Ole Miss makes Top 12 for 2024 On3 Consensus three-star CJ Heard
Junior Woodward Academy (Ga.) safety CJ Heard cut his list down on Monday, announcing via Twitter he will now be focusing on Florida State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Penn State, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan State and Louisville.
Heard is the No. 289 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
The 5-foot-11, 200 pound Heard told OMSpirit’s Ben Garrett back in April six programs — Ole Miss, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Arkansas and Kentucky — are recruiting him the hardest.
Ole Miss is intriguing for a handful of reasons, not the least of which, Heard said he’s a fan of third-year Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin, last season, led Ole Miss to a 10-3 finish and Sugar Bowl berth. Heard met Kiffin for the first time this weekend.
“I feel like he’s one of the coolest coaches in college football,” Heard said. “I don’t know him much, but he seems pretty cool and energetic. He seems like a great guy.”
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Florida State holding a slight advantage over hometown Georgia Tech to land the four-star safety.
The Seminoles have a 39.6% chance with Heard as of now.
He told On3’s Jeremy Johnson he enjoyed his visit to Tallahassee back in April. Heard had the chance to tour the school and watch some film of the Seminoles’ practices.
“It’s a great university,” Heard said. “I like how everything is set up. I met with coach (Mike) Norvell and we had a good talk. We watched the film from the spring game and they showed me where I would be if I was playing in their defense. It was pretty cool.”
Heard went on to tell Johnson he always considered Florida State one of his dream schools.
“I’ve always been a fan of them since I was a kid,” Heard said. “I know a lot about FSU. Every time I go down there, I’m think about the legacy. The defensive backs have been top-notch. Derwin James, Deion Sanders, Jalen Ramsey, Terrell Buckley and Asante Samuel Jr. there are a lot of them that have come through there.”
He also spoke with On3’s Tim Verghese about his spring visit to Michigan to check out Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines.
“That was big for me to talk to the head coach and get an offer from him.” he said. “It was the most love they showed me. They toured me around campus. Me and my mom we felt the love when we got there. They came and got me from the car energetic, like that’s the favorite visit I’ve been on so far.”
Heard also talked with Verghese about the state of his game and what he’s working on improving ahead of his junior season at Woodward Academy.
“I got better at covering this year,” he said. “I was a big tackler, my coverage skills—it was okay, but it wasn’t as good as this year, I got better at covering. . I feel like I keep getting better at covering and being an overall safety. I’m good at tackling. I could get out and run down to the ball. Good open field tackler…I just get better and better every week.”
Georgia Tech (11.1%), Tennessee (9.5%) and Ole Miss (7.9%) currently trail the Seminoles in the race for the 2024 prospect.
He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $19.6k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. 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.
