Hilton Head football star, top national recruit Jaylen Sneed makes college decision
Jaylen Sneed used the month of June to take all the recruiting visits he needed.
On Monday evening, the Hilton Head Island High School standout and Top 100 national recruit announced his college choice when he picked Notre Dame at a ceremony held at the school. Sneed showed a two-minute video with him wearing Notre Dame clothes at the end of it.
“It made me feel like home when I went there. Their coaching staff is amazing and treated me like I am already there and one of the top players. The recruiting experience was a great experience to go through. I am glad I got to go through it.”
Sneed picked the Fighting Irish over Oregon. The two schools were among his final five with the others being Texas A&M, Tennessee and Oklahoma. But Sneed only took official visits — those paid for by the colleges — to Notre Dame and Oregon. He also took a self-guided tour at Notre Dame in March, before pre-pandemic recruiting restrictions were lifted.
“Their stadium was unbelievable and all the tradition that they showed us,” Sneed said.
Sneed also had a strong relationship with new Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, who was hired in January from Cincinnati. Freeman already offered Sneed when he was at Cincinnati and then Irish got in the mix with an offer in January. Freeman also is good friends with HHI coach BJ Payne from their time in Ohio.
“He was one of the biggest factors in me committing to Notre Dame,” Sneed said of Freeman. “He recruited me every day, and we talked on the phone at least two or three times every week. We still talk a lot. He’s a great coach, and we have a great relationship.”
South Carolina offered Sneed in April 2020, but he never got an offer from Clemson. He plans to enroll at Notre Dame in January.
Rivals ranks Sneed as the 47th best player in the Class of 2022, and the 247Sports Composite has him as the No. 70 overall recruit nationally and No. 2 in South Carolina. He is currently a four-star prospect but could be elevated to five-star status when new rankings come out later this summer.
Sneed had impressive showings at the Rivals and Under Armour Future camps. He was named the MVP of the Rivals 100 camp and earned an invitation to the Rivals Five-Star challenge.
Sneed also has been selected to play in the Under Armour all-star game in January. He is the third linebacker in ESPN Top 300 for the Irish in this recruiting class but is the highest ranked one of the bunch.
‘Extremely violent player’
Payne remembers hearing about and seeing Sneed play during the Gator Youth League. Sneed’s size wasn’t the most impressive thing as a youngster, Payne said — it was the ability to hit as a defender.
“He looked like he was a middle school or high school player when he would hit people,” Payne said. “Extremely violent player. Probably the most violent kid I have seen in high school football, just the way he plays the game with physicality. He is a student of the game. When schools started offering him, he started researching what their defenses were and what their fit was for him as a player.”
Payne praised Sneed’s work ethic and desire. He said Sneed is always working to get better and even spends an extra hour a day at home in his front yard practicing his foot work, one thing the HHI coaching staff told him to work on in the offseason.
“It is never enough. I always want to keep working,” Sneed said.
Sneed was the Seahawks’ JV quarterback as a freshman before he was brought up to varsity midway through the season. He still serves as a wildcat quarterback at times but has played linebacker and defensive end.
Hilton Head Island played only three games last season because of COVID-19. Sneed had 28 tackles, five sacks, nine tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. In three years, Sneed has 136 tackles and 11 sacks.
Payne said Sneed’s skill set is comparable to former Clemson standout and Arizona Cardinal first-round pick Isaiah Simmons because they can play multiple places.
Sneed, who plans to wear No. 3 in college, said he will likely play off the edge and also drop back in coverage.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 7:19 PM.
