Want to attack every day with the latest UGA football recruiting info? That’s what the Intel brings at least four days a week. There is no need for an intro. We have a report on 5-star Georgia commit Jadon Haselwood to get to.
There are things about Jadon Haselwood to know besides his star rating, how quickly (very) he could earn major playing time and what is going on with (insert school here) this week.
Does he still say “we” while referencing the University of Georgia football program?
Yes. He does.
“I don’t think anything has changed with me and Georgia,” Haselwood said. “I don’t have a reason to change my mind about Georgia. I’ve been seeing a lot of the same stuff out there with these visits. If it ain’t broke with me and Georgia, then why try to fix it or think there’s something out there better?”
I’ve known him for a long time.
It seems to me like he’s a young man that loves the lifestyle prevalent in areas like California and South Florida.
Haselwood has a relentless work ethic. It might be his most special trait.
When we start spoke this week, I threw out a private theory that those trips give him the 105 octane he needs to train the way does.
When the 195-pound senior heard that, he did not turn it into swiss cheese.
“That could be a reason I take all those trips, too,” Haselwood said. “But really I’m just having fun. Before all of this, I didn’t have the opportunity to travel to these places. I can’t afford that every week.”
“You are right. One day I might be living those lifestyles. If I do my part and the (schools) do theirs, then who knows?”
RELATED: Jadon Haselwood took visits this summer to get past a tragedy
Most will not understand the pressures here.
He’s all but off Twitter. The Cedar Grove 5-star also has a heavy case of recruiting fatigue.
“I hate when my phone just be blowing up and everybody texts me,” Haselwood said. “They are all like ‘When are you going to come to check us out’ and ‘When will I be there again’ and ‘I would love to coach you’ all the time. I just see a lot of the same things over and over.”
Haselwood told me back in March he was at the point where he doesn’t even read stories about him now. If he’s tagged in a post, he will give the courtesy of a retweet. But that is usually a blind retweet.
Some coaches and their tactics are wearing on him. Even one of his top schools that he still calls his “backup plans” to UGA.
“Sometimes I feel like a lot of those messages are copied and pasted,” he said. “I know they are. I’m not even going to say they are not. I know that. They send those things to everyone on their recruiting list instead of having a genuine conversation. The schools I do talk to come with a genuine conversation. Not paragraphs.”
“They ask me how I am and actually want to Facetime me and call me. … They take time out of their day to speak to me right then and then they look me in the eye so they know who I am a little bit.”
(Side note: Any recruiter that is using Ctrl-V in their recruitment of the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect will probably not have a long-term future in this trade.)
Before we get ahead of ourselves on Jadon Haselwood
There are necessary disclaimers every time Haselwood’s recruiting comes up:
- Haselwood said when he committed he was always going to take his visits.
- He is the nation’s top receiver. My opinion on that front is he’s better than any recruit we’ve tracked at that position in the last five years. At least. (He’s the highest-rated receiver on the 247Sports composite since both Dorial Green-Beckham and Stefon Diggs in 2012.)
- The nation’s No. 1 WR for 2019 has the promise of being the best receiver the Bulldogs have signed since A.J. Green in 2008. I do not say that lightly.
- Holding onto a commitment for a player like this SHOULD be difficult. Haselwood silently committed in early 2017. It was a few weeks before he would go public, but he was ready at least a month earlier than that March day in 2017.
The UGA fan base will fret over these trips because Haselwood holds the promise of something the program still has not signed. The Bulldogs have recruited as well as any program in the nation the last 24 months, but they haven’t brought in a receiver like this guy yet.
There aren’t that many Haselwoods on that roster. Or anywhere else in college football.
“I saw the jerseys and the new locker room on social media over the weekend,” he said. “I saw the jerseys light up in the background with their number and name on it. It was hard. Definitely something new. It reminded me of Texas a bit.”
Georgia would need to make a wrong move for a flip window to open up here.
“Really both is what it will take,” Haselwood said. “Georgia might have to mess up and not be honest with me about something. But it will take another school as well. If another school does take things to another level in the way I see them, then that will open my eyes.”
