Colton Jumper sits in the stands at his alma mater, Baylor, Thursday afternoon.The front of Colton Jumper's white pickup truck still has a Navy license plate on the bumper. But the two-time all-state linebacker at Baylor isn't suiting up for the Midshipmen this fall.
After careful consideration following his disqualification for the U.S. Naval Academy due to a kidney disease, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Jumper has decided to do a postgraduate year at The Hun School in Princeton, N.J.
"I'm going to go get re-recruited," Jumper told the Times Free Press on Thursday. "I haven't really sent out too much stuff yet, but that's basically the deal."
Jumper signed with Navy in February, picking the Midshipmen over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, among others. But medical tests this spring revealed the disease called membranous nephropathy. That disqualified him from enrolling at Navy and put him back on the market.
Jumper didn't find out until June that he couldn't play for Navy, forcing him to make a quick decision on another university or go the postgraduate route.
"Some people wanted to know a week after [parting ways with Navy], so are you coming or what are you doing?" he said. "I was just like, I've got to take a step back."
He opted for the postgrad year, and even that required him to evaluate his options.
"I was looking at Loomis Chaffee because [former Baylor pitcher] Jeff Burke went there, and I looked at Fork Union [Military Academy] along with The Hun," he said. "I really liked the coach at The Hun, coach Dave Dudeck. I think he's going to go above and beyond to get me more heavily recruited.
"[The Hun] is just a different setup than Fork Union; I think it's a lot like Baylor. It's going to be more comfortable to me."
Jumper said he isn't sure what will come of the postgrad year, in which he'll hope to attract even more scholarship offers. After his senior season at Baylor, in which he had 132 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and eight sacks, Jumper was rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com.
Being at The Hun may draw the attention of more programs in the Northeast, though he said his preference is to play college ball closer to home.
Jumper said he is feeling fine and getting back into football shape. He'd spent the spring running long distances and training to handle a plebe summer at Navy. He's spent the past few months working out and preparing to be a linebacker.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MocsBeat.