Syracuse Football: 2022 4-star CB Jacolby Spells ‘upside through the roof’

Jacolby Spells, an elite defensive back in the 2022 class, owns more than 20 scholarship offers, but he has whittled down his list of finalists to five teams, including Syracuse football.

The 5-foot-11 Spells, an extremely talented and versatile player who has suited up on both sides of the football field, recently revealed via his Twitter page a top five of the Orange, along with Georgia, Indiana, Miami and West Virginia.

A junior at the American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla., Spells previously played wide receiver but in the spring and summer of 2020, he transitioned to cornerback, according to Spells’ bio on the 247Sports Web site.

Per 247Sports, during the 2020 season, Spells “totaled 32 tackles and an interception for a Patriots team that captured a 5A state title.”

In reviewing Spells’ bios on various recruiting Web sites, I found that he holds a slew of really impressive high-major offers, so for the ‘Cuse to make his top five is certainly encouraging.

Other scholarship offers that Spells has received include from LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Auburn, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Penn State, Cincinnati, Virginia, Pittsburgh, UCF, Minnesota, Arkansas, Kentucky, Memphis and Vanderbilt.

Syracuse football is in the running for 2022 top-200 prospect Jacolby Spells.

Spells is a four-star prospect via the 247Sports Composite, 247Sports and ESPN.com. Rivals.com has him as three stars.

Nationally across the 2022 cycle, Spells is ranked No. 184 overall by ESPN.com, No. 236 from 247Sports and No. 312 by the 247Sports Composite.

Additionally, Spells is deemed a top-40 prospect in Florida, according to several recruiting services. If he ultimately chooses the Orange, Spells would represent one of the highest-rated recruits for the team in recent program history.

Last November, Spells’ head coach at the American Heritage School, former NFL player Patrick Surtain, told 247Sports analyst/writer Andrew Ivins that Spells’ “upside is through the roof.”

"Surtain, in discussing Spells, noted at the time that moving from wide receiver to cornerback is “not an easy transition. … You see the best receiver each week. Early on he had his ups and downs. I don’t think he knew how to deal with the life of being a cornerback. You know, guys catch passes on you, that’s just part of it. I think over these past couple of weeks, he has really settled down and believed in himself and his technique and that has allowed him to make plays. Confidence is a helluva thing. He’s finally got his confidence, so I expect him to only play lights out the rest of the year for us.”"