN 1660 in Waco reports. Head coach Jim Grobe told reporters that he hopes Jefferson will be able to return to the team in the spring.

Analysis:

Jefferson had been sidelined this season with lingering foot and rib issues that reportedly caused him to fall behind in his conditioning; however, Smoak is reporting that Jefferson is dealing with a personal issue on top of those health problems and will thus step away from the team this season. As Grobe said, the hope is that Jefferson will be able to rejoin the team over the winter and be ready for next season. For the purposes of this season, Baylor will lean on Terence Williams and JaMycal Hasty as Shock Linwood's backups. Jefferson averaged 7.35 yards per carry last year en route to reaching the 1,000-yard mark.