Previously: Last year’s profiles. P Tommy Doman Jr. S Rod Moore. CB Ja’Den McBurrows.

Fort Lauderdale, FL – 6’1", 212
[Via his Hudl page]		24/7:           3.75*	3*, 88, #514 overall #55 LB, #72 FL
		Rivals:           4.06*	4*, 5.8, #225 overall #14 ILB, #38 FL
		ESPN:           4.33*	4*, 83, #82 SE, #191 overall #4 ILB, #29 FL
		Composite:           4.09*	4*, .9088, #250 overall #29 LB, #36 FL
		Other Suitors	Miami (YTM), Minnesota
		YMRMFSPA	Josh Ross but Cam McGrone-ish
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post by Ace.
Notes	UA All-American. Teammate of Ja’Den McBurrows.
Film
Senior Year: Wait, sorry. Junior year:

Had Jaydon Hood not transferred to one of the biggest talent factories as a senior, we might never have heard of him. He was a running back as a freshman, transferred to Brendan Gibbons’s small Catholic school in West Palm Beach, and spent much of his 2019 injured. Then came a 115 tackle, 25-TFL junior year season that catapulted Hood to St. Thomas Aquinas—the mega-program. Within days he had offers from Miami (Yes That Miami), FSU, PSU, LSU, Michigan, and, Minnesota. The following week he attended a couple of local junior days, and in came Louisville, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Maryland (George Helow), Virginia Tech, and Bama. Most of those were clearly “offers.”

He went to a few camps and debuted on/shot up the rankings. Then came Covid.

Hood committed to Michigan that May, a “reserve a spot” pledge if there ever was one, because Colson and McLaurin had just come on board, and Hood had never seen the campus. Brian Jean-Mary, Don Brown, and Jim Harbaugh literally flipped (skip to 0:41)…

Michigan lands its second ESPN 300 linebacker in as many days with Jaydon Hood.

His commitment video below includes Michigan coaches Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown doing cartwheels pic.twitter.com/aUuF73Mfm4

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) May 25, 2020

…then spent a year trying to prevent the guy who said “the biggest thing for me was coaching stability” from performing a figurative one. Expected to wait until February, he surprisingly pledged instead in December. He also had a rough start but strong finish to his short Aquinas career, which ended with a 7A state championship on the back of his strong performance.

[After THE JUMP: He is the very model of a modern Don Brown linebacker.]

The Don Brown special. Let’s first define what we mean by a Don Brown Special. His MLBs are often undersized, something between a linebacker and a running back. They are very fast downhill, make quick and decisive decisions, shoot gaps like a rabid varmint, stop people when they tackle out of effort more than so than Newtonian Law, and can shoot sideline to sideline and cover an RB in man.

24/7’s Andrew Ivins is lead scout, and describes a Don Brown special:

Just over 6-foot. Muscles already developed, but room to only get bigger once lifting in a college weight room. Should be able to play around 225 pounds. A high-intensity football player that’s always in chase mode. Quick to diagnose plays and react. Combats blocks well while keeping his eyes in the backfield. A physical striker that likes to runs his feet through contact. Productive at the high school level having totaled 115 tackles as a junior. Adequate in zone coverage, but should be better in space given speed and testing profile. Will need to improve transitions and clean up how he finishes. Has a chance to develop into an impact player for a Power 5 program and could eventually have his name on all-conference lists.

They comp he gives is TJ Brunson, an undersized ball of hate who was described as a “tenacious blitzer” in a mostly negative scouting report from Draft Network. I doubt Ivins is thinking about all that. You only pull out the Brunson for a very specific type of player. He is not a great cover guy, but he picks a spot to get to, takes a few steps, and erases ground quickly.

Industry people often people wonder what position a Don Brown special will play. Is he a too-slow safety (Devin Gil, Jordan Glasgow)? An outside linebacker (Cam McGrone)? Or maybe a running back (Kalel Mullings, Jordan Anthony)? Rivals had Hood ranked as an Athlete for most of the year.

Rivals listed him as an ATH most of the way, but Mike Farrell wasn’t afraid to make the great Doom Squirrel comparison:

The next Devin Bush? That’s a bit heady but Hood is an athletic middle linebacker from Florida who plays like Bush and emulates his game.

