McClendon: Visits to make right call

The lineman from the Baylor School in Chattanooga committed to Tennessee last December. McClendon has since decided to take all five of his official visits allotted by the NCAA this fall.

Ranking his commitment to UT on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a completely secure commitment, McClendon said it would be an 8. McClendon said he wants to gather all the information he can.

"I've got to look out and just make sure I'm making the right choice," the 6-foot-3, 325-pounder said. "After I sign those papers, it's all over. I have to work my way back up to the top and I just want to make sure it's the right place for me."

McClendon said the only school he is sure he will visit in the fall is UT. He has received scholarship offers from close to 40 schools, including Auburn, LSU, Florida, Notre Dame, Miami and Southern Cal. The nationwide attention has caught McClendon off guard.

"I didn't know it was going to be like this," he said. "I didn't know I was going to end up with 40 scholarship offers. I'm not related or close to anybody that has been through the recruiting process like this before so I didn't know how it was going to be."

McClendon said he will look at other schools to compare their atmosphere and coaching staff to UT. He said UT's coaching staff, in particular coach Phillip Fulmer, has given the Vols the edge with McClendon.

"I keep in touch with them on a regular basis," McClendon said. "They're recruiting me just as hard as anybody else. They just tell me I have a great opportunity and they're trying to do something up there. I think they're going in the right direction.

"I just want a stable coaching staff, someone I know is going to be there. Coach Fulmer has been there 13 years. I don't think he's going anywhere. You just want to know you're going to be able to count on that coaching staff the three or four years you're there."

McClendon said he called UT's coaching staff after he made the decision to visit other schools. McClendon said he received a good reaction after speaking with defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell, who is in charge of recruiting McClendon.

"They were pretty cool about it," McClendon said. "I'm keeping in contact with them every week. I don't think they were that upset."

As for McClendon's college position, he said he does not have a preference toward offense or defense. McClendon estimated that he spends 75 percent of his playing time on defense for Baylor. But McClendon believes he can fit in wherever he is needed.

"I've got a feel for either one," McClendon said. "I really think my best opportunity to get on the field first (at UT) is offensive guard because they're going to be graduating a bunch of offensive lineman. But if there's a void on the defensive line I'm quick enough to play that position also.

"It's going to be whatever they say because they're paying for the scholarship. They're not going to just sit there and waste me. They're going to know where to put me."

McClendon stressed that he is still committed to UT but that he needs to keep his options open for himself.

"I know there a lot of people that are mad," McClendon said. "But I'm just a 17-year-old kid and I'm taking it day by day. I've just got to make sure it's right for me and not anybody else."