Meet the Freshmen: WR Ricky Jeune

After Antonio Messick's mid-July commitment, Georgia Tech's staff received a few commitments through the course of the season. However, thanks to America's favorite game of FBS recruiting, those commitments ended up flipping to other schools. At season's end, on the heels of a Sun Bowl victory over USC on New Year's Eve, January 14 saw the commitment of WR Ricky Jeune, a top-25 prospect in the state of New Jersey and a top-100 receiver nationally, according to Rivals.com. Jeune committed to Tech over Purdue specifically, citing his relationship with the coaching staff at Tech and generally feeling at home in Atlanta. He also claimed offers from Boston College, Kansas, Rutgers, Connecticut, and East Carolina.

Jeune has a very lengthy frame (similar to that of Stephen Hill and Messick), standing at 6'3" and weighing in around 205 pounds. As it turns out, he'll be very comfortable in the Jackets' run-heavy offense, as it's fairly similar to the offense his high school ran (looks like it's a shotgun-based variation on the flexbone that Tech runs). His film shows that Jeune's responsibilities in the offense were mostly to make catches 20+ yards down the field, where he often found himself in double coverage. He also made the occasional 2-yard "hitch route" catch & run, similar to what Paul Johnson has done for Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill, and Tyler Melton. Jeune also got plenty of experience blocking in what I expect was a run-heavy offense in high school, something that will pay dividends and put him on the fast track to playing once he reaches the Flats.

Jeune would classify to me as more of a possession receiver (as opposed to a speed receiver), even though he showed decent ability to outrun coverage in high school. His biggest challenge in stepping up to FBS-level football will probably be making himself a little faster while retaining his deep ball abilities -- specifically catching in traffic. Jeune's frame could also use a few more pounds to make him more physically imposing for players trying to cover him.

Overall, it wouldn't surprise me to see Jeune play as a freshman, nor would it surprise me to see him become Georgia Tech's next big deep threat at a very depleted wide receiver position. He looks like the prototypical receiver that Tech looks for based on his play style in high school, but only time will tell on how much Jeune can accomplish on the Flats.

Do you think Ricky Jeune has what it takes to play as a freshman at Georgia Tech?