SMU’s plan for Jalen Shivers leads to commitment to the Mustangs

Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett defensive end Jalen Shivers committed to SMU after visiting for the Spring Game, he announced last month. SMU checked all the boxes for the Peach State standout.

“I already knew I wanted to come in and commit there,” Shivers told On3. “At the spring game, I liked everything I’ve seen. Coaches are real honest. They made me feel like family. What I didn’t want to do is come back home, think about it, and commit over the phone. I wanted to do it face-to-face. Before I got on the field, I came up to Coach Thibs, and he was happy that I was committed. He walked me over to coach Lashlee and coach Symons. Everybody was happy. I was excited.

“It made me feel like home. Other recruits, they weren’t walking on the field, stuff like that/ He made sure that I was on the field watching the walk-throughs, pretty much everything. Other visits, they don’t prioritize letting you see everything, and to me, that was a big, big selling point because he really cares about me and my family.”

Defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux keyed the decision for him. He made his a priority right away as the Mustangs recruit him for the strong-side defensive end position.

“Coach Thibs, he was happy for us that we got a chance to come down and see (SMU). That practice was amazing to see. The defense really stood out,” Shivers said. “The defensive pass rush, 1-on-1s, that was really stood out to me the most. Basically, the D-linemen went like 15 reps, like unstoppable. Like they didn’t lose any combined. Then they started putting like the 3s in, you know, they started losing, but the pass rushed looked very polished to me. As well as the team part, they fly around, they play fast and physical. All the stuff that you want.”

Shivers and his family visited in-depth with Thibodeaux over lunch as well as positional meetings. They also toured the new endzone complex and the campus.

“It’s huge, to be honest. It doesn’t look huge from the outside, but it’s huge,” Shivers said of the endzone complex. “We sat down with Coach Lashlee, Coach Symons with my parents. They asked the questions that they wanted to. We got to sit down and talk about the Life After Ball program that they have, which I think separates them from a lot of colleges because you’re pretty much set up for life after that. Football’s going to end someday, you got to have a backup plan, or if not, you can make a 10-year span in the NFL, but you know, that ends, and what are you going to do with all your money? We built some good connections there.”

SMU’s push into the Atlanta area with the ACC move has been important. Landing Shivers and fellow Atlanta area defensive lineman Kamron Cullins was big for him to see.

“It’s going to be a big jump, recruiting in the Atlanta area, because we do have some good athletes and competing in the ACC. That’s really what you’re going to need,” he said. “Texas, it’s a lot of size out there, a lot of athletes. I feel like Georgia, not to be biased or anything, but we have better coaching. I’d say better athletes overall. Not track athletes, but better athletes. Basically, better football, in my opinion, It’s going to affect it a lot. You can come in, basically, and compete for an ACC championship, pretty much in one or two years, pretty much.”

The self-reported 6-4, 245-pound prospect also holds offers from the likes of Arkansas State, App State, Bowling Green, Liberty, Western Michigan and others. Shivers will be back at SMU for his official visit on May 17.

On3 ranks Shivers as an 87, coming in as the No. 69 overall EDGE and No. 70 prospect in Georgia.

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