AUSTIN — It’s crazy to think about the coach at Texas needing a signature recruit to legitimize himself as a factor in the state, but that’s very much the situation Charlie Strong found himself in last December when linebacker Malik Jefferson was deciding between the Longhorns and Texas A&M.

The fact is, from a relationship standpoint, Strong has a long way to go to catch up to the likes of Kevin Sumlin and Art Briles, who have been recruiting the state of Texas for years and already had built-in relationships with top prospects. Strong came in as an outsider with more ties in Florida, so landing Jefferson — ranked by 247Sports as the top player in Texas and the No. 10 overall recruit in the country — was a massive victory.

Of course, as any coach will tell you, a key part of the recruiting process is the de-recruiting process. In other words, after telling a player for a year how great they are and how awesome they’ll be in college, a different reality is required once they actually get on campus. And Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford is well-equipped to handle that part.

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“It’s a learning curve for him,” Bedford said. “He doesn’t know that he doesn’t know. But he has some ability. Once he figures it out he’s going to be a pretty good football player. Right now people have him on such a high pedestal and the guy hasn’t played one down of Division I football.”

In reality, Jefferson has more than “some” ability. And the fact that he enrolled early at Texas and went through spring practice means he’ll likely start — or at least play a major role — in the Longhorns’ defense right away. Given the glimpse fans saw of him in the spring game — one highlight was running down receiver Daje Johnson on a bubble screen and forcing a fumble — the hype train isn’t going to slow down any time soon.

“Everybody talks about one play,” Bedford said. “I saw the previous five plays. I saw a missed tackle, I saw the guy loafing, all those types of things. So as a coach you see the big picture. As a fan they see one play and base everything off one play. I don’t do that. I have to look at the overall picture.”

There’s no denying, however, that Jefferson is an impressive individual and carries himself like a guy ready to make an impact. Jefferson, who said he chose Texas during a meditation session two days before his commitment, isn’t running from expectations. He said his goal is to be Big 12 freshman of the year.

Initially, Jefferson said he didn’t think it was a good idea to graduate from high school in Mesquite, Texas, a semester early and enroll at Texas in January but is now glad he has a leg up on getting acclimated to college football.

“My father influenced me to do it. I wanted to stay in high school and enjoy it but you have to grow up faster than most kids,” he said. “My family told me never act the age you are. I knew coming in as a freshman in the spring, I had to act older. I had to grow up faster. That’s part of the whole process.”

And Jefferson said he didn’t feel like he missed out on anything by graduating early.

“Prom was horrible,” he said. “I went back for it. I wasted my time.”