Tag Archives: Jaycee Horn

Tennessee Recruiting: Another Major Domino Falls to the Vols in Jaycee Horn

No matter how well this recruiting class is shaping up for Tennessee, the Volunteers needed another potential impact cornerback in the 2018 haul.

Even though the early returns on Cheyenne Labruzza, Shawn Shambuger and Terrell Bailey are good from the first few weeks of camp, you can never have too much depth in the secondary. You also need to factor in that the Vols are losing Justin Martin, Emmanuel Moseley and Shaq Wiggins after this season.

So, that’s what makes the Thursday pickup of Jaycee Horn all the more important.

https://twitter.com/jayceehorn_10/status/900860586896084993

Sure, Horn is a stud in his own rights. He chose the Vols this afternoon on the SEC Network, deciding he wants to play in Knoxville over offers from Alabama and South Carolina. This commitment (if it sticks) is the fruit of months of heavy recruiting after identifying Horn as the top target at cornerback on the board. Even after he originally eliminated UT from consideration, choosing instead to focus on Alabama and South Carolina, the Vols kept recruiting him.

As a matter of fact, they turned up the pressure.

Almost immediately, Horn showed renewed interest in UT, and the courtship produced a commitment. The 6’0″, 175-pound 4-star cornerback from the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia, continues Tennessee’s surge in Georgia, where it normally goes to get a lot of its secondary. Horn joins 4-star safety Trey Dean as Vols defensive backs from Georgia in the 2018 class.

Consider this: Tennessee dipped into the Peach State to secure a commitment from Shamburger, and the year before that, UT plucked Nigel Warrior and Baylen Buchanan from the Atlanta area. Micah Abernathy highlighted the Georgia class the year before, and then-safety Cortez McDowell and Evan Berry were in the 2014 class. Cameron Sutton and Riyahd Jones got the Butch Jones era started off by committing to him in that half-class of ’13.

So, getting defensive backs from Georgia isn’t a new thing on Rocky Top.

The Vols also continued their trend of getting players with NFL bloodlines.

Horn is the son of former New Orleans Saints All-Pro receiver Joe Horn, and he joins Nigel Warrior (father Dale Carter), Kahlil McKenzie (father Reggie and uncle Raleigh), Baylen Buchanan (father Ray), Brandon Johnson (uncle Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson), Dillon Bates (father Bill), Todd Kelly Jr. (father Todd), Evan and Elliot Berry (brother Eric) and Kivon Bennett (father Cornelius “Biscuit” Bennett) as UT players who are pro legacies.

Horn is the centerpiece of a defensive backs class that already featured hard-hitting future nickelback Tanner Ingle, cornerback Brandon Cross, in-state stud safety Brendon Harris and Under-Armour All-American safety Dean.

The Vols added to their top-ranked class in the SEC, and it will be interesting to see how numbers work out. With the additions of Horn, receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis and punter Paxton Brooks this week, the Vols seemingly have only a couple of spots left (if that many).

Tennessee covets an offensive lineman (West Tennessee tackle Jerome Carvin) and a pass-rushing defensive end (such as many Richard Jibunor) with those final spots. Of course, you continue recruiting some elite prospects, and if they decide they want to join the fray, you’ve got to make some difficult decisions.

But there is very little wiggle room in this class. The Vols have a lot of quality players who meet big needs and who are potential big stars. When all is said and done, guys like Horn may make this Jones’ most complete class yet.

State of Play: Vols can be picky, and July 20th camp has three major targets

After the Thursday commitment of stud JUCO Defensive End Dorian Gerald,, the Vols now have 17 public commitments (seven of which are early enrollees, by the way) and a class firmly in the top five nationally.  With only about eight spots left roughly seven months from National Signing Day, the UT staff is in an enviable spot of being able to be extremely picky with how they fill out the class.  At this point, it seems highly unlikely you’ll see any “reaches” for lower level prospects as the board is stocked with elite players at each position.

And while it really is incredible to have this many high level commitments at this point in the cycle, it is more likely than not that the Vols add multiple commitments before the summer is over.  A number of big time targets, for whom UT is in a range of “great shape” like WR Shocky Jacques-Louis, LB Cam Jones and fellow Cordovan OL Jerome Carvin to “firmly in the mix” like DE Azeez Ojulari, LB/DE Richard Jibunor and TE Tommy Tremble, are expected to make summer decisions.  The Vols are in a major battle with other SEC powers for Ojulari, but have received two campus visits since the spring and are in the top two (but likely trailing at this point) for Jibunor and Tremble with Auburn and Notre Dame, respectively.

In an interesting development in terms of timing, three other very important and elite prospects that would probably fit into the “firmly in the mix” group, are visiting on July 20 for Tennessee’s last camp of the summer:

PJ Mustipher

A big time defensive tackle prospect who is probably the only remaining non-defensive end the Vols would take on the defensive line.  He’s just that good, and as everyone knows, you can’t have too many elite DL.  Most think that while the Vols are in the final two at the moment for Mustipher, they trail Penn State, a school he’s visited multiple times.  Mustipher is scheduled to attend PSU’s big recruiting event shortly before coming back to Knoxville for what would be his third visit to campus.  He could decide at any time, and there is some thought that he might not even make it out of Happy Valley without committing to the Nittany Lions.  If he does, however, the Vols could find themselves in a prime spot with the opportunity to seal the deal on another elite DT and continue to add to an unprecedented haul on the DL.

James Mitchell

Along with the aforementioned Tremble, Mitchell is one of two tight ends that the Vols would realistically like to pair with local product Jacob Warren.  Thought to likely be a slight Virginia Tech lean at the moment, the Big Stone Gap, VA prospect will also be on campus for his third visit on the 20th.  Given how much Scott likes the TE spot in his offense, you know he’d like to add another elite talent here.  However, as we have talked about before, I am of the opinion that if the Vols miss on both Tremble and Mitchell they shouldn’t take another TE in this class.  That makes this visit incredibly important.  Mitchell’s decision timeline isn’t as well-known as some other prospects, but this is probably one of the last chances to impress him with an on campus visit other than a potential official visit.

Jaycee Horn

This will actually be the 4th visit for this elite cornerback and is by far the most surprising visitor.  After coming to Orange Carpet Day just a few weeks ago and seemingly enjoying himself yet again, Horn abruptly (and somewhat shockingly) cut the Vols and named a final two of Alabama and South Carolina as well as a decision date of July 15th.  However, after some recent pro-UT activity on Twitter, news broke on Wednesday night that not only is Horn unlikely to make a commitment in a week or so, but he’s now set to visit Knoxville again on the 20th.  While the Vols have two defensive back commitments that they love in Brandon Cross and Tanner Ingle, both of them are probably more suited for either nickelback or even safety.  A truly elite cover corner is one of the very few missing pieces in this class, and if the staff was somehow able to not only get back into this recruitment but actually land Horn, it would check that box in an emphatic manner.

What Butch Jones and Co. are getting done with this class is very impressive. As the dead period comes to an end soon, the rest of July is going to be incredibly interesting.  With a handful of high level prospects set to make decisions and three big time targets scheduled to visit campus as they wrap up their respective decisions, there could be more fireworks as the Vols add to a class that is shaping up to be Butch’s finest.