AUSTIN, Texas -- Malik Jefferson received a lifetime supply of promises and praise over the course of his recruitment. In the days leading up to his December 2014 decision, he thought back to a vow a Texas Longhorns player made during Jefferson’s official visit.

Quandre Diggs wishes he’d had a chance to play with Jefferson. The Detroit Lions’ second-year defensive back was leaving for the NFL right as the touted freshman linebacker was arriving. But Diggs is enjoying watching the promise he made come true. He’s hardly surprised he was right.

“What I told him on his official visit was: You can be the guy around here,” Diggs said. “You can take this thing by storm. Just do what you do. Come here, play football the right way, be a good person, and I guarantee you’ll be king of the city. It’s easy.”

Jefferson needed less than 12 months on campus to accomplish that feat. Texas linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary called Jefferson the “unofficial mayor of Austin” in February, a title the official mayor of Austin was OK with. Even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is a fan of Malik, and gave him a hug on the field of the Cotton Bowl last October after Texas stunned Oklahoma.

One of the best moments in my Freshman year. pic.twitter.com/847EZrgOI8 — Malik Jefferson 4⃣6⃣ (@Official_MalikJ) April 13, 2016

Jefferson started from day one. Today, he is the Big 12’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He’s on the cover of four preseason magazines in Texas. Few people are more invested in making Longhorns football great again.

“He’s the face of that program as a true sophomore,” Diggs said. “Everybody loves Malik in Austin. People see that, and you see how his teammates gravitate towards him. That makes him a special dude. Not a lot of people have that.”

Michael Jefferson knows all this hype might seem a little premature. But it hasn’t proved to be too much, too soon for his son.

“The accolades don’t faze him,” Michael Jefferson said. “He says, ‘Dad, I’ve gotta prove it on the field. And most of all: We’ve got to win. We’ve got to win.’ They’re going to unleash the Predator if they use him right. He’s in a different place now mentally.”

Jefferson’s freshman year thoroughly tested him. A 5-7 year with ups, downs and 2.5 sacks was not quite what he expected. The stress and pressure he felt from losing made him physically sick at times last season. So he's done even more to make the team around him better.

Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson was named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports

He played a pivotal role in helping Strong secure consecutive top-10 recruiting classes. Strong’s last two classes have stockpiled more than 50 players (26 of them ESPN 300 recruits) to make up the foundation of the rebuild. Malik’s father chuckles when asked how many visits his son has hosted in the last year and a half.

Sometimes his mother, Teresa, will call and hear, “I can’t talk right now, Mom. I’ve got some recruits here.” His dad once asked Malik why he was spending so much time recruiting fellow elite linebackers like Jeffrey McCulloch, Anthony Hines III and Baron Browning. His son wants guys who’ll compete, plain and simple.

“You can tell how hard he recruited these last two years,” Michael Jefferson said. “That’s how hungry he is. He wants guys in there that want to win. They have the talent now. They have to get the right attitude.”

Diggs has been saying that for years. During his 2014 senior season, he’d tell reporters that Texas didn’t have enough players like him who “have that dog in them.” You can’t fake it -- you have it or you don’t. He sees it in Malik.

“It’s crazy when you see him as a true freshman make the plays he made,” Diggs said. “He goes out and has a ton of confidence. He doesn’t say much, but he carries himself in a way other guys respect. A lot of kids look up to Malik, and he knows that.”

Diggs compares Jefferson’s rise to another Longhorns linebacker he grew up around: Derrick Johnson, the longtime Kansas City Chiefs star. (Johnson, Diggs and Jefferson played high school football in Texas.) Diggs said that even when Johnson was a freshman, you knew he was taking the Longhorns program to the next level.

Jefferson has all the tools to be “a top-15 guy in the NFL draft,” in Diggs’ estimation. But talk like that is why Strong and his coaches have been careful not to overpraise Jefferson. They don’t want to pile unnecessary pressure on his shoulders.

Being the face of the program is more than enough for now.

“A lot is said about Malik,” Strong said at Big 12 media days. “But it should be said.”