In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a versatile WR with speed, polish, and skill: Plantation (FL) WR Jacolby George.

Bio

One of the first players Miami targeted to continue to build the WR corps in the 2021 recruiting class was Plantation (FL) standout Jacolby George. A 5’11” 161lb receiver, George started to step into the spotlight for the Colonels as a HS sophomore. From there, George continued to grow in his role as star player, routinely eclipsing 100 yards, totaled nearly 1200 yards and 15 touchdowns of total offense, and earning 1st team All-County honors.

George’s connection to Miami grew quickly. In the summer of 2019, George camped at Miami, earned a scholarship offer, and committed to the Canes all in the span of 16 days. It was clear then that Miami thought they had found a diamond in the rough, a superstar before he was a household name, and they moved quickly to secure his commitment.

And, after that commitment, things were well and good between Miami and George for a while.

Then the 2019 football season happened.

With Miami struggling on offense, and following one of the most embarrassing losses in the storied history of the Canes program — a first-ever loss to FIU in a game played on the site where the iconic Orange Bowl once stood (present day Marlins Park) — George decommitted from Miami on November 24th.

In the aftermath of his decommitment from Miami, George was a hot commodity on the recruiting trail. With a boatload of offers already to his credit, teams all over the country circled back on a player they’d written off who was now back on the market.

Luckily for Miami, Manny Diaz brought in a new OC (Rhett Lashlee) and WR coach (Rob Likens) and they worked immediately to get George back in the class. It took a couple of months, but in the end, the changes and renewed recruitment worked out, and George re-committed to Miami on June 3rd.

Recruiting Ranking

On the 247sports composite, George is a 4-star prospect, the #28 WR nationally in this class, #24 in the State of Florida, and #169 recruit overall.

George committed to Miami over Georgia Tech and Penn State from a list of 11 offers from around the country.

As a Player

Miami is clearly looking to add dynamic playmaking ability in this receiver class. George is a player who fits that bill perfectly. Though he’s not the biggest player ever, George has good size at 5’11”. Add to that the fact that he has long arms, and he has the ability to extend outside of his frame for catches.

Whereas the other WR commits in this class profile at mainly one position (inside or outside), George has shown the ability to do both. George is a big play waiting to happen with his combination of route running skills and straight-line speed. He’s not the fastest player in the world, but he’s routinely been seen running away from defenders playing high level HSFB. That has to count for something.

While George has shown an ability to make plays, an area he can develop is physically. He’s very lithely built and quite thin. To be able to compete comfortably, and remain healthy, at the college level, he’ll need to add muscle and strength to his 161lb frame.

Also, despite him being a walking big play at the HS level, George isn’t the fastest player around. Could he unlock a 6th gear in college with speed training and improved physical development? Sure. But, unless/until that happens, he’ll likely be caught from behind on longer plays in college.

Here’s another evaluation of George by 247sports Southeast Recruiting Analyst Andrew Ivins:

Slender build with hardly any muscle developed. A true big-play threat that has worked on the inside and outside. Crafty route runner that could make a living selling his fakes. Has a knack for making difficult catches look relatively easy. Poses a larger catch radius than his frame would suggest as he’s able to twist and turn his body. Elusive in the open field, but must improve core strength in hopes of breaking more tackles. Additional weight would also make it easier to defeat press coverage. Speed doesn’t seem to be an issue, but could find an extra gear. One of the main reasons why his school made the second round of the state playoffs as a junior. Production only increased as a senior with multi-touchdown game after multi-touchdown game. A versatile wide receiver that should become a multi-year contributor for a Power 5 program once body matures.

Strengths

• Big play ability
• Natural pass catcher
• Ability to make highlight catches look easy
• Track record of productivity

Weaknesses

• Physical development
• Blocking
• Lack of elite top end speed

Miami Outlook

Note: changing this up from just a freshman-season outlook to a career outlook for each player.

George does a lot of things well, and with nearly 1900 yards of offense as a HS sophomore and junior, there’s plenty of proof to that point. George continued his strong play as a senior, and that bodes well for his future at Miami.

Due to his lithe frame at this point of development, George will probably need a year or two before becoming a main rotation player in the Canes’ WR corps. But that’s fine. Some players dominate from day one, others take a moment to get settled and up to where they need to be academically or, as is the case with George, physically before being major players on the roster.

While it may take until year 2 or 3 for George to become a go-to player for Miami, he should be a valued member of the offense moving forward. The ceiling for George is probably honorable mention or 2nd team All-Conference, but if things come together for him, he could exceed that if he continues to be the standout player he’s been at the HS level.

Overall, George should be a good 4 or 5 year program player who flashes elite talent and works his way into a starting role after a couple years of apprenticeship. But don’t take that as a slight. He’s a darn good player and there have been plenty of other players who have followed that same path of progression who have been very good at this level, and moved on to the next level, as well.

That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.

Go Canes