Earlier this month, Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn signed a massive contract extension that temporarily made him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history.
Horn, a former South Carolina Gamecocks standout who was selected by the Panthers in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, signed a four-year extension worth $100 million.
For about a week, Horn’s new $25 million annual salary made him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history. Former LSU Tigers cornerback Derek Stingley surpassed Horn’s annual salary a week later after signing a three-year extension worth $90 million with the Houston Texans.
Horn, who was rated by 247Sports as a three-star recruit during the 2018 recruiting cycle, was committed to the Tennessee Vols for three months in late 2017.
The Georgia native, however, decommitted from Tennessee two weeks after the Volunteers fired Butch Jones as the program’s head coach. At the time, Tennessee was going through a bizarre coaching search that had reached a boiling point after UT’s attempted hire of Greg Schiano was thwarted by a fan revolt.
Horn actually decommitted from Tennessee on the infamous “Schiano Sunday”.
Things worked out just fine for Horn as he became a top 10 NFL Draft pick after three successful seasons at South Carolina. His story, though, is reminder that while Schiano Sunday prevented what would’ve been a disastrous hire for Tennessee, it didn’t necessarily lead to immediate success for the Vols. Tennessee dealt with some struggles on the recruiting trail after that fateful day and the program had to suffer through three less than inspiring seasons under Jeremy Pruitt as a result.
It’s doubtful that the presence of Horn on the roster would’ve made much of a difference during the Pruitt years, but he certainly would’ve been an asset for a program that was low on elite talent at the time.