Mother’s harsh words make all the difference for Ole Miss-bound Jayden Curtis
Jayden Curtis needed a reminder from his mother.
Curtis was a sophomore defensive lineman at St. Martin and had made 35 tackles for the varsity Yellow Jackets. He didn’t have any offers at the time and may have felt slighted. Good thing his mother was there.
“You’re not that good,” she told him.
Two years later and Curtis is a three-star prospect with nearly 20 offers who just announced his commitment to Ole Miss in early September.
He points to that wake-up call in 10th grade as the push he needed.
“My sophomore year I thought I was better than what I was,” Curtis said. “My mom had to talk to me, like, ‘you’re not that good, you got to keep working.’ That just motivated me for my junior year.”
Curtis, now a 6-foot-3, 260-pound senior, took a significant step forward and was rewarded for it. He posted 52 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and four sacks.
He was still a no-name prospect but caught the eye of the staff at Louisiana, which invited him to a game in November. To his surprise, they had more for him than just a tour of Lafayette.
“I thought they just invited me to come to the game, but head coach (Michael Desormeaux) talked to me and offered me,” Curtis said.
Recruiting picks up
The Ragin’ Cajuns wouldn’t be able to keep their secret.
UCF offered in February. Then the Air Force two days later. The following week it was Jacksonville State. The snowball only grew bigger with six more offers in March, followed by Mississippi State in April.
Curtis originally committed to UCF over the summer. He made an official visit in May, but was pursued shortly after by a new team: Ole Miss.
Curtis’ father, Dwayne, played basketball at Ole Miss from 2005 to 2008. Curtis was born in Oxford and only moved to the Coast just before he began high school.
His decision to ultimately switch his commitment to Lane Kiffin was a desire to be in a competitive environment that felt familiar to him.
“I’m from Oxford, it’s home and just being in the SEC where the best of the best ball and getting the best development while having that family support,” Curtis said of the opportunity to play for the Rebels.
Curtis is a member of what is arguably the Coast’s deepest recruiting class to date. There are 13 players from South Mississippi ranked inside the top-75 in the 247sports composite rankings of Mississippi prospects. Curtis is No. 3 on the Coast and 19th in the state.
His focus now is dedicated to leading the Yellow Jackets’ defense. St. Martin is 3-0 for the first time since the team started 4-0 in 2019.
The team has put 119 points on the board already just a year removed from scoring 128 points through an entire 10-game season. It’s not just the Seth Crockett-led offense that’s producing.
St. Martin ‘D’ stepping up
St. Martin has allowed just 10.8 points per game under head coach and former defensive coordinator Woody Cagnolatti.
“I’m very confident in our group,” Curtis said. “We’re very physical this year and our coach stays on us and pushes us... We’re young, but we’re very fast. Faster than last year and more physical and dominant at the point of attack.”
Curtis’ growth has allowed him to play across the Jackets’ front alignment after spending most of his career on the edge.
He’s already up to eight tackles for loss, including five against East Central in week two.
“Jayden is a fantastic player for us,” Cagnolatti said. “He’s going to be a great player at Ole Miss next year. They’re getting a really good player. He’s doing such a great job for our team right now. We are so proud of him.”
Curtis and St. Martin will be challenged Friday by an athletic and explosive quarterback in Kaison Koenenn when the Yellow Jackets face Hancock in their home opener.
