4-star safety Jaylen Heyward commits to UCF

Four-star Rockledge (Fla.) High safety Jaylen Heyward has committed to UCF, he announced Tuesday afternoon.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pounder was previously committed to Georgia but opted to back off that pledge last month.

“UCF stood out to me because they are family oriented,” he said. “They showed me and my family a lot of love and good hospitality every time we visited. They were in contact with me throughout the whole recruiting process and kept it real with me and didn’t sugar coat anything to me. Coach Malzahn is also an amazing head coach and he knows what to do with talent like he did when he was at Auburn.”

His relationship with the coaching staff and their plan for him played a role in his decision as well.

“I have a close relationship with Coach Addison and Coach Gibbs,” he added. “Those two were the main people who were recruiting the whole time. I clicked with both of them on a personal level like past the football point I felt like I was one of their own. They plan on using me anywhere in the secondary because I’m so versatile.”

The Sunshine State safety joins coach Gus Malzahn and the Knights’ top-30 recruiting class in the 2024 On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. He is accompanied by four-star tight end Kylan Fox, four-star running back Stacy Gage, and others.

Jaylen Heyward Recruiting Profile

Heyward ranks as the No. 96 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 5 safety and the No. 14 player in the state of Florida.

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $124K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Personal Life (via On3)

“Jaylen Heyward is a two-way player that became such an important part of the Rockledge (Florida) High School squad that his coach, Wayne Younger, called him the “team’s most valuable player.” Early on it was clear that Heyward was going to make a big impact for the Raiders. As a sophomore, he racked up 35 tackles, six pass breakups and three interceptions. He then backed that up with a junior season that saw him record 44 tackles, eight pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and 677 yards of total offense. As a sophomore, Heyward was a state qualifier in the 100-meter dash with times as fast as 10.68 seconds, and he was part of a 4×100 squad that finished second in the 3A state track meet.”