In the opinion of our magazine, this guy here is a “Mr. Football” front runner heading into the ’22 season. Miami of Ohio is all over this guy and hoping to be alone in the pursuit. This prospect is much taller than most publications contend.
Fletcher W. Long, KPGFootball Senior Scout and Editorial Board Member
Everyone in Kentucky thinks Daisjaun Mercer is 5’8″ tall. He has been consistently so listed on various postseason all-star lists and teams to which he routinely gets selected.
That’s why we were taken aback a bit when our own Coach Long ran across Daisjaun at the Hopkinsville/Christian County basketball game. Obviously it was well before tipoff, Mercer is also a star on the Hoptown hardwood like he is on the gridiron.
Coach Long is well over six-feet tall. Matter of fact 6’3″ is his claim and, if he isn’t, he’s not much shy of it. Regardless, Long is pretty tall and that is a well-established fact across the commonwealth.
When I saw Long standing beside Mercer (I took the picture), I couldn’t help but notice that while Long was taller he surely wasn’t inordinately taller. We have seen Mercer listed as tall as five-foot, eleven (5’11”) inches. We are going to suggest he’s a six-footer, with a wingspan (length) easily in excess of the 72-inches we believe him to be tall.
This is a game changer for this projected college, Division I, corner. We already know Mercer is one-heck of an athlete. We already know he is the Hopkinsville High School (HHS) career INT’s leader with another season still to go.
We already know he has made numerous All-State teams and has already drawn multiple division-one offers while others are circling (and salivating). We already know he was selected the Kentucky New Era‘s “Athlete of the Year” and the No. 3 player in the entire western end of Kentucky, according to the Paducah Sun’s “Gridiron Glory” series.
Mercer is not one of those players who is all upside and no “right now” either. Mercer had a fine year in ’21 and an incredible career to date, with a final football season to go.
Over his junior year, Mercer, Hoptown’s primary target in the down-field passing game, corralled 44-receptions for 1,127-yards receiving and 13-TDs. Mercer jetted the sweep eight (8)-times for 108-yards with one (1)-TD.
Not only did Mercer lead Hoptown in scoring (102-points), but he was among the only players in Kentucky to score a rushing TD, catch 13-TDs receiving, collect a pair of “pick-sixes,” all while housing a punt return.
How many players have actually scored in all three phases of the football game last or any year? Not that many would be our wager.
Remember, Mercer is being recruited to play defense at the next level. Mercer had quite the defensive year too in ’21.
Mercer registered 55-tackles, 5-TFLs, 6-INTs for 117-yards in returns, and 2-INTs taken all the way back for TDs. For his career, the rising senior has 17-career INTs, just three shy of 20. That’s a lot of picks.
We asked Mercer if there was anyone standing out to him at this juncture of the recruiting process? “Right now, Miami of Ohio is showing me a ton of love,” Mercer told KPGFootball.
So for anyone wondering how tall this prospect is “actually,” our answer would be 10-feet tall if you’re a QB pondering whether you should throw the football to his side of the field. Regardless, this prospect is standing tall these days, as his picture with Long would suggest. Matter of fact, Mercer may be tall enough to garner a “Mr. Football” award next season.
Is that tall enough for you? It is tall enough for us!
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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