2023 Gulliver Prep (FL) 4-star ATH Jalen Brown was one of the top performers out at the Miami Immortals 7v7 tryouts this Saturday, using his 10.9 (100m) speed to separate easily from the competition.
“Overall, I felt like I performed very well,” Brown said. “I like doing this type of stuff because I go against the top DB’s from every school, so it pushes me to work harder… I’m trying to get better at route running, getting in and out of breaks, and my short route game this offseason.”
The 6-0 170 pound prospect has also played some corner early in his high school career, but says he prefers to play offense at the next level.
“I’m still going to do some DB this year, but my preference for college is probably wide receiver,” he said.
According to Brown, the local Miami Hurricanes are recruiting him as an athlete as of now, and they were the program that was his first offer back in June of 2019 following a 7v7 summer camp on UM’s campus.
“They’ve been in touch and having conversations with my coaches, but they can’t really contact me directly yet because of the NCAA rules,” Brown said of Miami. “They were my first offer, so I’ll always have love for them for believing in me. I loved playing in that indoor facility as well, it was amazing.”
The Canes improved to 8-3 in Manny Diaz’s second year at the helm while also reeling in a strong 2021 recruiting class headlined by many local stars, something that caught Brown’s attention.
“This season, they did pretty well, hopefully over the next couple of years they’ll get better,” Brown said of UM. “They have a lot of talent coming in this year at the skill positions, on the O-Line, D-Line. I know some of those guys, they played with me on the Immortals team last year.”
Brown was also excited by the Hurricanes debuting a new spread offense during Rhett Lashlee’s first season as offensive coordinator in 2020.
“That type of offense is what I’d love to play in - get the ball, move around and everything,” Brown said. “I know UM always has a great quarterback, so I’ll always be able to get the ball there.”
Brown is now up to 16 offers, and while he has not yet made an official top group, he said a few bids stand out over the others.
“I’d say UM, Notre Dame, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ole Miss,” Brown said.
With the NCAA’s dead period still in effect until at least April, visits have been tough to come by for all recruits, which is why Brown wants to see some campuses he hasn’t yet gotten a chance to visit once the NCAA does lift the dead period.
“I went to Florida State and UM already so I’ll probably go to some schools I haven’t seen – LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, and probably Notre Dame,” he said.
While Brown is still a long ways off from a decision, he does have a few factors that he’s zeroing in on when it comes to picking a school.
“Education comes first, so the school has to be strong in what I want to major in,” Brown said. “Also, being able to get my feet wet and get on the field early. I don’t have to start, I can sit behind somebody, but I want to get in there once and awhile and test the college waters.”
As a sophomore at Gulliver Prep in 2020, Brown recorded 18 catches for 500 yards (27.8 ypc) with 8 TD’s receiving and 3 kick return TD’s in 6 games played.
