College Football HQ

Elite 4-star CB Jaden Carey announces top 7 schools

A rising Florida defensive back has narrowed his potential college choices.
Joe Cox|
New Florida coach Jon Sumrall has landed the Gators on CB Jaden Carey's top 7 list.
New Florida coach Jon Sumrall has landed the Gators on CB Jaden Carey's top 7 list. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Miami (FL) HurricanesFlorida GatorsOhio State Buckeyes

While some recruits are adding new schools of interest, one top Florida defensive back is trimming his list down. Fort Lauderdale CB Jaden Carey is a four-star recruit in Rivals' recent rankings and he has trimmed a list of around two dozen colleges to a top 7.

Carey's Likely Leaders

Carey is a thin 6' corner whose father, Marcus, played at Miami. Marcus Carey was actually teammates with current Hurricane coach Mario Cristobal, which might be one of many reasons that the Hurricanes earned a spot on Carey's top 7 list.

One recent climber is new coach Jon Sumrall and his Florida Gators. Carey told On3 that the Gators were "special" and noted, "They definitely sit at the top end of my list." Sumrall has hit the ground running since his hiring and is drawing notice from a bevy of top recruits.

The rest of his favorites

The other finalists for Carey are Ohio State, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Ole Miss. Of course, the young recruit isn't counting out any of the other schools that have offered him, but he is indicating the early leaders. Ohio State recently visited Carey at his high school, St. Thomas Aquinas.

On3's experts tend toward Miami as Carey's ultimate location, which just under 41% of picks logged for the Hurricanes. Florida is a solid second in that race, with over 24% of the picks, with Ohio State running third at just under 11% of the expert vote.

While Rivals places Carey as a four-star recruit, ESPN and 247sports both have him ranked as a high three-star. The one recent visit taken by Carey was to Florida last month. He has also taken a pair of unofficial visits to Miami and a visit to Notre Dame, per On3, while 247 reports that he took an early season unofficial visit to Florida State.

Miami and Florida's 2027 recruiting efforts

Neither Miami nor Florida has added many commits so far for 2027. The Hurricanes have a total of four commitments and are ranked 19th in 247's class rankings. All four of the commits are in state and one, safety Jaylyn Jones, is a four-star defensive back. Florida has just one commitments so far in the 2027 cycle. That player, in-state CB recruit Amare Nugent, is a four-star cornerback himself.

Carey does not seem to be in any hurry to finish off his recruitment and the schools involved are now all in an NCAA dead period. But the upward-trending defensive back has a strong early list and will be worth watching as his senior high school season approaches.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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