Q&A: Learn about Kentucky cornerback commit Jalen Geiger
Kentucky's coaches like selling their program as one built on a blue collar mentality. Columbia (S.C.) Spring Valley cornerback Jalen Geiger should fit right in, because "blue collar" is exactly how his father, Tony Geiger, describes him.
Cats Illustrated caught up with the older Geiger to talk football, recruiting and what's next.
Cats Illustrated: You guys were in Charlotte at a 7-on-7 event this weekend so how did that go for you?
Tony Geiger: It was good. We participated in a 7-on-7 qualifier in Columbia and we won it a month and a half ago but this weekend we had a couple of our key guys taking unofficial and official visits so it was tough sledding for our offense. We made it to the semis.
CI: Is Jalen planning on visiting or camping at Kentucky next month?
Geiger: Yes, we're still trying to determine and lock down exactly what's going to happen but like I told Coach (Vince) Marrow and Coach Clink, my wife works for the Department of Justice so sometimes her schedule can get dicey when they have federal cases. We're just waiting on her calendar to kinda become open and clear. President (Donald) Trump just appointed her boss, the U.S. Attorney for the State of South Carolina, so we're just waiting to get an idea of when we'll be able to get the whole family up for an official. But he'll definitely be at a camp.
From a bio perspective, we're a military family so we're pretty well traveled. Jalen has been in South Korea. By and large South Carolina's been his home.
CI: When it comes to his game as a football player, what are Jalen's biggest strengths and what kind of positive feedback have you gotten from coaches that are interested in him?
Geiger: He's gotten a lot from Power Five coaches. His size, his length, his toughness. If Jalen wasn't a corner he'd be an outside linebacker. He's very physical and loves to hit. He's a press corner. This year he'll play both corner and safety but he's still projected to be a corner for Coach Clink, which we're very excited about.
He's been training with a group for about three years now and some of the things that stood out for Coach Clink and Kentucky were the way he flipped his hips and comes out of his breaks. He's very polished from a technical perspective. They seem to be very excited about getting him to camp and building that relationship. We're projecting him to be an early enrollee. That's the plan for right now so it will be really good to get him there in January and get started early.
Right now he's 6'1, about 188 to 190, so he can play in the 190's this fall and with his frame he's so long. If he puts on four, five, six pounds in the 190's he can still move.
We're excited about coming on down there this fall to check out a couple of games and of course Kroger Field itself. He's just a blue collar-type kid. I mean, if you look at his Twitter account he doesn't have all this stuff about stars and he doesn't care about all that. He just wants to play football. He doesn't have all the bells and whistles and that mentality is what drew him to Kentucky. They're not fancy, they're tough. Coach Stoops, Coach Marrow, Coach Clink ... they're real genuine.
CI: In terms of Jalen's commitment, how solid is he and do you think he's going to take any other visits or is he done with that?
Geiger: A couple of years ago there was a Mr. Football in South Carolina. He committed to Louisville in June. Before it was time to sign, they told him they didn't have a spot for him. That changed the manner I approach this with. I've got to protect my son. I love Kentucky. As far as official visits, unofficial visits, no. We want to come up to Kentucky and be a part of the Big Blue Nation. But he's been doing these 7 on 7 tournaments and they've been traveling around and doing it for years. He's not going to sit on his hands all summer.
I guess the way we're wired, being a military family, we're very loyal. Extremely loyal. Of course schools are still trying to talk to him every day and say, 'We're better than Kentucky,' or, 'We're this, that and another.' Jalen doesn't get into this. He doesn't have to worry about all that. He wants to win the SEC East and that's all he talks about.
I tell Coach Marrow, 'Don't worry about South Carolina.' Now all of a sudden he's starting to get this South Carolina mail, but there's something to be said about someone who shows you the most love and is genuine.
Note: After the interview, Geiger's father pointed to four main factors that have contributed to Geiger's development as a football player more than anything else. In order: 1) Playing for the United States against Team Canada in Cowboys Stadium with the US National Team, 2) Training with coach ChaChi Sullivan for three years ("EPT" - Elite Position Training), 3) Playing for coach Mike Boulware (Florida State/Houston Texans) for two years starting as a freshman and sophomore on the varsity team, 4) His high school career culminating in two years with 'arguably the best high school football coach in South Carolina,' Robin Bacon.