Georgia defensive end Jalen Mayala signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana on Wednesday, the first day of the 2020 NLI Signing Period.
Georgia defensive end Jalen Mayala signed his National Letter of Intent with Indiana on Wednesday and will arrive on campus in June.
When Mayala announced his commitment to Indiana on Jan. 27, he had told the Hoosier coaching staff on the Saturday of his official visit that weekend. He had developed relationships with programs like Minnesota, Purdue, Syracuse and Virginia, but when Indiana contacted him on Dec. 18, the first day of the Early Signing Period, that relationship began to take off.
"Coach (Mark) Hagen is the coach I am closest too, and our relationship has developed more and more," Mayala told Rivals.com. "He made me know I was wanted."
Mayala's recruitment will be linked to three other defensive ends for some time, as Indiana took Mayala from a group that featured Arkansas State commit Corbet Mims and N.C. State commit Claude Larkins after the Hoosiers' top February defensive end target Jason Harris, a four-star out of Arizona, committed to Colorado on Jan. 2.
Bringing in a quality defensive end was imperative for the 2020 class, so Indiana couldn't afford to settle fo an edge rusher that couldn't develop at a Big Ten level. After a preliminary evaluation period in early-fall and, the Hoosiers extended an offer to Mayala in September, and, after a dormant period, Indiana began evaluating Mayala much closer before eventually deciding on him from the final three.
Mayala played at the highest level of Georgia football, and Archer finished the 2019 season ranked No. 9 in Class AAAAAAAA. The newest Hoosier recorded 56 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks as a senior.
