One of the headliners of Alexandria’s loaded 2027 class is finalizing his slate of official visits, which is loaded with Power-Four destinations.
Defensive lineman Jaden Bayonne has locked in trips for three of the first four weekends this summer to TCU on May 29-31, to Arkansas on June 5-7 and to Mississippi State on June 19-21.
He took at unofficial visit to Syracuse this past week and will take another to Vanderbilt on Friday before deciding whether to lock in an official to either the Orange or the Commodores the weekend of June 12-14.
Auburn and Colorado have also extended offers during the past week and could become a factor between now and summer.
“Everything going good,” he said. “I like it. The recruiting process is going good. I feel like I’m blessed, so I don’t ever take any of it as being hard, but I am starting to narrow down my list of schools. I’m going to Vanderbilt on Friday and after that will really start to narrow it down.”
This week will mark Bayonne’s first trip to Nashville and he said the experience should help him weigh whether to prioritize a second trip there or to Syracuse.
“I haven’t been to Vanderbilt, so I’m really trying to get to know ’em for real,” he said. “We’ve talked many of times on the phone, though. We stay on the phone a lot, but really still trying to build that relationship with them, so that’s really why I’m trying to get down there and see more of what they’re all about.”
The 6-foot-5, 280-pound versatile lineman said unofficial visits have been helpful thus far in narrowing his list of nearly 40 offers down to the handful to focus more heavily on this summer.
He left his recent trip to Syracuse, for instance, impressed.
“I really enjoyed myself being around the staff and the players,” he said. “I liked how they moved around in practice. Their program is very, very good. I liked every about them, to be honest. They play hard. You know, they’re getting better this year. They’ve got new people coming in, so they’re really rebuilding. And I feel like I’d have a good opportunity of going over there and playing early with them rebuilding.”
Bayonne said a path to early playing time is among the major factors as he weighs his options — not necessarily a guarantee, but an opportunity.
He also pointed to coaches and schemes and ultimately which program feels like the right fit.
“Things I’m looking at for real: Does it feel like home?” he said. “Am I going to be able to go in and get some reps and play as a freshman and try to develop myself? The defense they run, the schemes they run, the coaching styles and stuff, and really just if I fall in love with it. When you know, you know where you wanna go.”
TCU, Arkansas and Mississippi State appear to have made major strides in that regard.
The Horned Frogs have, in addition to a good connection with the coaching staff, the benefit of a proven track record with another former Alexandria star: safety Ja’darius “Bud” Clark, who recently completed his sixth season in Fort Worth because of a COVID season in 2020 and injury-shortened 2021.
“I feel like there was a reason why he stayed for that many years, so me seeing that, I said, ‘Man, that might be a place I want to go one day to play when I’m in college,” said Bayonne, who played with Clark’s younger brother, Marquis “Moogie” Butler. “And really (defensive line) coach JaMarkus (McFarland), I like how JaMarkus came down and visited me, and we had a really good home visit. He came down and checked me out, and we talked for a long time, almost an hour straight, and then ate some food and stuff like that. And we’ve got a good relationship, always on the phone and chatting it up.”
Aside from the Clark connection, Bayonne had similar sentiments about Arkansas, centered around his relationship with defensive line coach Landius Wilkerson, who was recruiting him before even arriving to Fayetteville this spring.
“Pretty much the same thing with Arkansas,” Bayonne said. “I’ve been talking to coach Wilkerson since he was at Tulane, so I’ve really been getting recruited by him, so when I found out coach Wilkerson was going to Arkansas, that really gave it a good push for me getting down there and trying to see what they were all about.”
Bayonne’s perspective on Mississippi State echoed some of his other top schools with his comfort with his relationships with the staff, his appreciation of their practice approach and energy and his sense of a potential path to early playing time.
“They’re kinda rebuilding, so I’ve got a good chance of going there and playing,” he said. “And when (defensive line) coach (Ty) Warren got there, we’ve been talking ever since he got there, and that was a couple months back. So I’ve been building my relationship with him for a while.
“And I like Mississippi State. I went up there to their spring practice. Their spring practice was lit. I loved all their one-on-ones and all their team stuff, inside. It was great. Then talking with (head) coach (Jeff) Lebby, yeah, it was good.”
Auburn and Colorado have been the latest programs to enter the mix with assistant defensive line coach Larry Scott III and director of player personnel Darius Darden-Box reaching out for the Tigers and Buffaloes, respectively.
Bayonne is still getting a feel for those new relationships and what those opportunities may have to offer, but they do represent some clear new intrigue.
And while his continued emergence as one of the most highly recruited prospects in the class provides plenty of reason to be excited, he said he
“To be real, it’s not even being more confident,” Bayonne said. “It’s just what my coach, Coach B says — (head coach Thomas) Bachman says, ‘Keep stacking days,’ and I feel like that helps me a lot, just going up every day and getting better and working at things I can get better at.”