Recruit of the Week: Jacolby Spells
Recruit of the Week: Jacolby Spells (2022)
Position: Defensive Back
Height/Weight: 6-0, 170 lbs
School: American Heritage (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Recruiting Status: Uncommitted
Other Notable Offers: Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Cincinnati, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Virginia
The Player: "This is legitimately a two way athlete playing in South Florida against elite competition," SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. said. "Last year in 2019 he had a bunch of good wide receiver tape for one of the top teams in South Florida. And he's not a little guy at 5-11, 6-0, 180 pounds. He flips over to defensive back here in 2020 and I think you're starting to see what his ceiling could be. I think he's a good receiver. He can be a great cornerback.
"All things even, you'd rather have the defensive player. This move wasn't out of necessity. This wasn't a 'hey all of our corners are banged up so let's throw him on defense.' This was about his ceiling. His high school coach is Patrick Surtain, former NFL All-Pro defensive back who knows a thing or two about the position and has coached for the last decade or so. Talking to him pregame a few weeks ago when they were up here to play Clearwater High School, he said 'you've got to watch Jacolby Spells.' Not James Williams, the number one safety (in the 2021 class) on SI All-American, but Jacolby Spells.
"So naturally, I did, and I was just really impressed. You wouldn't know it if you just watched him that he just moved over to the cornerback position. He's extremely fluid. He's got great length. Obviously, with the wide receiver background, really great ball skills. In terms of his foundation, it's about as good as it gets for a young prospect."
The Recruitment: "First of all, the evaluation by Syracuse I agree with one hundred percent," Garcia Jr. said. "I think he is a defensive back. Recognizing that sooner than a lot of teams can hold a lot of weight. Once you're a prospect that blows up, and I think at this point we can say Jacolby has, you start to hear a lot of similar pitches. Come play in this power five conference at this position, we think you can do this. But the first few times you hear that, it's sort of eye catching.
"He has said that's a school (Syracuse) that I like. He's got a teammate in Oronde Gadsden who's committed there. And Syracuse has picked up defensive backs from American Heritage High School. Our guy Juwan Dowels a few years ago was an American Heritage Patriot. So there's certainly a connection there and Surtain, the coach, is not going to look down upon any ACC offer. There's clear communication there with Syracuse.
"Especially when the prospect is not very close to making a decision. That tells you that he expected a lot offers. He's not going to make an emotional decision and just go with the biggest one when it comes in. If that were the case, he'd be committed to Georgia or Penn State at this moment. By all indications, he's really focused on the 2020 season. They've got maybe the best defensive in the state of Florida. They're going to contend for a state championship in a crazy abbreviated season. I think the focus is there for Jacolby. I reached out to him just a couple hours ago and he really seems like he's on the forefront when it comes to recruiting.
"He's not really digging into the process like that to this point. So I think the more time he spends with Oronde Gadsden that helps. The more time he can make his own calculated decision. Who knows where everybody else's board is there at the end of the day. But I think the timing is right for Syracuse with this scholarship offer and there's a couple of connections to the program as well."
