A talented defender with tons of potential, Antoine could be just what Miami’s struggling defense needs
In this installment of The Recruiting Notebook, we meet a lockdown cornerback from the heart of SEC country: New Iberia (LA) Westgate 4-star CB Jaboree Antoine.
Bio
With the defensive secondary being very much the unit on this roster that needed a major and immediate upgrade in talent, Miami turned their recruiting attention to New Iberia (LA) Westgate CB Jaboree Antoine.
A tall and thin 6’1” 170lbs, Antoine has long been one of the top corners in this recruiting class. Starring for Westgate, Antoine has flashed elite performance on the field, during 7v7 season, and at multiple recruiting camps through his HS years.
Not only is Antoine an All-American on the gridiron, he’s an integral part to other sports at Westgate as well. A 3 sport athlete — he also runs track and plays basketball at Westgate — Antoine has shown himself to be a key player on many teams.
Antoine first made his presence known as a HS freshman, contributing rotationally for a Westgate team that won a State Championship.
As a sophomore, playing both QB and CB for Westgate, Antoine had good numbers on both sides of the ball for a 10-4 Westgate team that lost in the State Semifinals of Louisiana’s Division 1 Non-Select playoffs. On offense, Antoine completed 105 of 186 pass attempts for 1,650 yards and 12 TDs, and also ran for 303 yards. On defense, Antoine showed his elite skills with 32 tackles, 11 PBU and 5 INT.
On New Year’s Day 2023, Antoine received his first scholarship offer. And who extended Antoine that offer? None other than the Miami Hurricanes. Put a pin in that for later.
Miami may have been the first to offer Antoine a scholarship, but they were far from the last. Local powerhouse LSU — who routinely gets damn near every blue chip player they want from Louisiana and have for years — was the next to offer. Then, the floodgates opened. Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Tulane, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida all extended offers to the talented DB in the months between his sophomore and junior seasons.
Coming back as a junior, Antoine started the 2023 season very well, and was showing his elite talent. Unfortunately for him, Antoine sustained a collarbone injury after 4 games, and missed the majority of the season. He did, however, make it back for Westgate’s 2nd round playoff game, a hard fought 20-18 loss to eventual State Champion Ruston.
Even in only 5 games, Antoine showed his elite skills on the field. On Defense, Antoine had 32 tackles, 5 interceptions, 11 PBUs, and 1 Def TD. On offense, reprising his QB-CB 2-way play, Antoine had 1,650 yds and 12 TDs passing, while adding 303 rushing yards to boot.
Through the 2023 season, Antoine made several unofficial visits to schools recruiting him. A pair of visits were to Texas, and there were trips to LSU and Tennessee as well. And, for good measure, Georgia extended him a scholarship offer as well.
Antoine did the thing that many expected him to do and committed to LSU in January. But, the story did not end there.
Miami, undeterred by Antoine’s commitment to LSU, continued to push for the All-American Corner. He took an unofficial to Miami’s campus during a 7v7 tournament in March, then followed that up with an Official Visit in May. Evaluating his options, Antoine took an Official Visit to Florida State in June. By that time, it was too late for the Noles and the Tigers both.
Antoine decommitted from LSU in late June, and completed the flip with his commitment to Miami in July.
As a senior, Antoine sustained yet another injury that cost him the majority of his season. Much like the trajectory of his junior year, Antoine got injured in Westgate’s 4th game of the year, missed the next 7, then returned for the 2nd round playoff game. This time, Antoine’s season ended in the 2nd round against another top seed, undefeated Bossier City (LA) Airline.
Recruiting Ranking
On the 247sports composite, Antoine is a 4-star prospect, the #14 CB nationally, #4 in the State of Louisiana, and #113 player overall in this class.
Antoine flipped his commitment to Miami from his former pledge to LSU, and over a strong list of 23 scholarship offers from top teams around the country.
As A Player
At 6’1” 170lbs, has decent height and great arm length, but he’s very thin and lithely built. He’ll need to get up in the 180lb+ range to be a consistent player at this level. Miami has done well adding weight to players in the past, and the hope is that continues with Antoine.
Antoine is an explosive athlete. He long jumped 20-4 and triple jumped 43-1 as a junior, and ran the 200M hurdles in as well. When you combine that with the athleticism he employees on the basketball court and football field, and you start to have the picture of the kind of athleticism Antoine possesses.
As I said up top, Antoine is a lockdown defender from the cornerback position. He uses his athleticism and technique to match receiver patterns, and is very adept at jumping routes for interceptions. Antoine is best at off-man or zone coverage due to his experience with them, and his lithe build isn’t at the point where press man coverage is something he can consistently execute against similar sized or larger receivers he’ll face on the outside at the college level.
Like many thin DBs, Antoine will need to improve his technique as a tackler. He’ll need to focus on tackling through the thighs of bigger backs and tight ends as he develops his body to have more of an impact at the point of contact. He’ll likely never be a massive player, but that shouldn’t stop Antoine from developing solid tackling technique, no matter who he’s trying to bring to the ground.
With 2 consecutive seasons with major injuries that cost Antoine 16 of a possible 24 games, there is reasonable room for concern about his ability to stay healthy. There is no guarantee his injury woes will continue, but there’s not guarantee they won’t, either. So, to me, this is the main thing worth watching. If healthy, Antoine is every bit of a 5-star All-American player. But, he can’t have that impact if he’s hurt and not playing.
Strengths
- Speed
- Instincts
- Ball skills
- Athleticism
Weaknesses
- Injury history
- Very thin and a bit light
- Tackling technique
- Run support against bigger blocker
Miami Outlook
Note: changed this up from just a freshman-season outlook to a career outlook for each player a couple years ago and we’re continuing that style this year as well.
Antoine is a top recruit from a talent hotbed and a big recruiting win for Miami against top teams from all over the country. He’s also, however, a player who’s missed more than 70% of his games over the last 2 years. So, green flag and red flag, I guess.
The main thing for Antoine is getting healthy. If that takes a redshirt, then that’s what it takes. But, he has to be healthy to have a positive impact on this team, one that desperately needs players of his talent and athleticism in the secondary.
Antoine could be 100% healthy, step right into the lineup, be a freshman All-American and build an elite college career as a foundational player on Miami’s defense. He could just as likely continue to have injury issues, rarely play, and have little to no impact when he finds his way onto the field. So, suffice it to say that there are a wide array of outcomes here, when you factor in Antoine’s injury history.
Basically, I view Antoine as a high-risk, high-reward prospect. Miami could get an All-American or a scout teamer with this player. We’ll have to wait and see how his career plays out, but I wouldn’t be surprised with pretty much anything that happens.
That’s it for this installment of The Recruiting Notebook.
Go Canes