Grayson took down a top 5 team in the country last week in Marietta winning 28-14, and one huge reason is junior defensive back Jibrahn Claude’s play. Securing multiple interceptions against one of the best passing attacks in the country, Claude had a signature moment in his early varsity starting career, and put his Ram squad back in the spotlight of 7-A once again.
Claude’s top play was a crucial moment early on in the game with Marietta in the redzone threatening to score. Tennessee Vol commit Harrison Bailey found his senior receiver Taji Johnson in the corner of the endzone, but the ever-adept Claude undercut the pass then leaped up in the air ripping the ball away from the Boston College commits mitts. It was a swing-play that secured a monumental win for the Rams, and eventually earned Claude the #2 play in the state of Georgia for Week 4.
We caught up with Claude to hear about his goals for the rest of the season.
“My individual goal is to become a well rounded DB in all aspects of the game and grow in my craft, it would be a bonus to be All State or All Region Defensive Player of the Year.” He continued to talk about his team, who just became the #1 team in our 7-A rankings, “Our team goal is to control the controllable, be more physical than the other team, and be 1-0 every week.”
That no-nonsense approach is an attitude that new head coach Adam Carter brought over from Creekview, where he led the Grizzles to a 12 win team in just one season, and just a year prior he was the DC for a 6-A state title winner at Valdosta. Grayson looks to be the top dog in the state again, at least for the time being, but 7-A is also wide open for the first time in over 5 years, and the season is just beginning to heat up.
Speaking of heating up, Claude’s recruitment could very well be; just this week he earned his first college scholarship by way of Akron. In fact, he was one of two athletes from the #RGTop10 to land an Akron offer this week, and there is a good chance more FBS programs will jump into his recruitment soon enough.
“As far as hearing from colleges, I am beginning to have more interest then before. Between my parents, coaches, and recruiting coordinator, we are looking to plan visits throughout the season.”
Claude was an athlete the coaching staff identified over the summer to watch out for, so he was definitely on our radar going into the 2019 season. He earned some reps last season on both varsity and JV, but Grayson was very talented at defensive back last year with almost the whole group going to FBS programs.
This offseason Claude worked on two main areas. “The place I feel like I improved most is being more physical and playing the ball in the air.”
You could definitely see that work on display during his top play where he lept up and physically dominated a bigger receiver for the football or when he is cleaning up a tackle in run support from his safety spot – Claude is bringing the heat on each play. The 2021 recruit who models his game after Ed Reed had one last remark, one that demonstrates the wide-scope that the student-athlete looks through.
“My overall goal is to enjoy where I’m at and take one game at a time.”
Perspective, not something you always see from high school juniors who are usually chomping at the bit to be in college, to play in front of thousands, but Claude is just enjoying the moment, and why not? His team is currently the #1 team in the state of Georgia and his recruitment is just starting to heat up.
Be sure to follow @RecruitGeoriga on Twitter to watch his recruitment go full inferno and to see what other football news is going on around the state of Georgia. Featured Photo original source image is from @ATLRecruits.
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