Texas A&M football received their highest-rated recruit of the 2024 class to date with the addition of the 84th-ranked recruit in 2024, Jordan Pride, yesterday afternoon.
Committed ! GigEm🤠👍🏾@Hayesfawcett3 @BlountstownFB1 pic.twitter.com/DT3Ls5oWpX
— JP4❤️🩹 (@JordanPride5) May 9, 2023
After almost two years of being committed to Jimbo Fisher’s former team in Florida State, the top-100 player reopened his recruitment on April 12th. Pride’s interest seemed to have flipped to Florida; however, after a few visits to Texas A&M, the Ags gained a verbal commitment from the number 6 ranked Safety in the nation on May 9th.
Lord I have faith in your plans lead me in the right direction 🙏🏽 @Hayesfawcett3
— JP4❤️🩹 (@JordanPride5) April 13, 2023
JP4❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/0l1pq28ch7
However, this commitment didn’t emerge from simply a month’s worth of recruiting. Pride told 247Sports that he has had a good relationship with Fisher for a long time, and Texas A&M football has been the leader in his recruitment for over a year.
“My relationship with Jimbo, I’ve known him since I was 10,” Pride said in an interview with 247Sports. “That played a factor into it.”
Pride is listed at 6 feet, 2 inches, 175 pounds, and is a player with a wide frame. As a multi-sport athlete, he has great closeout speed, whether pushing for a tackle or deflecting a ball. Despite his large frame, Pride could use more aggression in his game, and he is somewhat skittish in the open field. He prefers the ball carrier to come to him, which could cause some issues in the college atmosphere, but rarely lets the runner get by him in any situation. He has fantastic vision and football IQ and excels at shutting down running lanes. In the spring of 2022, he ran an 11.02 in the 100 meters and has been compared to Texas A&M’s recent NFL draft pick, Antonio Johnson.
In his junior year, Pride mounted a 20 tackle, 2 interception (including a pick six) season, playing varsity snaps at IMG Academy for a few months before transferring back to his original school of Blountstown. He also scored 6 touchdowns on 22 catches and 667 yards. Pride is coming off a knee injury from the basketball season, but is primed for a great 2023 – 2024 season if his injury recovery goes well. There is a very good chance that we could see a large jump in his rating during his senior year.
Pride’s commitment is a huge momentum piece for Texas A&M football, as he is the first player in the top 100 out of the 2024 class. He is a great pick-up before the dead period and can be an encouraging sign for others to join the Aggie class.