When Jalen Camp committed last summer to Liberty, it came as a shock to his coach at South Forsyth High.
The FCS school was the first to offer the wide receiver a scholarship, but coach Jeff Arnette knew more attention would come.
“I told him all along, it was going to blow up on him,” Arnette said.
Arnette’s prophecy proved accurate after the season. Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Indiana came to the school to see him. Penn State called. Along with his size and strength, Camp’s impressive senior-season game video dramatically elevated his standing in the eyes of recruiters, a climb cemented with his signing with Tech on Wednesday.
In previous stops at Valdosta and Oconee County, Arnette coached high-school All-Americans Jay Rome, Tony Taylor and Malcolm Mitchell, all of whom played for Georgia. He said Camp, rated a two-star prospect, is their equal.
“He was probably the best secret in this state,” Arnette said.
The Jackets do seem to have secured a player who fits their wide receiver mold, starting with his frame and power. Camp is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds with a filled-out physique. He can bench press 355 pounds and clean 330 pounds, the latter of which is more than anyone on the South Forsyth team.
“When he goes in the weight room, nobody’s going to outwork him,” Arnette said.
This season, he caught 47 passes for 819 yards and 15 touchdowns for the War Eagles. He grabbed Tech coach Paul Johnson’s attention with five catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went for 63 and 84 yards, against eventual Class AAAAAA state champion Colquitt County in the state quarterfinals.
“I was like, who is this?” Johnson said.
Fortunately for Johnson, quarterbacks coach and B-backs coach Bryan Cook, Camp’s area recruiter, already was aware. Cook had seen Camp as a junior and had been alerted by Arnette that he needed to take another look at his game video. What Cook saw was the same player he saw as a junior — physical and aggressive — but also with another gear and more playmaking ability.
Camp had not played organized football until his sophomore year and was admittedly raw as a junior. Last spring and summer, he said he caught passes from his quarterback five days a week and felt himself growing in comfort.
“My junior year, the ball would come to me, I’d be, like, am I going to catch it?” Camp said. “Senior year, it was, what am I going to do after I catch the ball because I knew I was going to catch it.”
After the season, eager to size him up, Johnson tagged along with Cook to South Forsyth.
“So we went to the school and I saw him and we said, ‘Let’s go see your daddy,’” Johnson said.
Johnson went to work quickly, offering a scholarship and securing a commitment in December just as other recruiters started to show up. Camp eventually told Arnette that he didn’t want to hear from anyone else, that he was sold on Tech.
“He’s just a big ole guy that can block and go get the long ball,” Arnette said. “I think that’s why they fell in love with him so quickly. He’s capable of doing the things they need wide receivers to do.”
Camp has not relented in his work habits since the end of the season. He said he has worked out literally every day since the season ended, even on Christmas, and put on 13 pounds. Camp’s father, Richard, owns a CrossFit gym and puts Camp, his younger brother Jamal and Camp’s teammates through a workout before school that incorporates weightlifting and conditioning.
Camp’s strength gives Cook hope that he can play next season. He’ll have opportunity. The Jackets return Ricky Jeune and Brad Stewart, but the competition is open after that, with Antonio Messick, Christian Philpott, Harland Howell and Jalen Johnson among the possibilities.
“He’s going to give it everything he’s got,” Arnette said.
Camp is through doubting his coach.
Said Camp, “I guess he could see the future.”
Arnette has at least one more prediction to make about Camp.
“I think we’re going to see him play past college,” he said.
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