Nation's No. 1 safety Jacoby Mathews says he won't sign until February

Amid plenty of speculation about where he will sign tomorrow, Ponchatoula (La.) safety Jacoby Mathews made his answer known: nowhere — yet.

Mathews tweeted Tuesday morning that he plans to wait until the February late signing period to officially ink with a program.

Mathews is the No. 33 prospect in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 safety and is just one spot outside of being a five-star prospect in this cycle.

He tweeted Tuesday: “waiting til february, for everyone asking..”

waiting til february, for everyone asking..

— 𝑴₂𝑵𝑬𝒀 (@iamjacobym) December 14, 2021

The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder has led a winding recruitment thus far, with different schools rumored to be the favorites to land him over the past few months.

Mathews committed to LSU in April. But he backed off that commitment at the end of July. The Tigers and Texas A&M are considered the main contenders to land him. Although Texas and Alabama have also been thrown out as potential suitors, too.

On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons said this last week about Mathews: “LSU now has a head coach in Brian Kelly, and that is big for Jacoby Mathews and his camp. He is an in-state kid that comes from a very pro-LSU family. Kelly has had communication with Mathews, and although Texas A&M has been consistent in this race, the buzz behind the scenes is with the hometown Tigers.”

He also alluded to the fact that there was growing momentum for Mathews to wait until February. Once the dust settles from the early signing period, Mathews might be the most hotly contested recruit still on the board.