Strong connections deliver four-star OL Jalen St. John to Arkansas
The coaching carousel had a major impact on the recruitment of St. Louis (Mo.) Trinity Catholic offensive guard Jalen St. John. The four-star de-committed from Missouri in December after the Tigers fired their head coach. On Wednesday, he announced a commitment to Arkansas and its new head coach, Sam Pittman.
RELATED: Arkansas' 2020 recruiting class
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the immediate aftermath of his de-commitment from Missouri on Dec. 1, St. John started courting interest from programs like Auburn, Arizona State, Indiana, Penn State and Tennessee. He had made the decision at that time to bypass the Early Signing Period and take his recruitment into January. In the end, though, St. John would only end up taking one official visit and that went to Arkansas the weekend of Jan. 17. He had an official visit planned with Florida State this past weekend, but the Seminoles took a commitment from another offensive lineman a few days prior and that visit was cancelled. Heading into the week St. John said the decision was down to Arkansas and Missouri. He had several opportunities to visit Missouri after the Tigers hired Eliah Drinkwitz, but never did make the short trip over to Columbia after the coaching change., which left little doubt that Arkansas would be the choice on Signing Day.
IN HIS WORDS
“Coach Pittman was recruiting me when he was at Georgia and we had a great relationship while he was at Georgia. Coach Pittman is a real laid-back coach. He has his moments when he is fun and he has his moments when he is serious. I trust him and Coach (Brad) Davis can develop me to the best I can be.
“I feel like they are going to be on the come up. The fans, they are crazy, and it’s all love. When I was walking down the street on my official visit I was signing autographs. They all knew me already.”
RIVALS’ REACTION
The previous relationship with Arkansas’ new head coach was important, but even more crucial to the Razorbacks’ recruitment of St. John was bringing in Barry Odom, the head coach he had committed to at Missouri, as well as Davis, the line coach he had expected to play for at Missouri. A coaching staff made up of multiple individuals whom St, John had longstanding relationships with gave Arkansas a huge advantage. Even if he would have taken an official visit to Florida State it would have been hard for the Seminoles to overcome the Arkansas connections, and maybe that is why they took another lineman before he was expected to visit.
From a scouting perspective, St. John has the tools to be a standout interior lineman in the SEC. A big-bodied, barrel-chested young man, St. John’s best attribute is his raw strength and that may allow him to contribute early in his career as a Razorback. Despite being 320 pounds, St. John plays fairly light on his feet, as evidenced by the fact that he lined up at left tackle for his Trinity Catholic team. He won MVP over a deep group of offensive linemen at the Rivals Camp in St. Louis last spring, showing what we have seen from him throughout our evaluations, and that is once St. John gets his hands on a defender, it is ball game over.