CFB: Jalen Mayfield's Introduction
Jalen Mayfield, an offensive tackle and the No. 4 high school player in Michigan according to 247 Sports, was introduced in front of his family, friends, classmates, and teachers last Wednesday morning, as a U.S. Army All-American. The game, which is played on January 6, 2018, in San Antonio, Texas, elects 100 of the best high school football players in the country to take the field before beginning their collegiate careers.
Mayfield has already committed to the University of Michigan, where he'll play for Jim Harbaugh starting next fall. Following the presentation, I spoke with Jalen for a few minutes about his future endeavors: "That’s always been my dream school to go to," he said. "Growing up in the state, the culture, and the tradition, and they’ve really turned it around."
Mayfield also said he was seriously considering Michigan State and Iowa, which he told me are great programs, but that Michigan was the school he wanted to go to. He received 16 offers from different FBS programs, including Arizona, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Western Michigan, and others. The 6’5 tackle committed to Michigan on May 23, 2017.
I also spoke with Mayfield’s mother for a brief moment, asking about her son's accomplishments and dreams: "It’s been great. He wants to play at the highest level possible," she said when asked about Jalen reaching one of his goals of playing college football. She also noted that she really likes and trusts the coaching staff at Michigan, led by third year head coach Harbaugh.
Even with the loss against Michigan State last Saturday, moving the Wolverines to 4-1 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season, Harbaugh has helped create a shift within the program, going from a 20-18 record from 2012-2014 under Brady Hoke to 24-7 in two seasons since. Harbaugh hopes to continue reaching 10+ wins and growing as a program, and bringing in future NFL Draft picks like Mayfield will make that easier.
Photo Credit: CBS Sports.
