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Texas 4-star S Jalen Catalon Signs Arkansas NLI

Name: Jalen Catalon

Position: Safety

School: Mansfield (Texas) Legacy

Height: 5-10 | Weight: 188

Committed: Jan. 18, 2019

Rivals: 5.8 four-star, No. 243 overall, No. 20 S

Other offers: Clemson, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Wisconsin

Recruiting Battle: The Razorbacks had been in the mix for Jalen Catalon since the beginning of his recruitment, being amongst the first to offer when Chad Morris was still at SMU. Morris never would've had a shot for Catalon at SMU but his relationship with the head hog did end up being strong enough to beat out Texas, TCU and Oklahoma despite Arkansas's 2-10 record. Catalon announced his commitment in January after two of his teammates, Enoch Jackson and Taurean Carter, had already committed to Arkansas.

2018 stats: N/A - injured in first game … 2016-17: 297 tackles, 10 TFL, 10 PBU, 12 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries; 62 of 119 passing (52.1 percent), 1,145 yards, 15 TD, 4 interceptions, 123 carries, 1,031 yards, 13 TD, 1 punt return TD

Notable: High school teammate of fellow 2019 signees Taurean Carter and Enoch Jackson … Set single-game school record for tackles with 24 vs. eventual state champ Aledo in third game of sophomore season, his first playing varsity … Named 5A State Defensive Player of the Year by Associated Press and Class 5A Defensive MVP by TSWA as a sophomore … Led Legacy to 5A state semifinals and named District 10-5A overall MVP while playing quarterback and safety as a junior … Also named Defensive Player of the Year by SportsDayHS (Dallas Morning News) … Tore his ACL in the second quarter of first game, ending his senior season … Also a talented baseball player who considered playing at the next level … Older brother, Kendall, is a wide receiver and team captain at Southern, an FCS program

Quotable: “It’s a great staff. I love Coach Morris and what they have going down there. I believe there’s great things going on and I think the program is going to change around. I think he’s going to do great things there and I respect his staff and all they have to offer. … Coach Morris is just a great coach and just a great person overall. I see how much he cares for his players on and off the field. … Arkansas football is where it’s at in Arkansas, so just to see (the fans) really ride for their players even when they’re struggling, they’re always behind their back. That’s something I really see and catches my eye, for sure.”

Coach Speak: “He could’ve gone down in the annals as one of the greatest high school football players the state has ever seen. … We figured he was going to be phenomenal. And he was for a quarter a little bit against Jenks. And then that was the story.” - head coach Chris Melson, via SportsDayHS

Scouting Report: “Catalon is a guy that can do a little bit of everything. He played some quarterback in his career, played DB and really just flies around the field. Obviously not the biggest guy in the world, only about 5-10, but doesn’t let his size get in the way or inhibit him. He’s always trying to make a play and he’s not afraid to come up and hit somebody when needed. Kind of a guy I see playing a safety role, a nickel role at the next level. … He suffered a knee injury at the beginning of this year, which kind of hurt his development with taking a year off, but he’ll be back and better than ever when he gets to Arkansas. He should be healthy for next fall and should be in a position to compete for early playing time if all goes according to plan.” - Rivals Southeast Recruiting Analyst Woody Wommack

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