Hoosiers Stay Hot on the Recruiting Trail, Land 3-Star DT JeJuan Sparks Over Ole Miss
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Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers are on fire on the recruiting trail this month as they locked up a verbal commitment from three-star defensive tackle JeJuan Smith out of Clearwater Academy International in Clearwater, Florida. Sparks is the sixth player to commit to Tom Allen and his staff in June and their 10th in the 2020 class.
Sparks made his announcement on Twitter Tuesday morning saying:
First, I want to thank God for giving me so many blessings and guiding me through adversity. I want to thank everyone who has helped me get to where I am today, I can’t explain how grateful I am to my dad and mom, my whole family, all my coaches and everyone who has been in my corner the whole way. Thank you everybody for investing your time into me. I’d like to thank coach Jesse, Bob, David and the whole CAI staff for getting me to the point I’m at now at a very special place. Lastly, I want to thank all the coaches that believed in me.
I am forever thankful.
It’s been a crazy road. But I know this chapter in life has come to an end…
This was the best decision for my family and…
Indiana University is where I will start the next chapter in life. #LEO
Sparks is listed as a three-star prospect (80) by 247Sports. He participated in The Opening Regional in Orlando in February where he took home defensive MVP honors and was called “a force” by 247Sports Steve Wiltfong. He is listed at 6’2” and a massive 327 pounds. The Hoosiers needed to build quality depth at defensive tackle and Sparks fills that need.
As a junior at Clearwater International, Sparks played in eight games and made 44 tackles including nine tackles for loss and two sacks. Sparks should be very familiar with a couple freshmen on campus in Bloomington already as fellow defensive lineman Sio Nofoagtoto’a and linebacker D.K. Bonhomme also played at CAI . His HUDL tape shows a player with the ability to overpower opponents, shed blocks and make tackles. He chose IU over 15 other offers including Mississippi, Syracuse and Central Florida.
The Hoosiers’ 2020 class currently sits at 57th nationally and 11th in the Big Ten according to 247Sports rankings