On3 top-25 EDGE Bai Jobe sets Oklahoma visit
Following a visit to nearby Oklahoma in late January, Norman (Okla.) Community Christian School EDGE Bai Jobe is set to return for another visit tomorrow, he announced Thursday.
Jobe is the No. 99 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 11 EDGE and No. 3 junior prospect in Oklahoma.
The Industry Comparison shows On3 is significantly higher on Jobe than the rest of the industry, though. In the latest On300 ranking, Jobe was tabbed as the country’s No. 25 overall player, No. 5 EDGE and No. 1 prospect in Oklahoma.
A big reason for that is the improvement he showed during his junior season, according to On3 Senior National Recruiting Analyst Gerry Hamilton.
“Jobe is one of the most improved players in the cycle on junior video, making the move from 191 to No. 25,” Hamilton wrote earlier this month. “Jobe has greatly improved his initial movement skills, pad level, bend and ability to turn the corner without wasted motion. And Jobe’s offer list has exploded as well with 30 offers, including 10 Power Five programs in February.”
In addition to the hometown Sooners, Baylor has made an early impression on Jobe, who moved to the U.S. from Senegal in the eighth grade and only began playing football two years ago.
SEC schools taking notice of Bai Jobe
For most of his sophomore and junior seasons, Jobe was under the radar of most national programs. That’s no longer the case, though, with the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, and Texas in pursuit.
Jobe was in Georgia earlier in March for the first time. The top-100 recruit on the On3 Consensus spent time with defensive line coach Tray Scott as well as Kirby Smart.
“It went well,” the 6-foot-6, 215-pounder stated. “I like Coach Scott and Coach Kirby, and I really liked their practice and how intense they went and how hard it was. I liked it a lot. … That whole visit went great. It was next, next, next level. The type of things that they’re doing over there — that’s why they win national championships.”
One visit in the works is a trip to Alabama. Nick Saban recently phoned the four-star EDGE and unknowingly, impressed Jobe. That’s given the Tide some momentum in this recruitment.
“I really liked Nick,” Jobe said, “but I didn’t know him before the call. I didn’t know his name. Someone told me that Nick Saban was trying to call me and I had to ask who Nick Saban was.”
“I couldn’t believe that I was talking to him,” he continued. “I liked him a lot and really enjoyed talking to him, and I really liked their defensive line coach (Freddie Roach). Afterward, I knew that this guy was different. I could tell from the way he was talking …”
As a prospect just down the road from OU’s campus, Jobe is as close to a must-get as they come for new head coach Brent Venables, though. He’ll have some serious competition over the next nine months to secure him.