Cornerback is arguably the most important position for Tennessee in the 2019 recruiting cycle. The Vols need help as soon as possible at the position, and UT’s coaching staff has sent out a ton of offers to corners in this class. And this weekend, they’ll be hosting a four-star cornerback for the second time in as many months.
Jaydon Hill is an athletic cornerback from Madison, Alabama. And he confirmed to Rivals that he plans on visiting the Vols this weekend just a month and a half after coming to campus for the Orange & White Game.
“I’m still wide open,” Hill said in the interview. “I have an idea of some top schools right now, but I have a lot more visits planned throughout the summer. I plan on getting to Tennessee this weekend to visit, then I will be back up on the 23rd to camp with coach (Terry) Fair.”
Hill is rated as the No. 295 overall player and the 26th-ranked cornerback in the 2019 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The regular 247Sports rankings like him more than the composite rankings, though. He’s the No. 134 overall player and No. 13 corner in the 2019 cycle per the normal 247Sports rankings.
Regardless of his ranking, Hill is viewed as one of the better corners in the 2019 cycle. He holds offers from Michigan, Texas A&M, TCU, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Duke, and many others. Alabama and Clemson have expressed interest in him too, and he’s unofficially visited both in the past.
Just a few days after he visited Tennessee for the Orange & White Game, he named the Vols as one of his top two teams at the moment in his recruitment. It seems as though he’s backed off that now and is showing interest in more schools, but the Vols still figure prominently into his recruitment.
Hill’s speed immediately stands out on his highlight film. He’s extremely quick and can cover a lot of ground in an instant. As a corner, he plays some solid zone coverage and is pretty good in man-to-man coverage too. His film doesn’t show him playing a lot of press coverage, so that might be something he needs to improve on. But he has some very good ball skills and awareness, and he’s not afraid to be physical down the field with receivers. He can also hit pretty hard.
Hill’s visit this weekend will focus more on relationship building rather than purely on football. And he told Rivals that his decision on where to go to school will be based on more than just football and a team’s depth chart.
“It’s going to be a gut feel thing,” Hill stated. “Depth chart is a factor, but at the end when it’s time to make a decision it’s really going to be where my heart and gut is with everything.”
Hill wants to make his decision before his senior year starts, so expect to see him make an announcement either sometime in late July or in the first half of August. If the Vols can keep the momentum they have with him now and build a strong relationship with him, they’ll likely still be in the running and be right near the top whenever Hill decides to make his choice.
