Finding focus: How one Rolesville senior went from a recruiting wasteland to USF commit

First, he escaped a graveyard. Then, he emerged from a wasteland. Now he’s in the Wild, Wild West.

We’re talking athletic metaphors, so stay with this narrative. It spans Jayden Fry’s journey through Rolesville’s Middle School with a basketball mindset, to Rolesville High and committing to a University of South Florida football scholarship offer.

But until Fry embraced football in the latter half of his high school years, he was without a college athletic future. It was then he recognized he saw graveyard headstones of kids who loved basketball without recognizing their college path was in another sport. Reminded of his survival-of-the-fittest football journey, Fry laughed lightheartedly at himself before a Rams’ practice earlier this week.

“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head. “In basketball, I was a big guy always getting called for fouls. I’ve always been a decent football player, so I realized in football I can be physical and aggressive. And football has a lot more scholarships.”

For the record, it’s 85 on a college football roster, and 13 in basketball.

One difference between Fry and many basketball-smitten teenagers in this era of specialization was he continued to play football as a freshman and sophomore on Rolesville’s JV team. By his junior year, he found his passion for football. Rolesville’s recent deep runs in the playoffs added to moving the needle.

‘I want to push them’

Fry combined his new mindset with hitting the weights and a natural growth spurt. He added weight to his 6-foot-3 frame to tip the scales at 235 pounds this season. He also focused on techniques and spent time in the film room.

“I wanted to get bigger, stronger, faster,” he said. “I wanted to get faster to be a better pass rusher and stronger to stop the run. I’ve also learned a lot from watching more film. I always had a feel for basketball. Now I feel film work is helping me get a better feel for football.”

The weight gain hasn’t hurt his quickness and speed. He continues to run with Rolesville’s running backs and defensive backs in team sprints.

“I think I’m fast for my size, and I try to push them,” Fry said. “I can beat some of them, and I’m going to keep working on the others. I want to push them.”

From recruiting wasteland to 3-star

But escaping the graveyard wasn’t the end of his journey. He found himself in a recruiting wasteland. The wasteland of overlooked players is much smaller in the Internet age than it was in the 20th century, but he’s an example that there are still rocks to turn over and find hidden gems.

“I was telling schools to come take a look at him,” said Rolesville head coach Ranier Rackley said. “I feel I have a good resume here pushing kids, but no one was taking a look or offering him.”

Three recent Rolesville graduates are at NC State — sophomore wide receiver Noah Rogers, who transferred home after a year at Ohio State; redshirt freshmen receiver Tamarcus Cooley; and true freshman running back Isaiah Jones.

Jakobe Campell is a true freshman offensive lineman at James Madison, Kameron Manley a true freshman defensive back at Charlotte and Russell Sykes is a true freshman defensive end at Temple.

In addition to Fry, three other Rolesville seniors with early commitments are Zavion Griffin-Haynes, a 4-star defensive end bound for North Carolina; quarterback Braden Atkinson, Mercer College; and junior P.J. Hartsfield, Columbia of the Ivy League.

One reason for the lack of interest was Fry didn’t attend a summer camp until after his junior year. South Florida, though, had an edge. The Bulls’ second-year starting quarterback is junior Byrum Brown, a Rolesville graduate.

“I got a call from Chad Creamer,” recalled Rainey, referring to USF’s outside linebackers coach. “He said he was rerouting his flight (to Raleigh-Durham Airport).”

Creamer got a closer look at Fry on campus and encouraged him to attend Mercer’s upcoming camp, where head coach Alex Golesh also could evaluate him. USF saw enough at the June 21 camp to extend an offer — along with Temple, Troy, Western Kentucky and Morgan State.

Fry decided to commit three days later to USF, an American Athletic Conference member.

But escaping the recruiting wasteland hasn’t mark the end of his journey. Now, he’s in the Wild, Wild West. With 3-star rankings from On.3, 247Sports and ESPN (Rivals still ranks him a 2-star), he can expect other schools to take a closer look and try to flip him. NIL money is the new part of the equation in the Wild, Wild West.

Fry understands it’s a reality, but he didn’t sound like a guy looking around.

“I think I have a good home at South Florida,” Fry said. “They’ve been with me since the beginning.”