Get to Know '19 Target: Latrell Jean

Image: 247 Sports

Written By: Kris Shankle (@Hoosierkris)

Today is just another day to write about a Florida football prospect that has been offered by Indiana University to play football. I feel as if I could put that first sentence on half of my future articles and just change the names of the recruit.

This prospect comes from Lakeland, Florida and is a huge target, literally, for the Hoosiers. Latrell Jean is 6’2, 251-pound defensive lineman and has garnered a ton of attention over the years. That attention has only risen as Jean wraps up his junior season. Jean’s Lakeland team had a great year as they finished the season 10-1. They won their first 10 games and honestly only one or two games were even close. Their season was ended by a familiar name, as Plant (FL) High School knocked them out of the playoffs. Future Hoosier Micah McFadden was a captain on that team that ended up giving Lakeland their only loss on the year.

Heading into his senior season though, Jean is looking to avenge that loss. One of his goals this year is leading his team back to playoffs, but this time the goal is a state title or bust for Lakeland and Jean. That isn’t the only goal though as Jean has made becoming a better leader a big part of his last year in high school. Becoming a better leader will only help him as he heads off to the next level.

Recruiting services like Jean’s skillset and that has led him to being ranked fairly high as a prospect. 247sports has him ranked as the 660th best player in the country. Others have him averaged out as the 580th best player in the country so the talent is definitely there. The composite also has him ranked in the top 40 SDE’s and the 81st best player in the state of Florida, which seems to put talent at every level each year.

The plan for Jean ever since he was four years old was football. The talent is there now and plenty of schools have taken notice. Jean has gotten 8 offers as I’m writing this, but that number looks to only get bigger. Though 8 schools have offered, other schools have expressed interest in him and he’s hoping that leads to an even tougher choice. Some of the big in state programs like Florida State, Florida and Miami(FL) have reached out, but no offer yet. That hasn’t stopped Jean from making a trip to Florida State as he has been on campus twice for unofficial visits. As for the schools that have offered, that list includes South Carolina, Temple, Syracuse, Southern Miss, Kentucky, Temple, MTSU, Colorado State and of course the Hoosiers. Jean said he has no visits set up in the future, but when things calm down he will look to set some up.

Jean has said that distance will not play a factor ultimately as he decides on where he attends next season. One thing that helps the Hoosiers case to land his signature, is the fact that they have created a “home” feeling with all the Florida players on their way to Bloomington along with the ones already there. One thing is for sure though, Jean can see himself as a future Hoosier. Now it’s up to Tom Allen and the rest of the Hoosier staff to make that happen.

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