One of the top defensive playmakers in the 2022 recruiting class joined the No. 1 class in the nation on Wednesday, as four-star defensive back Jacoby Mathews picked Texas A&M over LSU and Florida.
Adding Matthews only cements Texas A&M as the best recruiting class in college football history, a mark that the Aggies reached after defensive lineman Shemar Stewart signed and pushed the Aggies past 2021 Alabama. However, Mathews is still the top-ranked safety recruit in the star-studded class.
Mathews played both defensive back and quarterback for his Ponchatoula High School squad that earned a trip to the state playoffs. 247Sports Southeast Recruiting Analyst Andrew Ivins had this scouting report of Mathews:
Fluid in the lower half and is able to open his hips and run. Takes sharp angles in coverage and has shown on tape that he can get to the deepest parts of the field when needed. Quick to read and diagnose. Aggressive when the ball is in the air and will use his core strength to outmuscle receivers. Didn’t get a ton of reps in the secondary as a junior due to offensive workload, but plays with a physical appetite and will try to lower his shoulder pads before running through a target…could settle in as a big safety in college, but tweener body type suggests that he might ultimately be utilized as more of a box player. Will need to keep improving his craft over the next few years, but is viewed by multiple college contacts as a future NFL player given how he moves.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, Mathews boasted more than 30 offers and ranked among the most recruited players in the class. 247Sports Composite Rankings list Mathews as the No. 38 player in the nation and No. 2 safety in the class. He was previously the top uncommitted player in the state of Louisiana.