Salyer emerges as top performer among talented field at Future 50
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – In a field loaded with talent from top to bottom, it was hard to pick one player as the top standout at Saturday’s Future 50 event. But after a dominating performance and rave reviews from the event’s coaches and fellow competitors, 2018 Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer earned the day’s MVP honors from the Rivals.com national analysts in attendance.
Salyer, a teddy bear off the field but a grizzly bear on it, was dominant in one-on-ones and also flashed impressive athleticism for a player his size during position drills. According to him, it was just another day at the office.
“It was good, we all got some good work in today,” Salyer said. “I don’t feel like anyone dominated but I think we all did good in our own right. I think on both sides of the ball we got good work in today.”
Salyer had several big-time battles, with five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent and four-star Florida State defensive tackle commit Robert Cooper, who was one of the few players to actually win a rep against him. Cooper and Salyer are both from the Atlanta area and said the battles nothing new.
“It’s always good going against Jamaree,” Cooper said. “I got him once and he got me too. That’s what we’re out her for to learn and get better.”
Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell has always been high on Salyer’s potential, but said Saturday’s performance only solidified his status as an elite recruit.
“He was great out there today,” Farrell said. “His initial punch is one of the best I’ve seen and even when the defensive linemen adjust to it he has the feet to hold his ground and still be effective. On Saturday he did it against bigger guys, he did it against quicker guys and it didn’t matter he got the job done.”
The conventional thinking is that Salyer will stay close to home, with schools like Georgia and Clemson being the early leaders. One of his closest friends and former teammate Andrew Thomas is set to sign with the Dawgs in February, but Salyer said he’s not in a rush to end his recruitment just yet.
“I know schools like Clemson and Florida want me to come in January and Georgia wants me to get up again soon,” he said. “I want to get out to the West Coast and expand my options more. I want to see Stanford, go to Michigan and Ohio State and take it across the country. I have pretty good grades and a lot of options and I’m going to take my time.”
While recruiting will start to become a more pressing issue as the calendar moves into 2017, Salyer said he’s most important focus is continuing to improve his game.
“Today definitely tells me I have stuff to work on,” Salyer said. “Nobody’s at their best right now I think I have a high ceiling and I haven’t gotten close to it yet so I’m excited to keep working on getting to it.”