He trusts Georgia. That connection has been building for almost two years now.
“Georgia would have to mess up in some way and have me thinking ‘Dang, this is where I wanted to go’ and then another school will have to take things to a whole new level for that to happen with me.”
Jadon Haselwood still touts UGA
Haselwood was surprised to see John Emery Jr. commit to Georgia. At least this early.
“When I was in his ear at the Opening, he was acting like he wasn’t feeling it,” he said. “When I was in his ear, he would smirk a little bit so I didn’t even really know.”
But he knew coach Dell McGee was recruiting him to Athens.
“If he wants you, then he is going to get you for Georgia,” Haselwood said. “He is just that good.”
The nation’s No. 3 overall prospect (per the 247Sports composite) would like to see Georgia add 5-star RB Trey Sanders to the class. He likes Sanders.
Those two are basically the same guy.
It is now time for Jadon Haselwood for focus on his Cedar Grove Saints. There is a jamboree next week with perennial power Tucker.
Haselwood will play receiver, safety and even cornerback this fall.
His Saints travel like a Double-A baseball team. They will play in Charleston and Birmingham this month. They will even be on ESPNU.
Haselwood is on the road a lot on his own, too. What keeps him committed to Georgia?
“Georgia has got some great guys on the coaching staff,” he said. “I feel like nobody there would leave or take another job. [Georgia assistant coach James] Coley had a chance to leave but he stayed even though he’s coaching quarterbacks now. Coach [Cortez] Hankton is coaching receivers now. He’s a solid dude.”
“I feel like he can develop me into a great college receiver. I sat in that meeting room with the receivers there and I just like the vibe that everything is giving off there.”
The formula for polishing off this solid commitment on Dec. 20 remains the same.
- Make more plays than before this fall in the passing game
- The team maintains its current status in college football
- It doesn’t matter who stars at QB but he’d like to see what friend Justin Fields can do
- Did we mention he’d like to see the Bulldogs throw it more in 2018?
Haselwood has emotion invested in the program. He ran outside screaming when Georgia blocked that overtime kick in the Rose Bowl. The Bulldogs had yet to put the game away, but he knew they would.
Look for the Bulldogs to open things up in the passing game more in 2018. That should happen with the progressions being made by sophomore Jake Fromm and his receivers.
It isn’t easy being Jadon Haselwood these days
This is a DawgNation blog. No fooling anyone there. So the simple matter here for John and Jane Bulldog will be to sift through all these paragraphs to find out the good things he still has to say.
Of that, there are still very many.
But we’ll never call that specific slant route. The offering will be the entire stream of consciousness from Haselwood on all the schools.
Haselwood told DawgNation he still views options like Auburn, Miami (Fla.) and Oklahoma as “backup plans.” That is still what he has in mind. He appreciates how the Georgia coaches handle his travels.
“The coaches do a good job of staying off my back about going places,” he said. “They already know I am going to do what I want. If it is coaching for me, I am going to listen. But if it is something I should do off the field, then I am going to do it.”
“That’s just my personality and I am stubborn.”
How did he feel about Demetris Robertson choosing UGA?
“With D-Rob coming in, that’s just more help for everybody,” Haselwood said. “He’s supposed to be a decent receiver and I hadn’t seen too much about him until that situation went down. I looked at his highlights and stuff from Cal, he was a baller.”
I’m not sure they will ever play together at Georgia, but he doesn’t mind having another NFL-bound weapon on the depth chart. He’s smart. He knows that means for chances for single coverage his way.
Haselwood didn’t know too much about the new receiver commitment. He needed to get up to speed this week on 4-star ATH Makiya Tongue and how he will fit into the offense.
Dominick Blaylock — Georgia’s other 5-star WR commit — impressed him at The Nike Opening finals.
“I had never seen him play before,” Haselwood said. “But I was surprised. He has some great ability, great hands and he has got some good routes.”
He was on the same 7-on-7 squad with Blaylock and UGA tight end commit Ryland Goede at that event, too.
“I looked at it like that could definitely be the future of Georgia football passing the ball,” Haselwood said. “We could definitely beat up on some guys. That could be special at Georgia.”