They also can pop in high school, especially at lower levels where the ballcarriers move slowly enough to sight them properly before shooting. Rivals’ Austin Fox talked to a coach of one of the small schools that played Cardinal Mooney:

He just looked the part — you can tell when you’re playing against a Power Five kid, as opposed to everyone else. .. Hood was always making plays and around the ball all the time, and just stood out during the game. It seemed like he was at the point of contact every time, and constantly disrupted what we were trying to do.”

Notre Dame’s brief interest—they had their pick of LBs after Marcus Freeman joined—was enough to get a look from one of their 24/7 guys I like, Kevin Sinclair:

Hood doesn’t overwhelm you with size, but he does send bodies flying with his impressive combination of speed and power. … The mike position would likely be a good fit for Hood in the Irish defense. There’s something special about the way he hits, forward movement will cease to exist when he makes contact. There’s a polished look to the way he shoots gaps and takes angles on the quarterback.

Ivins also called him “speedy” in various writeups concerning the Canes’ pursuit. Minnesota 24/7 guy Ryan Burns praised Hood’s “physical playing style and quick instincts.” Another 24/7 writer caught Hood at the USF camp:

He's solid diagnosing offensive plays, finishing tackles and forcing fumbles. Hood can fly sideline-to-sideline tracking the ball carrier.

Touch the Banner, usually our grouch, is probably the most positive of anybody:

I’m just going to dive right into the fact that I love this kid’s film, and I don’t understand how he’s a 3-star to two of the major recruiting sites. The only issue I can see is his size; he’s listed at 6’1″, but if I were guessing based on film, I might say he’s 5’11”. So what? We’ve seen a number of guys at Michigan be successful in recent years, despite less than prototypical linebacker size – Devin Bush, Khaleke Hudson, James Ross III, Jabrill Peppers, etc.

Hood is a wrestler, and he plays like it. I might think he’s 5’11” because he plays so low – whether he’s in his stance, taking on blockers, or making tackles. He’s compact and dangerous.

If Hood were an MMA move, he would be a spinning back fist.

Hood is quick to diagnose plays, and he can run from sideline to sideline. He’s good in coverage, and he has a knack for playmaking, whether it’s forcing turnovers, getting after the passer, or chasing plays down from behind.

Later on TTB agreed the transition to a new defense was a problem at Aquinas and probably will delay Hood here.

Ace offered his thoughts after watching the junior film:

He's quick to read and react, he's willing and able to take on blocks and shed, he takes good pursuit angles, he plays fast, and he brings the wood. When the tape shows enough time before the snap, you often see him making adjustments on the fly for the defense.

Sam Webb gave a comp to Kalel Mullings, another Don Brown special:

Physically, Hood has a college body already. He isn't quite as muscled up as Kalel Mullings at the same stage, but he is about the same size and has similar burst when he identifies a target.

Hood describes himself in pretty standard Don Brown fashion:

"I get to the ball fast, I deliver a violent blow," Hood said. "I have speed sideline-to-sideline and I'm an all-around athlete."

And he also made it clear why he was the Mike and Colson the Viper of the class:

“Junior Colson is extremely fast and physical off the edge,” Hood said. “I’m extremely instinctual and physical and violent in the middle. It’s a good combination to have. I’m excited to play with him.”

He also said he patterns his game off of—yep—Devin Bush.

Evolution of recruiting takes. Until his mid-junior year transfer to Aquinas, Hood was on very few radars. He did not have a rating on 24/7 deep in February 2020. He popped up at a Rivals camp, showed out at the Under Armour Miami camp, and earned an invite to the All-American game, whence ESPN debuted his lofty top-200 ranking that never changed.

Before the season Steve Lorenz said “many believe Hood is Michigan’s most underrated commitment,” that “his film pops,” and pegged Hood as a guy with “the potential to rise” up the rankings with a strong performance on a bigger stage. Brice Marich put Hood down for his sleeper of the class:

He’s a guy that I just think he’s going to be a steal when we look back on this class. People are going to be looking back and saying ‘that is the diamond in the rough. That’s the one guy who’s just going to stand out and be a guy who probably plays over his ranking…He has a lot of ability where you can use him in open space. He’s a guy who has good testing numbers. He’s got a frame you can put more weight on. He’s a multi-sport athlete with track and wrestling.

