Cougs Daily

Graduate Transfer Gabe Jeudy-Lally Discusses BYU Official Visit

Gabe Jeudy-Lally is one of the most experienced defensive backs in the transfer portal

Casey Lundquist

Over the weekend, BYU hosted Vanderbilt graduate transfer Gabe Jeudy-Lally for an official visit. Even though Jeudy-Lally spent three years in the football program at Vanderbilt, he still has three years of eligibility remaining thanks to a redshirt season in 2019 and a free year in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Jeudy-Lally is one of the most experienced defensive backs in the transfer portal - he played 770 snaps for Vanderbilt's defense over the last two seasons. Last season, he racked up 50 total tackles and he also had an interception for the Commodores.

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After entering the transfer portal in late November, he received offers from Illinois, Iowa State, Purdue, and Colorado among others. He received an offer from BYU during his visit this weekend. We caught up with Gabe to discuss his BYU official visit.

Jeudy-Lally said taking visits as a graduate transfer is very different from taking visits as a high school recruit. 

"As a high schooler, the oohs and aahs of facilities, jerseys and all that great stuff, that's part of the decision," said Jeudy-Lally. "But as a graduate transfer, it's definitely not about the theatrics and the rah-rah, it's about the people that are the most honest with you and are going to keep it real at all times, and definitely like a family culture environment that you're looking for."

Jeudy-Lally continued, "[You're looking for] a place that's gonna win games because as a grad transfer, you've been somewhere, you've seen how other places operate, you've played against other places and you know what works and what doesn't really work. So it doesn't matter about whose facilities are better, whose jerseys are better, it about who's going to give you the best opportunity to excel and get to the next level."

He also noted that people communicate with him differently as a graduate transfer. "I feel like as a grad transfer I get treated like a grown man, like everybody speaks to you that way. It's not as much about the whole family, but more like making sure that you are confident in the decision that you are making, and they are there to support you and help you out in any way possible. Because they understand that you played ball before, you know what you're looking for. So there's no need for them to beat around the bush."

During the visit, Jeudy-Lally went up into Provo canyon to go snow tubing with the recruiting staff and the other recruits. That activity stood out as his favorite part of the visit. "Honestly it was probably the snow tubing together," said Jeudy-Lally when asked about his favorite part of the visit. "Me and the other recruits and the recruiting staff kind of got to act like little kids, and it was just a good time to be honest with you. Having come from Texas, you know, there's not much snow. So that was nice."

Gabe Jeudy-Lally

Jeudy-Lally sat down with head coach Kalani Sitake, cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford, and other members of BYU's staff during the visit.

"[Coach Kalani] spoke about the culture, he spoke about how he does things, about where he sees me and it was good. I got to sit down with Coach G and watch the film, you know, just chop it up about life and stuff like that, which is nice too because he has been there, he played there...As a grad transfer, you want to hear from people that have done it. They did it there and they did at a high level...I got to talk to everybody from the assistant athletic director to whoever it was that they wanted to put in front of me, and they did a really good job."

Jeudy-Lally has taken other official visits as a grad transfer, and he could take a few more visits before he makes his decision. But he notes that the trip to BYU was one of his favorites. "This [BYU trip] has been one of  my favorites, I have to say for sure." 

Jeudy-Lally noticed that the culture and family-oriented environment at BYU made his visit unique when compared to other visits he has taken over the years.

"I have to say probably how family oriented and kind of relaxed everybody seemed," said Jeudy-Lally on what made the BYU visit unique. "I know it seems weird to describe it that way, but it didn't seem like there was much stress...everybody seemed happy and those are the small things that some people might miss when they're visiting places. It just seemed from the coaches, to the people, to the teammates, to everybody in the area, [they] just always seemed to be happy regardless of if they knew I was a recruit or if they thought I was just a regular person walking in the building."

Jeudy-Lally continued, "It seems like the atmosphere there is just really healthy and that's something that, with the age of mental health and all this stuff that's going on, that's something that is sometimes forgotten. The people there just really emphasize making sure they are there for everybody both mental health wise, physical health, overall happiness, and I felt like that was really unique. Especially having played already and seeing how [mental health] has affected some people. I just feel like that's an area, if you want everybody to excel and win football games, you've really got to focus on."

After he finished his football career, Jeudy-Lally hopes to work in healthcare administration. Should he choose BYU, he would apply to either the MBA program or the MPA program.

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Jeudy-Lally says he hasn't locked in a decision timeline, but he wants to make a decision and be enrolled at his next school of choice by June. He is set to graduate from Vanderbilt in May with a bachelor's degree.

Adding Gabe Jeudy-Lally to the defensive backfield would be one of the best recruiting wins of BYU's 2022 defensive class. His SEC experience and ability would be a major addition to BYU's defensive backfield in 2022 and beyond as the Cougars embark on their journey to the Big 12 beginning in 2023.

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Did you enjoy the video at the top of this article? Listen to the rest of my conversation with Chaz Ah You and Lorenzo Fauatea here.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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