GREENSBORO, N.C. — High school football is less than a month away in the Triad, and dozens of young men in the class of 2023 have already made their decision on where they'll be headed to play college ball.
The biggest name in North Carolina football lives right here in Greensboro.
Jamaal 'Big Jah' Jarrett joins DJ Reader and Travis Shaw as the newest notable name coming out of Grimsley's football program.
Jarrett stands at 6-foot, 6-inches tall, and weighs 340 pounds. The 16-year-old is the number one player in North Carolina's class of 2023.
The top college football recruit said he’s going to the University of Georgia.
“I love how the coaches and the whole staff opened up to me and my family,” he said at Decision Day Tuesday. “My home is at Georgia…I want to be coached by the best and trained by the best.”
Jarrett received scholarship offers from almost every big-name program you can think of.
On Tuesday, he made his decision on what school to take his talents to. Tuesday also being his 17th birthday.
"It's really a blessing just having all these schools interested in me. I'm just trying to take it all in at once, but it's a lot of schools, a lot of programs all over the country," Jarrett said.
Jarrett has more than 30 offers from Division I schools.
He narrowed his picks down to three schools - UNC, Auburn, and Georgia.
'Big Jah' reflects on his big football career
"It went by fast. Felt like I was just in middle school. I'm just taking it to step by step. I plan on being an early enrollee this year," he said.
Before we learn his decision, we wanted to know, when did Jarrett fall in love with the game of football?
"Seventh grade at Aycock Middle School. That was my first time ever playing football. They put me at nose guard. I really didn't know what I was doing, but I fell in love with it and stuck with it ever since," Jarrett said.
So, how big was 12-year-old Jamaal Jarrett?
"I was pretty big. Seventh grade, I was about 6-feet-even, 210 pounds, so they were like, 'Man if you don't get out on the football field, you just walking around the hallways,'" Jarrett said.
What will he study?
"I want to study communications, I like talking on TV, so broadcast and communications, or maybe some kind of sports science. I want to learn how to heal small injuries on myself," Jarrett said.
Before all else, the most essential thing in Jarrett's life is the people closest to him.
"Family, I'm real big on family. My mom, my sister, my stepdad, the coaching staff, and my friends are big. They've supported me, so I feel like they're family to me. So, the biggest thing outside of football is family," he said.