Jaydon Hood has seen a surge in his market value recently, and he's becoming one of the most heavily recruited prospects in the country. Currently, he holds sixteen Power-Five offers, and I expect that number to climb over the next few months. In January, Hood saw an explosion of interest from some of the top programs in the country. Power-Five offers from Alabama, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Pitt, and West Virginia were extended to the six-foot-one, two hundred and twelve-pound athlete from Ft. Lauderdale.
With the influx of new scholarship offers, he now has a lot of options and a lot of things to figure out. The next few months Hood will be on the road all up and down the Eastern Seaboard, and Louisville will be one of the stops on his itinerary.
"I'll be hitting visits heavy in March, April, and May," said Hood adding, "Yes, right now still confirming but I'm tentatively set (to visit Louisville) for March 28th."
Louisville offered on January 27th and the two parties' relationship is still in its formative stages.
"I would say I speak with coach (Frank) Ponce the most. But lately, coach (Bryan) Brown a lot as well. Coach Nick (inside linebackers coach Derek Nicholson) hits me up, but not as much as the other two," said Hood.
With all the new scholarships Hood is still wide open. Of all the schools that have offered, some are in contact with him more than others.
"I can't say which school does the most, honestly. A few schools reach out to me daily like Louisville, South Carolina, Kentucky, USF, UCF, Texas A&M, Rutgers, WVU, Miami, Minnesota, and others weekly like Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Michigan, and FAU. Some others are active, but maybe not weekly," advised Hood.
The St. Thomas Aquinas star said he grew up a fan of the Florida State Seminoles, but he's wide open and isn't taking an emotional approach to his recruiting process. He had this to say when asked if he had a time table for his commitment announcement:
"Probably far out. Unless on a visit, it's clear, "this is it." That could happen. But I want to be sure since this is a business decision," said Hood.
Dave's Deliberations: Hood blew up in January, and I expect more offers to come his way. I also expect him to jump in the rankings. Multiple sources from different programs have told me they love his upside and that he's a take. Louisville has done well to get him on campus, and the goal for that visit will be to secure one of his five official visits later in the process. I can see Hood taking this one all the way out until signing day.
