Offensive Lineman Jason Zandamela Talks Miami, Florida State, Other Schools on Top Schools List

In his two years of playing football since moving to the United States from Mozambique, 2024 prospect Jason Zandamela has established himself as one of the top interior offensive linemen in his recruiting class.

Zandamela, who credits his brother with getting him into the sport, played center last season at Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International after previously playing at guard and “a little bit at tackle.”

Here’s what Zandamela told LifeWallet Sports about each of the five programs on his top schools list ahead of his expected commitment on July 6, along with the most important factors he will consider when making the decision.

Miami:

“[Head coach Mario] Cristobal and [assistant head coach/offensive line coach Alex] Mirabal. Having a head coach that’s an [offensive line] guy, it says a lot about the program, and I watched Coach Mirabal in the spring and he [is] phenomenal. I love the way he coaches. I love how he holds his players accountable on everything.”

Florida State:

“Extremely humble coaching staff. They’ll coach you up and develop you into the best player you can be and the best person you can be, which I really like about that.”

On USC:

“I love [offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Josh] Henson and … love how he coaches up the kids. I love everything that he does for the kids off the field, and I’m a very big academics guy, and the fact that they have the No. 1 business school in the nation really makes them stand out even more.”

Oklahoma:

“They probably have the best center coach in the country. [Offensive line] coach Bill Bedenbaugh, he’s very good at what he does and he’s good at developing players and putting them in the league, and he’s an old-school guy, which I really like.”

Georgia: 

“They are the back-to-back natty winners, of course, and they are notoriously known for producing monsters like athletically, physically, all of the above and it would be a great thing for me to go up there and just change my body and see how they can craft it in a very good way.”

Factors Zandamela will consider in making his college decision:

“Definitely the life outside of football. Like how good the degree is or like what opportunities I can get off of the alumni and the people that are willing to help.”