Hood moved up to the top-300 in May 2020 after he earned an invite to the All-America Game at the UA Miami camp.

But the up-transfer did not start well. He was benched for the second half of Aquinas’s opener, and Miami’s 24/7 guy “left there believing that if Hood didn’t end up at Miami, it wouldn’t necessarily be a crushing blow.” Oof. Sam Webb politically called it a “learning experience,” while Hood seemed to take in in stride:

“I’m blitzing a lot more than I normally do. I’m definitely blitzing a lot, coming off the edge, making pressure. I’m in a lot of man-to-man situations with the slot receiver, so they definitely use me for the physical part of the game and the receiving part. They use me a lot around everywhere, but like I said, it probably wasn’t the best game. I’ve got to come back and do what I do. It’s the first game and I’m not really worried about it. Come back next week, work hard, study film, and show why I’m one of the best. “

Here the rankings from the two sites that re-rank guys diverged. Ivins didn’t discuss Hood again except in a “is he flipping?” context. 24/7’s Miami writer Gaby Urrutia came back around in early December when Aquinas played Venice, about the time the Canes were feeling the most confident:

We watched STA play their season opener earlier this year and Hood did not look comfortable at the linebacker position and told InsideTheU after the game that he was still learning the defense. He seems to be all settled in now because he was a solid tackler that always seemed to be around the action in this win or go home game. I saw some tangible improvement from week one until now, which shouldn’t be a surprise for a defender heading to one of the biggest programs in college football.

If you’re matching timelines to McBurrows this is the game when he covered the tight end going to Maryland. It didn’t change anyone’s minds upstairs. Hood opened as an 88 and finished as one.

Meanwhile Rivals’ national analyst Chad Simmons watched the Florida 7A championship game, describing “a strong linebacker with good instincts” who “was always around the ball.” The Hood section of the video I quoted for McBurrows is the longer.

We call him an athlete—definitely an inside linebacker on the next level. A very instinctive kid. A guy that did a great job reading his keys, dissecting the play. He’s a very physical linebacker, a guy that gets downhill. He looks to punish the ballcarrier. I think both [McBurrows]  of those guys are great leaders. I think Hood can make an impact pretty early.

The full game is on YouTube and would be worthy (hint hint other staff) of a review on its own for both guys.

Hood shot up from a 3-star to the #223 player in the country in their December re-rankings. National analyst Sam Spiegelman didn’t explain why, except that Hood was now finally listed as an inside linebacker.

Can he cover? There is a palpable lack of coverage highlights in the videos. On the tape there isn’t much either—not a lot of teams wanted to throw on Aquinas. In the championship game Edgewater schemed Hood into a matchup with a tight end (lined up at RB) on a wheel. Hood was dead meat if the QB got anywhere close. There’s not enough to tell. He does tend to activate quickly on run action and sit without getting much depth on passes.

Can he beat blocks? This is the main issue I have with his game. Hood is more feisty than strong. He needs a head of steam or good leverage to make his plays. His best move is a one-cut upfield which is very smooth and closes space without losing his path to defend the edge (very McGrone, that). That’s a dodge, though. When Hood meets a releasing lineman and can’t escape, he gets moved. 6’1”/212 is what it is.

Etc. McBurrows is a more recent acquaintance, but Hood is friends with Anthony Solomon, Mike Morris (who looks like he’ll be on the field), and Michael Barrett (whose old coach moved to Hood’s school). He’s academic: Plans to major in engineering, 3.8 GPA, Vandy was an early school of interest. Wrestler (qualified for 3A state meet), benches 350, claims a 4.6 forty and 4.5 shuttle on Hudl page. Ocoee head coach Aaron Sheppard is Hood’s uncle. Grandfather EJ Junior played for Bama. Like McBurrows, Miami may have inadvertently helped Michigan (and in this case Minnesota as well) by emphasizing the fact that they played through Covid when Michigan had shut down. Thanks defeatists.

