Former Gamecock star Jaycee Horn: ‘I’m the best defensive player in the draft’
Jaycee Horn has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, on or off the field.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that the former South Carolina defensive back had some thoughts about his standing in next month’s NFL Draft.
“I feel like I’m the best defensive player in the draft,” Horn told reporters Tuesday, ahead of USC’s NFL pro day Wednesday. “I’m versatile. I got the size, speed, I’m athletic. I faced every receiver’s body type from Kyle Pitts (Florida tight end) to Elijah Moore and (Heisman Trophy winner) Devonta Smith. I feel like I am the best defensive player in the draft.”
Horn was measured just over 6-foot tall and 205 pounds Wednesday and registered a 41 1/2-inch vertical leap and had an 11-foot, 1-inch broad jump, according to a release by South Carolina. Horn’s 40-yard dash time was 4.37 according to a release sent out by South Carolina. Only five players had a better vertical jump than Horn’s at the 2020 NFL Combine, the last time it was held before COVID-19.
Horn also benched 225 pounds 19 times.
Horn is indeed a consensus first-round pick in various mock drafts. ESPN’s Mel Kiper projects Horn to go to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 16 pick. But Kiper also has Alabama corner Patrick Surtain going to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 10 and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Fairley going to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 12.
Nagy thinks Horn might be the best of the three.
“To me, Jaycee Horn out of South Carolina, another bigger, longer body guy, is better than them both,” Nagy said in a recent interview on ESPN. “The reason I like Jaycee so much is, one, when you talk about press-man and off-man, Jaycee probably does both things better than the other two — in terms of having versatility and how you can use him. Two, I just love the confidence, the swag and the aggressiveness that he plays with.”
Horn, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, said he got that swagger and confidence growing up in a competitive family of receivers. Jaycee’s older brother, Joe Horn Jr., played at Northwest Missouri State, and his younger brother Jaycob is at Texas State.
Joe Horn, their father, played 12 seasons at receiver in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. He was also known for his outspoken nature and is perhaps best remembered for pulling a cellphone from his socks while celebrating a touchdown against the New York Giants. Horn, who caught four touchdowns that game, was flagged on the play and fined $30,000 from the NFL.
Joe Horn was in Columbia on Wednesday to watch his son at USC’s Pro Day.
It was the elder Horn who pushed his son to move to defense because of his playmaking skills. Jaycee and his father have a good relationship, and he joked Tuesday that his dad couldn’t catch a pass if he was guarding him.
“He kind of pushed me that way. Just my aggression growing up and my ball skills, my dad always harped on if I could do it at the cornerback position, I could make a lot of money,” Jaycee said.
Jaycee Horn made an immediate impact with the Gamecocks, starting 10 games as a true freshman and 29 total during his three-year USC career. He opted out of the 2020 season on Nov. 17, shortly after coach Will Muschamp was fired, and faced some backlash on social media from Gamecock fans questioning his desire and his integrity.
Horn elaborated Tuesday on the reasons why he chose to leave during the middle of the season and has been honest with NFL teams about his decision during the draft process. One of the reasons he opted out was COVID-19 concerns, he said. Horn’s two younger siblings contracted COVID, as well as his aunt, who eventually died.
“When I opted that, it was tough them calling me a quitter, questioning my integrity. Losing my aunt at the same time, it’s frustrating and had me mad,” Horn said.“There was a little Twitter war just cause I was emotional because I feel like no human should act like that to another human being without knowing the whole story. I just lost my aunt and you’re over here talking about football. It was frustrating. I fought through it, and I’m in a better place now. I can’t wait to get back on the field.
“I can tell you now, if I went back I’d do it again. I put my family before anything. I feel like my teammates and my coaches know how much I love the game of football. That’s the one time I put my family before the game and if I could go back I’d do it again.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 4:12 PM.
