4-Star CB Prospect Jaycee Horn Commits to Tennessee over Alabama, Georgia, More

Prized 2018 cornerback recruit Jaycee Horn committed to the University of Tennessee on Thursday. 

Per Ryan Callahan of 247 Sports, Horn announced his commitment to the Volunteers, who beat out other SEC powers like Alabama and South Carolina for his services.

Horn is the No. 23 cornerback and No. 260 player overall in the 2018 recruiting class, per Scout. He's also the 13th-best cornerback in the South region. In his junior year at Alpharetta High School, Horn finished with 29 total tackles and six interceptions, according to MaxPreps.

As his interception total would suggest, the Georgia native is adept in pass coverage, be it zone or man. He has the speed and lateral agility to keep pace with opposing wideouts downfield, and he has the instincts and acceleration to break quickly on a pass when patrolling a certain area of the field.

At 6'0" and 174 pounds, Horn can be overmatched physically at times. SEC Country's Chris Kirschner shared a clip of him going through drills at The Opening in July. He quickly loses a step on his opponent and can't recover:

The problem isn't all that uncommon for blue-chip recruits and should be less and less of an issue for Horn as he fills out his frame.

Aside from his struggles jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage, there's little to dislike about Horn's game, and he could potentially be one of the more overlooked cornerback prospects from this year's class.

Horn's decision comes as a surprise. In June, he limited his remaining finalists to two schools: Alabama and South Carolina. Tennessee looked to be out of the race entirely before gaining steam after a visit in July. 

“Out of the three schools I’m looking at right now, I feel like I can start as a freshman at any of them,” Horn told SEC Country’s Chris Kirschner. “So, now I’m looking at relationships and what coaches I feel more comfortable with.”

The Vols coaching staff presumably put in a lot of extra time to sell Horn on the program and overtake the Crimson Tide and Gamecocks.

All of that work should be worth it. Horn has not only the potential to become one of the best cornerbacks in SEC but also FBS as a whole.