Hood also made the ninety on this all-timer of a crootin quote:

My family does not believe in committing and decommitting,” he explained. “So if I commit somewhere, nine out of ten it’s going to be the school I’m going to.

Why Josh Ross but Cam McGrone-ish? Hood is right in the middle of the spectrum for RB-like Don Brown Specials. He isn’t Devin Bush. Nor is he quite Devin Bush but tall (Cam McGrone/Kalel Mullings), or Devin Bush but more linebacker-y (Ross), or Devin Bush but thicc (Osman Savage) or Devin Bush but poor man’s (Charles Thomas). Ian Gold, Larry Foote, and Josh’s older brother James fit here too if we want to go back to pre-Brown. Placing Hood next to any one of the guys who ended up long-term starters doesn’t feel correct because he’s kind of equidistant from all of them.

All of the Doom Mammalia covered a lot of ground quickly, bounced around blockers, and got taken for a bit of a ride when they couldn’t. The vibe is Ross because Hood is about the same size, gets low when he tackles, and gives off a similar leadership-y vibe. But all of this applies as much to Hood as Cam McGrone:

Also I had to fit this in because we probably won’t get another opportunity.

Hood is a slightly smaller McGrone with slightly better instincts and more leadership whatnot. McGrone had speed aplenty and the same exact shifty move to get past blockers. He could not be edged. He would shoot gaps like a deranged ferret, but his tackling technique would come and go. He made big plays when his quick work could get him past the blocking scheme, but occasionally shot in the wrong gap or got too aggressive in his gap decisions.

Guru Reliability: Low. As far as I can tell ESPN fired and forgot based on an All-America Game invite. Neither Rivals nor 24/7 were going off of that much information, with the latter’s people saying things like “if he has a big season” before a down-and-up season resulted in no change. Rivals rated Hood a 3-star athlete until the final game of his high school career. Everybody’s guessing.

Variance: High. 24/7 has him 200+ spots away from a fourth star. The other two see a top-250/top-200 guy.

Ceiling: High-minus. This would be high if Brown was still here. I think our friends were predicting him to rise into the McGrone/Kalel Mullings zone (4.25*) before the half a senior season, based on the speed and playmaking in that junior film. He’s fast, but not quite Bush-fast, and is between Bush and McGrone/Mullings in size. That could be a Larry Foote if it all translates to college.

General Excitement Level: Moderate-plus. I am tamping it down not because of the early Aquinas film, but because of fears about him sticking if he doesn't pop through the current depth chart. He’s a two-time high school transfer, a Don Brown type when Macdonald and Helow might have other ideas about the position, he might have been pressured by his Aquinas coach to sign with Michigan when he did, and he has a mom back in Florida who’s already a three-time cancer survivor. Already several guys who fit the Brown mold—Charles Thomas, Osman Savage, McGrone himself—who had good reason to return this year did not.

On the other hand, Hood has close friends on the team, and seems serious about getting his degree, and if Macdonald can’t figure out what to do with a Death Marmot, we ought to hire someone who does.

Projection: There’s are two unclaimed spots on the two-deep right now, and of the candidates the only ones linebacker-shaped enough for MIKE are Nikhai Hill-Green, Kalel Mullings, Jaydon Hood, and his classmates Junior Colson and Tyler McLaurin. None are expected to be ready to play; two of those five will have to. While Colson was on campus in spring and led for the #3 spot, Hood already made half of the transition Colson is going through.

Of those five, only Hood and Mullings, a larger Don Brown Special, are true MIKEs, and Hood’s instincts make him the most Josh Ross-like object on the roster post-Ross, likely 2022. By that point Hood should be up past 225, and it will be up to him to demonstrate in practice how the Doom Squirrels can make zone blitzing just as fun as Brown’s five-man pressures. The bet is one of Hood or Mullings will at least be in the rotation by 2023, and the other will transfer. WILL is an option but that runs into a deeper depth chart that includes the Viper refugees and Hill-Green, who’s probably the backup there this year.

Any mention of Hood this summer and fall should be taken as a strong sign it will be him, but I wouldn’t expect (or want) to hear anything until next spring, and it won’t be ‘late early’ as we say until Barrett has cleared off and the next generation gets sorted out.