Sacramento (Calif.) Valley safety Jalen Hamilton-Haywood (5-11, 170) was an all-combine selection at the San Francisco Scout Combine, and though he doesn’t have an offer yet, the interest in him is picking up.
“I haven’t gotten any offers yet, but a couple of schools have been showing some interest,” said Hamilton-Haywood. “Cal came by (Thursday), and USC’s coach Rocky (Seto) came by too.”
Hamilton-Haywood said that mailing has been spilling in from all over the West, but the main schools looking at him were Washington, USC, San Diego State, Cal and UNLV.
The coach at Valley, Antuan Simmons, played at USC (1997-2001) and was an instrumental part of Pete Carroll’s first Trojan squad. Hamilton-Haywood said he’s enjoyed working with Simmons and looking forward to this fall.
“I didn’t know all that he did at USC, but I’m looking forward to playing for him some more,” said Hamilton-Haywood of the former Valley star Simmons.
Hamilton-Haywood was a part of a vaunted Pop Warner program that included fellow Sacramento natives Kevin Frank (Elk Grove), Houston Roots (Rio Linda) and Marsellius Williams (Grant).
“We were pretty good growing up, and we played baseball too,” said Hamilton-Haywood. “I’ve played against some good players. If you want to be the best, you have to go against the best.”
Hamilton-Haywood also plays running back for Valley and he likely projects to corner in college, which he’s fine with.
“I could play anywhere on the field, anywhere the coach tells me to play,” said Hamilton-Haywood.
As for a decision, Hamilton-Haywood knows the offers much come in, but even when they do, he’s hoping to take some official visits.
“I would love to take some trips,” Hamilton-Haywood said. “I would wait until I see some schools, see what type of programs are offering me. It really does not matter to me where I go, but I’d probably do best on the West Coast.”
As a junior, he was a second team all-league selection with 70 tackles and five sacks. also averaged 7.0 yards per carry at running back.
Academically, Hamilton-Haywood said he’s scheduled to take the SAT on June 2nd and he’s working on his grades to be a full qualifier.