Maryland's defensive law and order

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Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson was already in a playful mood after jokingly rattling off a series of cliches in a monotone voice for his own amusement. A question about teammate Wesley Jefferson's law enforcement aspirations brightened his mood even more.

"Watch this," Henderson said mischievously before bellowing, "Hey, Officer Jefferson! Officer Jefferson!"

A few yards away in the Maryland football team house lobby, Jefferson turned slowly and nodded with his own wide grin, a reaction expected from an acknowledgment of a long-running gag.

But the junior linebacker isn't kidding when he speaks of his plan to become a state trooper when his football career ends.

"That's been a passion of mine since I was 5 years old, before I even knew about football," Jefferson said. "I've always wanted to do that. I like to help people, and I think I can help a lot of people. That's something on the inside of me that I enjoy, and it's something I look forward to doing."

In the interim, he will keeping playing for the Terrapins (8-4), who meet Purdue in the Dec. 29 Champs Sports Bowl. It will cap a breakout season for Jefferson, who has 107 tackles and a team-high 10 tackles for loss in his first year as a starter.

He will complete his degree in criminology and criminal justice next month, an important step in fulfilling a dream sown watching an episode of "Cops" more than 15 years ago. Jefferson's mother soon bought him a police toy set, complete with a badge, hat, handcuffs and an orange cap gun she promptly and sensibly confiscated from the 5-year-old.

Jefferson's interest grew when he attended Brandywine's Gwynn Park High School, where many of his coaches were police officers. There he also developed into an impressive football player and was one of the most sought-after linebackers in his recruiting class.

Jefferson landed at Maryland in the fall of 2003 but redshirted his first season. He backed up D'Qwell Jackson the next two years and in that time bonded with Sgt. Butch Rhoderick, the Maryland state trooper in charge of coordinating coach Ralph Friedgen's gameday security detail.

"He's a standup kid, very intelligent obviously, and he's obviously got the physical gifts to be a state trooper," Rhoderick said. "I can't say anything bad about him. ... I've never known him to be in any kind of trouble. I told him I'd help him up to the point he goes to Coach Friedgen and says, 'I want Butch's job.' Then the help stops."