ON EACH SCHOOL (NOTICE THE CAGEY **** WENT IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER):
California: “Cal was like the second school to offer Jaden. Great relationship with Cal with the OC Musgrave and Toler has been his guy. It’s home. It’s right in the backyard. I think they’re on the up if they can continue to recruit well and he can help them build a class. I think Cal more than anything is relationship heavy and his heart is locally with Cal and the relationships with those guys.”
Florida: “Florida is beautiful. I think when I think of the Gators I think of great history there. I think the new hire of
Billy Napier, I think everybody is excited about Billy. When you get there you really realize that. When you get to be around the people he’s brought around the program, you can literally feel he’s a genuine guy. His demeanor, how he speaks to you, how he listens to you. We’ve sat in offensive meetings with him, he’s OCD when it comes to details. I think he’s a really good communicator and good teacher. I think Florida is going to do really good things. I think he is one of the brighter young coaches in the SEC. Florida is different because they have a Cali kind of vibe. They have a lot of staff from California. You drive around, you kind of feel like you’re in Walnut Creek or something. It doesn’t feel like you’re really in the South but we did see gators on campus, that was different.”
LSU: “Coach Sloan has probably been the most active guy recruiting him. He’s great about reaching out and him and Jaden have had a lot of talks. A lot of quarterback development there. The school has great facilities, great history there, tons of talent. But I think bigger than all that, when we sat down with Coach Kelly, Jaden flat out asked him why did you leave Notre Dame. He said ‘because I wanted to play the best and beat the best.’ So I think he’s kind of a man on a mission and he has tons of resources and there is tons of talent at LSU.”
Miami: “Coach Cristobal, beautiful place, tons of history. Coach Cristobal he’s a grinder. If you look at what he’s done, he’s had success. Rose Bowls, I think he played a big part in what Oregon was doing over recent years. The relationship with Coach Ponce, they hired Gattis who was the (Broyles Award winner) assistant coach of the year. He was a heck of a coordinator. I think Miami is poised to make a run. If you look at what they’re doing in the portal and if you look at what they’re doing just recruiting, I have no doubt that program is going to be contending for the ACC.”
Ole Miss: “Ole Miss there is a lot of sentimental value with Ole Miss. He’s been there four times. He’s gotten to know not only the staff that left but even the new staff. Him and Lane have a really good connection. Him and Coach Weis have had a good connection. Obviously his brother is now at Ole Miss he just enrolled. So there is a lot of interesting things there too. It’s a great college town. Good people down there.”
Oregon: “Great relationship with Coach Dillingham.
Dan Lanning solid guy, young guy, I think defense oriented. I think Oregon tons of tradition there, a lot of following in the Pac 12. There aren’t too many places that are averaging 60,000 in attendance. Oregon is about as big a college town as you can get. It is Pac 12, it is West Coast so a lot of that is close to home. I think he has a lot of ability to build a class there, with kids knowing who he is and it’s good football. They’ve been at the Pac 12 for a long time and I don’t see that changing.”
Texas A&M: “A&M is a great opportunity, for one it’s great football, they’re in the SEC. It’s Texas. Texas football is big. The biggest thing probably is when we got out there, seeing the engine underneath the hood, Jimbo, ****ey, a really good staff. But spending more time with Jimbo and seeing how he cares about the quarterback position, his history of development there, the success with the school. The schools that he’s been to, the players he’s had underneath him, Jameis and so forth, he’s one of five coaches to win a National Championship. You look at what they did last year, they had the top recruiting class in the country. I think everybody is kind expecting big things from a guy who’s been there and done it and he values the position he plays. I think of all the places, if you look at going off to college, Texas A&M is a very small culture shock there. It’s Texas. It’s not a far cry from California. A lot of good things with Texas A&M.”