4-star JUCO CB De’Jahn Warren navigates recruitment amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Four-star 2021 cornerback De’Jahn Warren was slated to officially visit College Park on March 13, but the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled his visit and all subsequent visits since.

“It’s been tough with no visits,” Warren told Testudo Times. “I’ve just been continuing to build my relationships with the coaching staffs and learn more about where they want to use me.”

On Sunday, Warren, a Landover, Maryland, native, celebrated his mother’s birthday by trimming down his list from seven potential suitors to three, leaving Maryland, Georgia and Penn State in the running.

“They all want to use me around the field for my athleticism,” Warren said. “They plan to use man and zone, but also allow me to blitz, return kicks and block punts. I’ve always liked to blocks kicks and return. Every since I was little I thought it was cool and now to have the chance at the next level, I like [special teams] for sure.”

Maryland has recruited the Lackawanna Community College product with a tag team effort from head coach Mike Locksley, defensive coordinator Jon Hoke and assistant Brawley Evans. And once Henry Baker was hired as the defensive backs coach, Warren formed a relationship with him as well.

“I spoke to [Baker] the week he came in,” Warren said. “We’ve been building our relationship and I’ve been learning about guys he has coached at his previous stops.”

On top of talking to coaches, Warren has had discussions with friends and players that he knows at each school, with his Maryland connection being wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr., to get more of an inside look at things coaches may not talk about.

In the meantime, the No. 2 junior college prospect in 2021 has continued working out with area athletes and teammates while also spending time with his family.

The junior college football season was ultimately pushed to the spring, but Warren will be signing in December and enrolling early at the college level next spring.

“It hurt me,” Warren said of the season’s postponement. “It hurt that I wont be able to play with my teammates and see them get offers. Because for some of them, this is their final semester and I know the work that they put in, so it’s hard to see.”

With the postponement, however, Warren will gain an extra year of college eligibility, entering the Division-I level with three years remaining starting in 2021.

Warren says he plans on taking official visits if/when the pandemic allows him to, and his decision to announce his commitment in mid-December is still the plan for now.

“I’m confident in any decision I make in the future, so I’m just taking it day by day right now,” Warren said.