Alabama was his first SEC offer. Georgia was right behind there. Haselwood knows which schools were down in the beginning when he was younger, too.
Loyalty matters to him, too.
“Georgia has been there a long time,” he said. “I think Miami has been there for a while now, too.”
Jadon Haselwood and that recent Miami trip
Several members of his family joined him in Miami this past weekend for “Paradise” camp. That included his mother, his aunt and his stepfather.
“My cousins even came,” Haselwood said. “But they drove. It was a 10-hour drive.”
What did he see there?
“I saw the offense A.J. Green played in,” he said. “Miami showed me how I would be used. They run a pro-style offense. The campus is nice. The dorms aren’t that nice but they are building some. You can see that in action so I know they are not lying.”
“The players show a lot of love to me. (Receiver) Mike Hartley showed a lot of love to me. Jarren [Williams] was the quarterback who just signed there. He showed me some love. We threw in the morning. Just to get some work in.”
Haselwood even flashed up his half of the Miami “U” with Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin.
When he’s on a visit, he wonders if that a school can get him where he wants to go.
“That’s part of it but they are not going to be the only reason to get me there,” he said. “I’m going to have to get myself there, too. It will be all really on me. I try not to put all that pressure on them. If their system puts people in the league, then I am going to follow their system.”
“I try to do what’s right and make plays and Lord willing I make it.”
He’s going to jump off that springboard these schools offer. As hard as he can. But that school needs to be able to launch him to where he wants to go.
He did say he comfortable with Williams. He is tight with Georgia freshman Justin Fields as someone that can play a large part in his collegiate career and maybe even dozens of touchdowns receptions.
Williams can get him there as well.
“I feel I click with both of them now,” Haselwood said. “When I threw with Jarren, he was throwing it right. We didn’t have any bad chemistry with that. He was hitting me up before I went down there to Paradise Camp actually. But I think he didn’t even know I was coming, though. He’s a cool dude, though.”
But he will compare it to what he has seen at Georgia.
“I still do not think a school has shown me anything better than Georgia,” he said. “Aside from maybe Miami and that pro-style offense they ran for A.J. Green when he was at Georgia.”
The commutes around Miami are a concern. He realizes everything in South Florida is about 45 minutes away from everywhere else.
“The stadium from the school is like 45 minutes to an hour away,” he said. “You don’t want to be on a bus for 45 minutes after a game. Especially after a win.”
Jadon Haselwood’s official visit plan
Miami will get an official visit. Definitely. He’s already taken one to Oklahoma.
Georgia, of course, will get one as well. It will not matter how many games he will be at this fall or how many trips he has taken or will take to Athens.
“Auburn will probably get one,” Haselwood said. “Georgia will definitely get one.”
FSU is another school that could get the final official.
“Probably FSU,” he said. “I really don’t even know yet.”
Auburn. FSU. Miami. Oklahoma. He said that could not determine which one of those schools is the strongest contender right now to the Bulldogs.
“Those are just my backup plans,” Haselwood said. “I will say that. I still talk to those coaches at those schools. Those are the only ones I talk to. Just so I can keep my phone from blowing up.”
Nolan Smith has a specific role in the 2019 Georgia recruiting class. So does Haselwood.
“Nolan and I are still trying to put this thing together,” he said. “Nolan will do it all the time publicly. But I will do it on the back end. I will come in and text them privately. Just to make sure they are really feeling it. If they are not feeling it at Georgia, then I am not going to text them to change their mind. I am not going to pressure anyone because I don’t want them to pressure me about my choices.
“But I will ask them ‘Are you really messing with us’ and if it is ‘Yeah’ then I will check on them and see if they really know what they see. I will see if they really mean what they say about coming to play with us.”
He also knows Tyrique Stevenson in South Florida, too. That’s a defensive back he would like to have as a teammate in the class of 2019.
“That’s my guy, too,” Haselwood said. “He’s from Miami. I don’t really be recruiting him like that because I think he is already messing with us. He might come. But I don’t know for sure, though. But he will be there a lot. He’s there (visiting Georgia) a lot. I don’t really see him nowhere else now but Georgia.”
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