Tim Jernigan Down To Three Schools: Does Alabama, Florida State or LSU Lead?
With no coaching staff at Michigan at the moment, Colombia's (FL) Tim Jernigan has narrowed his final three choices to Alabama, FSU and LSU.
Jernigan is as talented a defensive line prospect as there is in the country. He has the tools to battle in the defensive trenches as soon as he steps on campus for whichever program he signs with.
Let's take a look and figure out who's in the lead to get that letter of intent signature.
Jernigan's Strengths
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Jernigan may be the most athletic defensive tackle in this year's class. His initial quickness is remarkable and allows him to explode at the snap to get a jump on offensive linemen. He is very quick to get skinny and shoot gaps.
He also possesses great speed and agility to chase ball carriers backside and in pursuit against the run. He's a very athletic pass rusher and he could also be in line to kick out to the strong side perimeter at the end in college.
Jernigan has all the prototypical tools to be a swing defensive lineman in college.
Jernigan's Weaknesses
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Jernigan may be a bit light at around 270 pounds, and he will need to add strength to anchor against the run if he's to hold up inside at the collegiate level.
He will lose leverage and play with a high pad level at times, which allows offensive linemen to get into his body.
He also will need seasoning and refinement in his technique, as he has usually been flat out more athletic and quicker than his opponents in high school. This will not be the case at the school he signs with.
Finalist No. 1: Alabama
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In a recent interview with Rivals.com, Jernigan stated: "I went to Alabama for the Florida game and that was great. I loved the atmosphere there. It was totally different than what I thought it would be."
Jernigan has the Tide in his final top three and will likely make an official visit to Tuscaloosa this month so he can have a chat with Nick Saban about how he could be used in Alabama's 3-4 defensive scheme.
Saban and co. will surely unveil some pretty unique and effective ways to use Jernigan on the grease board.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Finalist No. 2: LSU
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Jernigan visited the Bayou in early November and was rumored to have come back home from the trek very excited.
Mesmerized by the electric atmosphere of a Tiger home game, LSU has established themselves as a major player for Jenrigan's services and will stay on him all the way to signing day.
Could Jernigan become LSU's next Tyson Jackson?
Finalist No. 3: Florida State
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Currently being recruited extremely hard by Jimbo Fisher and Odell Haggins, Florida State finds itself right in the thick of the Jernigan sweepstakes.
An interesting wrinkle is that Jernigan is an admitted Florida Gators fan, yet he feels better about playing for Florida State. Staying home and distance will play a factor in Jenrigan's decision and FSU's oncoming resurgence is a very attractive option.
A childhood Gator fan to wind up in Tallahassee? Seems just crazy enough to happen in this day and age of recruiting.
And the Winner Will Be...?
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During the Army game practices, players get together and discuss recruiting options, visits and playing together. Thus these players become great sources for information.
According to many of the players who spoke recruiting with Jernigan, the sense was that he was leaning toward singing with LSU.
Yet, as always with the world of recruiting, things change and this three team race will not be finished until signing day.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
