If any defensive back has a better last name for his position than Ameer Speed, we haven't met him.
Speed, a three-star 2017 cornerback prospect from Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Fla., has picked up recent offers from Florida State and Ole Miss and seen an uptick in his recruitment. Speed stands 6'3, which gives him significant length for a corner and a physical edge.
"It allows me to recover really quickly and get ahead on people," he told SB Nation's Bud Elliott this weekend at a regional recruiting camp in Orlando for the Nike event The Opening.
Speed told Elliott he's still working on his technique while playing off receivers. His best strength, he said, is his ability to play in close-quartered man-to-man coverage.
"I think that's the best part of my game," Speed said, "playing tight and always playing my man."
It's been a somewhat late-developing recruitment for Speed, who said he "didn't start sprouting" until two years ago. Now, he's got interest from some of the sport's blue bloods. In addition to Florida State and Ole Miss, though, he has offers from North Carolina, Iowa State, Wake Forest, Memphis, East Carolina and a few others, he said.
Speed said he's been in communication with DeMarcus Walker, a four-star defensive end from Sandalwood who committed to Florida State in the class of 2013.