Kenny Stills: Tony Jefferson tweeted apology because he cares what fans think

OU safety Tony Jefferson, left, and cornerback Aaron Colvin run after West Virginia's Stedman Bailey as he catches a touchdown in Saturday's game. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Receiver Kenny Stills is close friends with Jefferson, and said the tweet was sincere.

“He was disappointed in the way he played individually,” Stills said. “You’ve got to understand, if you have 15,000 followers or whatever he has and all of them are saying, ‘You suck’, he wants to apologize and say, ‘I expect better from myself also.’”

Jefferson leads the Sooners in tackles and is widely considered one of the team’s best players. He, Stills and Brennan Clay are California natives, and were part of the same recruiting class.

The three friends have called themselves the “Cali Trio.”

“He has a lot of pride individually, but he has a lot of respect for what the fans think of him,” Stills said. “It’s the same with me and Brennan. We’ve always been the guys that are fan friendly and for him, his pride kind of came out. He wanted everyone to know that. He apologized for the way he played and he felt like he could have done better.”