La Jolla (Calif.) Country Day is a small school with only 475 students. Even so, head football coach Jeff Hutzler knows what a football player looks like. He’s had numerous players move on to the next level under his watch and as the athletic director he’s seen athletes from many other sports take their talents to college as well. But there haven’t been many walk through the La Jolla Country Day doors the likes of Jordan Poland.
Jordan Poland will sign with the class of 2014 despite only having one more year of football eligibility.
At 6-foot-8, 335 pounds, Poland has NFL size already – and he’s only 15.
Those two facts alone will make college coaches take notice and many already have. Poland has picked up offers from the likes of Arizona, Arizona State and Boise State. Numerous other schools are showing him heavy interest. When asked what was going on with Poland’s recruitment, Coach Hutzler had a question of his own.
“What isn’t going on with him? Everybody wants him and loves him,” said Hutzler. “He has verbals from both Arizona schools. Those coaching staffs are gone now but the new coaches are going to like him too. He has a verbal from Boise State. Right now his two schools are USC and Michigan. Michigan has been by to see him twice this year. Coach (Brady) Hoke is a big line guy. They love him. I know that offensive line is one of Michigan’s focuses right now.
“Georgia and Auburn have shown a lot of interest. Once his SATs come out and his GPA and of course he needs to grow as a player, he’s going to be able to decide where he’s going to school.”
Despite the interest, college coaches that are anxious to land Poland as part of their 2013 recruiting class are going to have to temper their enthusiasm. Though 2011 was his junior season in terms of athletic eligibility, Poland won’t actually sign until February of 2014 which is much more in line with his age. The class readjustment was a decision made by the Poland family after its transfer to La Jolla Country Day.
Poland’s family moved from Arizona to La Jolla, Calif. last summer and when a neighbor suggested Country Day for his schooling, that’s when the massive offensive tackle showed up on Hutzler’s doorstep.
“We discovered a couple of things,” said Coach Hutzler. “For one, he was too young for his grade. He’s certainly got academic ability but our place is pretty darn tough academically. We just felt it best that he comes to us as a sophomore, not as a junior.”
At only 15 years old and already one of the top offensive linemen in the country, there’s no telling how big and how good Poland can become by the time he graduates in 2014. Though he will only have one more season of high school eligibility remaining, he’ll have two more years to prepare for the next level. And he’s already got a skill set that is unique.
“Jordan is bigger than most and he’s more athletic than most,” said his coach. “He plays basketball for us. He’s an athletic kid. He can run and move. He’s got a great mindset and he’s a physical player. All young big kids you’re working on pad level and that’s something that even the college coaches are working on. Keeping that pad level down is something that he’s gonna work on.”
Poland was included on the initial release of the Top247 for the class of 2013 but with his transfer and reclassification, Poland has a new distinction: The first four-star of the class of 2014.
- Barton Simmons
- National Recruiting Analyst - 247Sports