LSU Football 2022 Target Isaiah Horton Thinks of Tigers' Safety JaCoby Stevens As a Great Role Model
For LSU 2022 target Isaiah Horton, there are few players he looks up to more than Tigers' senior safety JaCoby Stevens. A Nashville native just like Stevens, Horton's older brother played alongside Stevens and the younger Isaiah was always around to soak in information.
"I used to talk to him on the AAU trips and then I used to watch him play at Oakland so he was a big role model to me as a little kid," Horton said.
As he got older, Horton started reaching out to Stevens more and more for advice and a couple of months ago he called Stevens about the LSU experience and why it was so unique.
"He just said that this was a good program for me, they'll get you right and even if you don't start right away, that the players will build you up and get you ready for when your opportunity comes," Horton said.
Horton holds offers from nearly a dozen Division I programs but considers LSU, Alabama and Georgia at the top of his list. The rising junior plans to take visits to all three of those schools plus Clemson and Florida in the coming months.
"I really just like the vibe of LSU and I watch their practices on Youtube and they're very intense and just make everybody better and that's the kind of program I want to be a part of," Horton said.
Currently listed as a receiver prospect, Horton says LSU is one of the few schools that is recruiting him on the defensive side of the ball, at safety. With Stevens obviously making his mark as one of the best safeties in college football a season ago, Horton says he takes in as many tips from Stevens as possible.
"When I'm at safety, JaCoby comes in and helps me by giving tips on how to cover and how to read a route before the receiver even comes off the ball," Horton said. "He just tells me to be patient more than anything and that as a defensive back, you've gotta be smarter than the receiver or else you're gonna get burned. So he gives me a lot of great tips and techniques that I can use in my game."
As both a receiver and a defensive back, Horton says the tips Stevens provides, helps him at both positions. Because most schools are recruiting him as a receiver, Horton says that's where he spends the most time. As a result, there are plenty of areas he wants to improve heading into his junior year on the defensive side of the ball.
"Just knowing how to read coverages better, how to be able to get out of my break better and improving on my hips and rotation," Horton said. "I don't think it's impossible to do so right now and this summer I'm going to keep working hard at it to continue to perfect my craft."
On the flip side, Horton feels his speed at 6-foot-2 combined with his ability to locate the ball with his eyes, makes him a dangerous defensive back. Horton, according to 247Sports, has already clocked a 4.46 shuttle and 31 inch vertical.
"Also being a receiver, if you line up inside, I can tell it can only be this type of route, if you line up outside, it can only be this type of route," Horton said. "I have good eyes so if I kind of get beat, I have the speed to catch up and then also be able to make a play on the ball as well."
Horton will be working hard on improving as a safety in the coming months and said it would mean a lot if he were able to get his skills up to par with an LSU secondary that is among the best in shooting players to the next level.
"I'm honored that they offered me and think that I have the ability to be a good safety so I just take that as momentum and a drive to keep pushing to be the best player that I can be," Horton said.
