Dead father he never knew, mother who raised him inspire UCF signee Jaylen Heyward
Jaylen Heyward never knew his father. He always pushed Lorenzo Jamal Bell away every time his father tried to connect. But the Rockledge safety, who signed to play with UCF last week on National Signing Day, wonders now if that decision was the best choice.
Heyward, a 6-foot, 180-pound safety, will play in the Under Armour All-American Game on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium (4 p.m. on ESPN).
He found out a few years ago that his father was killed during a shooting in Titusville in 2018. His aunt informed Jaylen of the news, but not until a few years after the incident. It left him with mixed feelings.
“So, I didn’t really know about my dad. I didn’t even meet him growing up,” Heyward said. “He died, and my aunt had to tell me about his passing. It was kinda hard on me because I never got to meet him.
“He tried to meet me before, tried to reach out, but I pushed him away because I was a young kid, and it was just a lot, so now I try to do everything for him. I found out that he was a ball player, and he gave it his all on the field, and so that’s what I’ve done.”
Heyward said he did not think his father played high school football, but he was able to watch some of his Little League football clips.
“He was a heck of a ballplayer, so that’s where I got my talents from,” Heyward said. “I saw some of his Little League highlights, and it just was amazing, and it caught my eyes.”
He wonders now if he should have allowed his father to make a connection; however, his feelings are still mixed.
“I really didn’t know how to feel, honestly,” Heyward said. “It’s just a lot of emotions built up … I didn’t really know this person, but it’s still your dad, so-called dad, the one who gave you birth. So, I had mixed emotions. I was just in my own head.”
His mother, Tiffany Heyward, has always been there for him. Heyward wears a picture of his mother holding his younger brother on a medallion attached to a gold chain around his neck.
“It’s my mom and my brother. They give me my motivation to get up out of bed every day,” Heyward said. “The same thing with my dad. I used to have a picture of my dad, but it got snatched during a football game.”
His mother raised her son as a single mom who also gave birth to his little brother, Tristan Thomas, along the way. Tristan is four years old.
“She helped me stay strong and remain on the course I’m on today,” Heyward said.
Move to Big 12 benefits UCF as it wraps up stellar 2024 recruiting class
Heyward is one of the top safeties in the country for the 2024 recruiting class and is ranked No. 20 in the 247 Sports composite rankings. He had 36 scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, FSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, but the proximity to home left him with a strong liking for UCF.
“What sold me was coach [Gus] Malzahn and his recruiting and coach Addison [Williams] and coach [David] Gibbs, they were recruiting me really hard,” Heyward said. “And my mom’s an alumni from there, as well, so that really persuaded me coming down to the decision.”
He had other schools recruiting him hard, but once he committed to UCF, most of them backed off, except for a few, like Colorado. Heyward said it was difficult to keep from being swayed by Coach Prime.
“Colorado was a school that wanted me to come up there really, really bad. They wanted me to come experience the, you know, the Florida boy, Deion-type of affect,” Heyward said. “It was kinda hard to turn down coach Prime, but I did because I never went out there for a visit, and I wanted to stay home. I really see what UCF’s future is, and I like the future.
“The UCF future in the Big 12 is going to be amazing. I like the recruits that we’re bringing in. It’s a strong ’24 class that Gus pulled behind his resume, and the sky is the limit for this class.””
At Rockledge this past season, the 6-foot, 180-pound Heyward had 22 tackles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He also caught two touchdown passes as a receiver.
Chris Hays covers high school and college football, as well as college football recruiting. He can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays and on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached by email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
