Jackson State wins arms race with Georgia for No. 1 JUCO defensive back De’Jahn Warren

Updated: Dec. 16, 2020, 2:41 p.m.

Deion Sanders continues to add to his war chest of recruits in his first offseason as head coach.

On National Signing Day, the first-year Jackson State head coach was able to land coveted four-star prospect De’Jahn Warren, who had previously committed to Georgia.

Warren is currently the No. 1 defensive back recruit in the 2021 class among his Junior College peers and the No. 2 overall JUCO recruit in the country.

 

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Warren, who played at Lackawanna C.C. in Maryland, also had offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State and Oklahoma.

The commitment is another in an impressive haul of recruits the program has secured since Sanders was named head coach in September.

Late Sunday, the program received a commitment from Missouri transfer Aubrey Miller. Then Jackson State also acquired former USC linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain, who committed to the Tigers ahead of Miller.

In late November, JSU also received a verbal commitment from Missouri offensive lineman Dylan Spencer.

JSU has also received commitments from former Florida State athlete Isaiah Bolden, Tennessee linebacker Nyles Gaddy and Mississippi State defensive back Javarrious Selmons.

The wave of high-profile incoming recruits JSU has attained so far has already drawn national attention.

Andrew Ivins, a recruiting expert for 247Sports, explained that the arrival of Sanders, and his aggressiveness on the trail so far, has historically been far from the norm for black college football programs.

“No HBCU has really built a class like this,” Ivins told HBCU Sports Wednesday. “Deion is out-recruiting programs like Tulsa, South Alabama, Middle Tennesee State and Western Kentucky.”

To quantify how good the Tigers’ current recruiting class is, 247Sports has ranked it the 122nd best class in the country to date. While that number might seem relatively low, Ivins said its website rankings include all FBS and FCS schools. So Jackson State currently being positioned close to the top 100 speaks volumes to the program’s success.

“He’s (Sanders) getting some headliners. He’s getting some star players,” said Ivins, who mentioned that Sanders made good use of the transfer portal to secure interest and eventually commitments. “What Coach Prime is doing there and has built there, is really attractive in 2020.”