The Cardinal Countdown: 35 Days Until Kickoff

2021 Season Recap: While Popeye Williams and Selah Brown seemed to grab most of the attention in the ’22 class for their four star ranking (24/7) the majority of that was due to the timing of their commitments. One guy who was rated equally as high (4 star) but didn’t pull the trigger until right before signing Day was Jeremiah Caldwell. Before you hear another word about Caldwell I’m going to make him a fan favorite right from the jump. He was previously committed to Kentucky, backed out in August, got offers from Michigan State, Tennessee, among others, then signed with the Cards after a campus visit in January. During his intro video he praised the fans for their interactions with the players and the love he saw from them on his visit (I assume this was during the basketball game). He’s already checking some boxes in my brain before he plays a snap. Check out what Caldwell was up to last year at Belleville playing both wideout and safety on his way to helping them win a state championship.

2022 Season Outlook: I’d be shocked if Caldwell is on the two deep at safety when the first depth chart is released but that’s simply because he wasn’t around for Spring ball. Arriving on campus in late May/early June Caldwell is a bit behind for this season but my hot take for this young player is that he sees the field THIS YEAR in certain situations. The rangy 6-3 athlete is coming in to play safety because there is a window there for someone to step up and look to make some noise at that position as there is a ton of underclassman fighting for that spot. Once Caldwell settles in and gets used to the speed of the game I think he becomes a certifiable threat on defense and they use him when it makes sense late in the year. I’m really high on Jeremiah and think he can bolster that secondary to what we saw for many years in a row back there with Hakeem Smith, Pryor, Holliman, Sample, etc.

Sweet Tweet:

Caldwell and the Rivals crew dive into the commitment and what he plans to do with the Cards moving forward. (Nobody needs to say anything…we all see it).