Previously: Last year's profiles. S Makari Paige, S RJ Moten, S Jordan Morant, CB Andre Seldon, CB Darion Green-Warren, CB Eamonn Dennis, VP William "Apache" Mohan, LB Nikhai Hill-Green, LB Kalel Mullings, LB Cornell Wheeler, LB Osman Savage, DE Aaron Lewis.

Tampa, FL – 6'4", 235
		24/7	3*, 88 rating #23 WDE, #61 FL
		Rivals	3*, 5.7 rating #31 OLB, #70 FL
		ESPN	4*, #171 overall #6 ILB, #27 FL
		Composite	4*, #292 overall #14 WDE, #49 FL
		Other Suitors	FSU, Miami, PSU
		YMRMFSPA	Mario Ojemudia
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Ace.
Notes	Twitter.
Film
Career highlights:

Michigan had all but finished their recruiting class over the summer, and then Jaylen Harrell showed up on campus a couple times and committed. A little odd for a guy from Tampa who didn't have an existing connection to a team thousands of miles away from home.

But FSU was in chaos and Miami is Miami and a lot of schools didn't seem to know what to make of Harrell after he started out as an inside linebacker and grew into more of a weakside end. Harrell on what FSU was thinking before they fired Willie Taggart before his second year in charge came to a close:

"FSU likes me at outside linebacker, but also off the edge -- kind of the way they used Brian Burns in the defense. A 'Buck' linebacker type."

Michigan was of interest, possibly because they were deploying one of the country's most fearsome tweeners, and per Steve Lorenz Harrell "sorta fell into their lap" like Anthony Solomon.

[After the JUMP: eyeing the inevitable Uche comparison]

Michigan has a spot for a guy who's not quite a linebacker and not quite a DE. You can call it SAM but I think we're fated to reference that spot's most recent occupant for the duration of the Don Brown era. Steve Lorenz demonstrates:

Four-star Jaylen Harrell is listed as a defensive end in our database. He is an 'Uche' for the staff.

Uche was a nobody recruit, ranked inside the top 100 kids in Florida by one of the then four recruiting sites, despite a committable Florida offer. Despite that his scouting was speckled with exclamation points like "incredibly quick with his first step" and "will bend and turn the corner with an explosive burst"; he was one of two players I selected as Sleeper of the Year. (The other was Eddie McDoom, which looked like a great call when McDoom had the ball in his hands and a terrible one when it came to the whole getting-the-ball-in-his-hands thing.)

There are some similarities in Harrell's scouting and story. He did no camps because his high school forbade them, which might be a reason he fell over the course of the recruiting cycle. Rivals's Rob Cassidy offers a scouting report that is fairly Uchean:

“I love the way he closes and the way he covers … He’ll have to get a little quicker when it comes to moving laterally … pretty explosive off the line … no doubt he can grow into a defensive end … off-the-charts upside because of [his] length and athleticism. … they could use him as a third down rush d-end … wouldn’t surprise me if he [made] us look stupid as a senior for not ranking him higher.”

And his coach plays up his down-to-down effort:

“…great football mentality… wants to make every play and every tackle. … has that ‘want to’ to be special. … fierce competitor…  relentless urge to dominate every play. He’s high motor. … tremendous work ethic.”

In another article he praised Harrell because he "closes on the ball so quickly and has a great first step."

But this isn't the same story. Uche shot up to 12 sacks as a senior; Harrell had five as a junior and three as a senior. Some of that is Harrell's role, which remained linebackerish the whole way. The quotes top out at "eh pretty good" and do not paint a picture of a guy with one indisputably elite skill. Touch The Banner:

"… true weakside end … good straight-line quickness, a plus get-off, and the ability to dip and rip coming around the corner. … lacks elite change-of-direction … not quite [an] open-space terror. … good length and power. … will have to work on his technique and recognition … good prospect in the mold of a Tim Jamison."

Harry Hillman's scouting at MGoFish is pretty skeptical, with a Lawrence Marshall comparison:

… tweener of an edge prospect … quite a bit of projection required … Physically he’s very impressive. … absolutely explodes his hips upon collision.… takes long strides and makes up ground quickly. …. works his ass off …. plays through every whistle and finishes his tackles. … [hasn't] developed more than a pass rush move or two … [needs] help with shedding blocks, when blockers stay square and take away his push/pull technique, he seems lost

Marshall was an athlete WDE prospect who required a lot of projection and never really worked out. He got shoved inside. From that point on any contributions were a bonus.

A couple of biographical notes are encouraging. Harrell's dad James played in the NFL and USFL for about a decade, even surviving long-term contact with the Detroit Lions. James has been Plant High School's DC since 2013 and has acted as a supplementary coach:

"(He coaches me) every day. I send him practice film, game film," Jaylen said. "We talk about it, go over it. It's good having that knowledge, that background."

Harrell started as a 190-pound freshman linebacker, so while he doesn't quite have Cornell Wheeler's insane tackle numbers he's been on the field a lot. Early takes from his MLB days seem to bode well for Harrell's ability to grasp and execute whatever's put on his plate:

“…. plays like a true inside linebacker in that he is in command of his defense, is efficient in traffic, plays downhill and can finish with power. … mature beyond his years both physically and mentally.”

Also I enjoyed it when he called his official visit "magnificent." Not sure I've ever seen that before. Has a certain monocle aspect to it. Very Michigan Man.

Etc.: Incredibly, there is another 2020 composite four star from Florida with a near-identical name: Miami safety signee Jalen Harrell.

Why Mario Ojemudia? DE/OLB type who had to significantly beef to end up a college weakside end. In Ojemudia's case he was moving positions from a 210-pound defensive tackle(!). He ended up a 255-pound "buck" in DJ Durkin's defense and was on the verge of a breakout senior season—on pace for 16 TFLs and 5 sacks with excellent play in space—when he went down with an injury.

If people end up comparing Harrell to Uche that means Harrell's maxed out his ability, because he's significantly bigger. TTB's Tim Jamison comparison is solid, and if Harrell doesn't hit his career could well look like Lawrence Marshall. If Harrell gets slid inside to DT that's a bad sign.

Guru Reliability: Moderate? Harrell was a top 50 recruit in the earliest rankings and gradually slid as other kids caught up to him or were discovered. So he's been on the scene a long time, but positional uncertainty and a lack of camps mean there isn't a ton of scouting out there that's not from Michigan blogs. Also ESPN is a giant, unexplained outlier.

Variance: High. Lot of projection here.

Ceiling: Moderate-plus. Doesn't seem likely he's going to blow up into an early-round pick. Size and plus get-off is nice, though, could be fringe all conference type.

General Excitement Level: Moderate. Harrell could easily slip into backup anonymity. If he hits he's not likely to be a massive star. Still a good addition given the general state of the roster.

Projection: Redshirt. There will be at least one DE opening and possibly two when Harrell is a redshirt freshman; those spots are likely to go to older players.

If Michigan goes back to more of a WDE/SDE split after Paye graduates that'll keep him separate from the more highly touted Braiden McGregor, but he'll still have to wait for guys like Vilain and Ojabo to clear in front of him. Most likely outcome is that he's a rotation guy for a couple years and then has a decent shot at being a starter as an upperclassman.