De-commitment diva? No. Jaylen Mahoney explains why he switched from Wake to Vandy

Jaylen Mahoney was at Wake Forest’s high school football prospect camp in June when the Demon Deacons offered him a scholarship.

It wasn’t Mahoney’s first offer. Vanderbilt and several FCS-level schools had already reached out to the South Pointe senior defensive back with scholarships previously. But Wake got Mahoney’s commitment a few days later, in part because of when and where the offer was made.

“I was just excited about it,” Mahoney said Wednesday afternoon. “The hype of it just made me commit to them. I thought then that I would feel more comfortable after a while and the coaches would make me feel more comfortable, but it just wasn’t there.”

Mahoney decommitted from Wake Forest on Aug. 15, and announced this week that he would instead play his college football at... Vanderbilt, the first FBS school to offer him. Mahoney’s post on Twitter announcing his decommitment from Wake said, “I feel like I rushed into something I was not ready for.”

Mahoney was fortunate in one regard. Wake Forest doesn’t have a rabid fanbase so his change of heart made few waves on social media. But college alumni, all hopped up on virtual courage, can say some nasty things on Twitter or Instagram to high school football prospects that decommit from a school. And there are probably recruits that love the attention from coaches and recruiting web site reporters. Regardless of the reasons, college coaches tend to be more forgiving about kids changing their minds.

“I would imagine they always have a contingency plan,” said South Pointe coach Strait Herron. “It’s kind of a shame, but it’s part of the business.”

To the college football-loving public: don’t get mad at the recruits. They’re just playing their part in the game. And college football recruiting is a game.

The prospect camps are part of the game. Sure, college coaches can put eyes on players up close, but it’s also an opportunity to wow recruits and pull a commitment from them. Being one of the few to get an offer out of hundreds of campers, well, It would be very difficult to turn that down, especially if it was a first offer or had any other significance.

Wake Forest was doing nothing wrong by trying to create that environment. Teenagers respond to the excitement. They also make decisions quicker than they otherwise might in those situations.

“It makes you feel, like, special,” said Mahoney. “It makes you feel like they really want you.”

Colleges offer more kids scholarships than they actually have spots for in the program. The kids and their families have to juggle moving too quickly and making a wrong decision with moving too slowly and losing the promised spot. The system is set up for decommitments.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” said Jaylen’s dad, Ron Mahoney. “You want that kid to make that decision without evaluating the whole process.”

When Mahoney originally committed to Wake Forest, he made phone calls to the jilted coaches by himself. He didn’t burn any bridges, a shrewd move that later paid off with his switch to Vanderbilt.

Even after Mahoney looked bound for Wake Forest, Commodores head coach Derek Mason texted him from time to time and developed what felt like as real of a relationship as possible in college sports recruiting.

Mahoney never felt that same level of interest from Wake Forest. In fact, when he began to put out feelers that he was thinking of dropping his Wake Forest commitment, Demon Deacon coaches told him they would “recruit him better.” Not exactly a head-spinning promise.

Vanderbilt defensive backs coach Terrence Brown told Ron Mahoney back in June that he understood Jaylen’s decision to commit to Wake, but that he was impressed with him and really saw something in him, and that he would continue to recruit Jaylen right up to Signing Day next February.

The Commodores wouldn’t have to wait that long. And Mahoney again made his phone calls to the coaches whose schools he didn’t pick.

“It’s a long process and you’ve got to think a 40-year plan. You’ve got to think about the life after college,” Mahoney said. “You’ve got to look at the numbers, academics, all that, and make sure everything is right.”

Mahoney’s visit to Vanderbilt last weekend sealed the deal. The school’s oak tree-covered campus just outside of Nashville’s downtown area is where he’ll study to become an engineer, like his dad. Mahoney has a 4.1 grade point average.

“Nashville, SEC, academics... it’s just the best of both worlds,” he said.

Mahoney is a laid back guy, not the stereotypical loud and boisterous defensive back, but his mood was a little different recently.

“He’s been a little solemn over the last couple of weeks,” said Herron. “So hopefully, making that decision and getting it off his shoulders, he can just relax a little more and have some fun playing football.”

Mahoney plans to complete his full senior year of high school and is focused on helping South Pointe win a fifth straight state championship this December. With his college decision truly sorted out, he can just focus on school and playing football with his friends. The weight is off and Mahoney showed that last week, intercepting two passes in the Stallions’ win.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 8:38 AM.