Of the dozens of University of Washington scholarship offers being distributed across the country, it’s hard to differentiate them all, especially since they’re used more as business cards to open a dialogue rather than get cashed in.
What stands out are the freakish athletes who emerge in this process and one who fits that bill is running back Zaiden Jernigan.
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He plays in a town called Louisville, but it’s in the middle of Mississippi rather than Kentucky, and it’s pronounced “Lewis-ville” rather than “Louie-ville.”
He wears a helmet with a paw prints logo similar to the Clemson Tigers, but his Louisville High team answers to Wildcats.
Oh yeah, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Jernigan is merely coming off his sophomore year as a member of the Class of 2028 — and he’s already rushed 438 times for 3,090 yards and 43 touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Jedd Fisch’s Husky recruiters formally extended a scholarship offer to this kid who has all sorts of possibilities and is considered the nation’s No. 1 back in his class in some circles.
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Jernigan currently holds 23 offers — and 11 of them are SEC schools, including Alabama, Florida, LSU and both Mississippi schools
Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame have made a bid for him, as well.
He’s been so good for so long in his hometown of 6,072 people, he ran the ball for his high school varsity as an eighth-grader in 2023, pulling 21 carries for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns.
As freshman, Jernigan packed the ball 179 times and became a 1,386-yard rusher with 21 touchdowns, with a long scoring run of 84 yards.
Louisville’s quarterback Zavier Hunt (9) hands off to Zaiden Jernigan (8) in a 2024 game. | Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This past fall, he stepped up his production and ran 238 times for 1,563 yards and 20 touchdowns, matching his long scoring run with another 84-yarder.
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For a 10-3 team, Jernigan turned in seven games of 100 yards rushing, twice exceeding 200 yards.
In a 53-45 shootout win over Holmes Country Central, he piled up a career-best 244 yards on 32 carries and scored 4 times.
Naturally what separates him from other backs in his class is his explosive speed, with Jernigan timed at 4.41 seconds over the 40-yard dash.
Oddly enough, the UW has a recent history of adding Mississippi-raised players in running back Dillon Johnson, quarterback Will Rogers and defensive tackle Kai McClendon, each of whom came to Montlake as Mississippi State transfers.
Jernigan is a showpiece for his little Southern town, which is located a half hour south of Starkville and Mississippi State, and one that has a dark past of racially motivated violence and deadly tornadoes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Huskies Continue To Comb Mississippi For Football Talent.
