2024 NFL Draft: 3 things to know about Deantre Prince

Get to know the Jaguars’ new additions from draft weekend with our ‘3 things to know’ series.

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time to reflect on how the Jacksonville Jaguars fared. Did Trent Baalke deliver a masterclass, or has he just set the Jags back five years? Truth is, we probably won’t know that for some time. But we can get to know the newest members of the team a little bit better. In the first of a mini-series of deep dives, here are three things to know about Deantre Prince, CB, Ole Miss:

Earning his place the hard way

Being worthy of an NFL Draft selection makes it easy to assume that all prospects have had a smooth, successful ride at the college level, but this is patently untrue. Football is a game of adversity, and for some, it comes much faster at them than others. For new Jaguars corner Deantre Prince, he knew almost immediately at Ole Miss that he wasn’t ready for SEC football.

Choosing the hometown Rebels over a host of other major programs including Georgia and Notre Dame, Prince initially lasted just one season in Oxford before heading to Northeast Mississippi Community College for a year. The problems weren’t academic as with many college kids who are forced to go the JuCo route; simply, Prince didn’t feel prepared mentally for life at that level. Incredibly, this introspection is all the more impressive considering he was a significant contributor for Ole Miss as a freshman, tallying 25 tackles and two picks in 12 games. Taking a step away, Deantre considers his stint with ‘the Tigers’ as the making of him:

“I wasn’t mature enough for college life and the things I had to do. I would say the journey through juco helped me very much. The atmosphere in Booneville helped me a lot. I was mainly by myself. I wasn’t at home. I was farther away from home. It helped me get mature.”

After his one-year secondment, Ole Miss welcomed back a rejuvenated Deantre Prince, much more mentally robust and ready to contribute. Not even the death of both a cousin and a friend – both in car crashes less than a week before his first game back – could derail him. Prince now heads to the NFL, this time ready for the step up and eager to show what he can do in Jacksonville.

Humble roots impressed with new surroundings

Charleston, Mississippi is a small town about ninety minutes south of Memphis in the north of the Magnolia State. Home to approximately 1,700 people, Deantre Prince is proud to be the first person from his birthplace to be drafted into the NFL:

“It means a lot. My whole community is behind me. Right now, I’m kind of in the laundry room away from all of them, the whole community is outside screaming and yelling. I had to get away. It means a lot to be able to give back to the youth and give them something to look up to.”

Needless to say, the bright lights of Jacksonville cut a very different impression for the young cornerback. Prince is happy to be in Duval County, enjoyed his pre-draft visit, and seems ideally suited to Ryan Nielsen’s press-man scheme:

“I learned when I came up that there’s a great community, great environment, very loving environment, very beautiful environment as well. I’m from Mississippi, all I see is crop fields and crop dusters and stuff like that. So going out and seeing palm trees and things like that, that calms a man down that comes from Mississippi of course. I feel like I fit in the scheme, they told me just basically they like to play man and I’m a man corner. I think there’s a lot of things that I can do better to better my game, always looking to improve. But at the end of the day, I feel like I’m a man corner to the fullest for sure.”

A tough tackler who offers strong support in the run game, Prince’s college tape gives the impression of a cornerback who plays with a chip on his shoulder. His annoyance at having to wait until the 5th round before being called offers extra motivation. But it bodes well he’s landed in a place that wants him – and where he wants to be.

Prince of Ole Miss, King of Speed?

Deantre Prince brings an obscure physical profile to the Jaguars. Known for liking bigger, longer corners in his stints with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons, Ryan Nielsen may have been hoping for reinforcements with bigger arm length and wingspan – Prince is fairly tall at 6’0” but only falls within the 26th percentile when it comes to his reach. His college career suggests he’s a cornerback who has competed with tenacity and grit to be something of a ballhawk – he racked up six picks in four years at Ole Miss – so a perceived lack of length has not had a negative impact to date…

The athletic testing paints a much rosier picture though; Prince can flat out MOVE. An impressive 4.39 40 time at the NFL Combine turned heads on its own, but the 10-yard split time of 1.47 seconds is particularly jaw-dropping. Residing in the 97th percentile, this explosion explains Prince’s ability to run downhill and compete at the catch point, mirror well in man coverage, and support the run quickly. First instincts based on these numbers suggest nickel or slot corner duties – but the well-informed ‘Ourlads’ disagrees, and Prince has spent the last three years competing on the outside against SEC receivers.

Something I love doing is using prospect’s Combine numbers to help people understand a new team member better by giving them a comparison to work with. Interestingly, Prince matches up most with another 2024 prospect – Auburn’s Nehemiah Pritchett – who also visited the team before the draft but came off the board 17 picks earlier than Prince to the Seattle Seahawks. This shows Trent Baalke and his staff were looking for a very particular kind of corner, and Deantre obviously fit the bill.

Oh – and if you’re looking for an NFL comp to work with? Try the Los Angeles Chargers’ Asante Samuel Jr for size, an 80% match when it comes to the measurables. That will do nicely…