Jalen McLeod is going to pay attention to every specificity. That’s a key part of his decision-making process. It’s why he went to Appalachian State when Power 5 schools were calling for him. And it’s why when he became a star, launching into the transfer portal, Auburn was the right next fit.

McLeod isn’t the biggest guy lining up at the line of scrimmage at 6-1, 240 pounds. But he believes he’s an edge rusher. McLeod said bigger schools like Rutgers recruited him out of high school at Friendship Collegiate in Washington D.C. but asked him to move inside, but that just isn’t him or what he wants to do.

“I’ve been playing it my whole life,” McLeod said. “I don’t want to change.”

Appalachian State let him play outside linebacker. It was the only school he said gave him the scheme fit he was looking for. He said the Mountaineers’ system allowed him to play freely. So he made his decision.

That focus on a specific scheme fit was his same approach in the transfer portal.

McLeod said Auburn’s defense under Ron Roberts seemed familiar compared to what he played at Appalachian State. So the pairing seemed natural.

“When you play Jack, they let you play free, just like App State,” McLeod said. “It’s not really much of a difference from what I was used to. That’s what made me feel like a fit here.”

McLeod loved Roberts’ system, and saw how the new defensive coordinator had utilized smaller players like McLeod before. There were only so many programs allowing him to play the way he wanted.

Auburn was one of them.

“You can’t think about your size at all,” McLeod said. “When I’m on the field, I’m not thinking that I’m 6-1, 240. I’m out there, I’m playing football. Everybody’s gotta play football. There are people who might be as talented, but they don’t want it like me. They’re 6-5, they don’t want to get as low. They’re lazy, take tackles. I’ve gotta use it to my advantage.”

He said Roberts lets him get on the edge as the jack linebacker and focus on nothing but getting to the quarterback.

Yet while the quite particular approach McLeod brought to both his high school and transfer recruiting process were similar, his collegiate experience now allowed him to fine-tune his thinking further. He said he wasn’t going to fall for the same alluring recruiting traps a high schooler might jump for.

“Auburn, they were telling the truth,” McLeod said. “And it’s still the same. It feels like recruitment every day. They talk to you, they make sure they text me. They make sure I’m good, they make sure my family’s good. It’s love here.”

As a 3-star recruit in high school — ranked outside the top 1,500 players in the class of 2020 — McLeod didn’t receive much Power 5 attention. He said he was called by Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights never extended an offer according to his 247Sports profile. His recruiting profile shows offers from Appalachian State and UMass as well as two FCS programs in Stony Brook and Morgan State.

But after a 2022 season where he has six sacks, 41 total tackles with 7.5 of them for a loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, McLeod earned the chance to dream bigger than his size may have allowed out of high school. That included a dominant game in Appalachian State’s upset win over then-No. 6 Texas A&M. 

“Just go chase your dream,” McLeod said his Mountaineer teammates told him. “This is your dream. Your destination is different from everybody.”

It all brought him to the SEC and Auburn — in a scheme that doesn’t penalize him for being only 6-foot-1.

And the early returns are quite promising.

McLeod is one of the more than 20 Auburn players at fall camp who were not here for spring practices. While he came to Auburn for the defensive scheme, he’s now having to fit into it.

“He’s a special talent, especially when it comes time to pin it back and go rush,” Roberts said. “His physical toolset is pretty amazing. He’s a very talented individual. We’ve just got to get on the right track and make sure I’m putting him in the right spots.”

Offensive tackle Gunner Britton described McLeod as a “freak show” during Auburn’s first week of fall camp. Many Auburn players have talked about McLeod’s quickness and “twitch.”

Dillon Wade, who has been matched up with McLeod frequently in practice, said McLeod has given him the most trouble.

“He just got here but he has a motor, man,” Wade said. “He doesn’t stop and he’s so athletic. He’s kinda fast so you have to play the outside and inside with him, and through the middle. He can do it all.”

McLeod is in a rotation with Liberty transfer Stephen Sings V and Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McAllister for the starting jack linebacker spot. Moving Keldric Faulk from jack to defensive end has allowed more ability to give the stable of pass rushers Auburn is excited about opportunities to see the field.

“Jalen McLeod and Stephen Sings have changed that for the better for us,” head coach Hugh Freeze said after Auburn’s scrimmage Saturday. “You’ve got to have some third down packages where both of them are probably in the game, because they probably are our most dynamic pass rushers right now.”

Sings and McLeod play off each other well with Sings’ bigger frame and powerful rushing compared to McLeod’s speed. They’ll both see the field in Auburn’s new-look pass rush filled in by transfers. They found the fit they wanted at Auburn, and have fit in here quickly, too.

“I hopped in the portal, talked to Coach Freeze and decided this is what it is — it’s home,” McLeod said.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]