Northwest HS Alum Lefeged Eyes NFL Draft

Sometime this weekend, Rutgers safety Joe Lefeged expects to hear his name called during the 2011 NFL Draft.

When that moment arrives, the 2007 Northwest High School graduate will become the Germantown school’s first ever NFL Draft selection.

“It means a lot,” said Lefeged, who began his high school career at Bullis and spent a semester at Good Counsel before transferring to Northwest for his senior campaign. “I learned a lot from Coach [Randy] Trivers and being at Northwest for only the year that I was there, I think they helped me out a lot going forward into college.”

At Rutgers, Lefeged emerged into one of the top players in the Big East during his tenure at the New Jersey school where the 6-foot, 212-pounder was a three-year starter and special teams standout for the Scarlet Knights.

Lefeged, who earned second team All-Big East honors last season, led the Scarlet Knights with six pass breakups and finished the 2010 campaign second on the team with 84 total tackles. He was one of ten semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back.

Lefeged wowed the pro scouts at February’s NFL Combine, posting a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. He also impressed the NFL scouts at Rutgers’ Pro Day last month.

At the NFL Combine, Lefeged’s 40 time was the fifth-fastest among defensive backs. He also registered the 11th best vertical leap and the 14th best broad jump.

Lefeged was raised in the Gaithersburg-Germantown area, once attending Whetstone Elementary School and later Watkins Mill Elementary School in Montgomery Village.

During his senior campaign at Northwest, Lefeged played various positions for the Jaguars including quarterback, wide receiver and linebacker. He rushed for 532 yards on 46 carries including eight touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for a score. Defensively, Lefeged amassed 63 tackles including 15 for a loss and registered seven sacks and two interceptions.

“Joe was a game changer,” recalled Trivers, now the head coach at Leesburg High School in Florida. “He was a very explosive athlete. Joe was a great team player. As talented as he was, he was very much a team-first guy and was a great teammate.”

His performance that season helped the Jaguars record the first unbeaten regular season in school history.

Despite all his successes on the college gridiron, Lefeged fondly remembers his high school days at Northwest, hanging out with teammates after games.

“That was a lot of fun,” he recalled. “Those are the things that I remember, just the moments that I had with my teammates and coaches.”