Travaris Cadet still favors Tennessee, but the Vols might not have enough time to wait on his decision.

Cadet, a quarterback from Miami (Fla.) Central High School, said UT is his leader ahead of Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan State and South Florida.

Cadet, who plans to take an official visit to UT on Jan. 13, has called the Vols his leader since the summer, but there might not be a scholarship available by the time he's ready to commit.

UT has 26 commitments for the 2007 signing class. The Vols are expected to sign approximately 28 to 30 players.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Cadet said UT assistant coach Trooper Taylor informed him about the limited number of scholarships remaining earlier this month.

"He talked to me about committing and the other guys they had waiting," Cadet said. "I told him I don't want to make a decision too early. I told him basically that I'm coming to their school but I just wasn't ready to make a decision at that point."

Cadet said he plans to make his decision by early to mid-January. He said he "probably" will be ready to commit to UT by the time he takes his visit to Knoxville.

"Yes, basically I think so," he said, "but I've got to see. I've got to wait for that day to come."

UT has long been a favorite of Cadet because of offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe. Cadet said he believes Cutcliffe can help him have success similar to quarterbacks he has coached in the past.

"I could put all my tools with his tools and it would be like gunfire," he said. "I believe he would make my game increasingly better than it is right now. I believe he'd get me over that hump and get me to the next step, to the next level."

Cadet first took notice of UT in 2004 because of quarterback Brent Schaeffer. Cadet has been compared to Schaeffer because they both are mobile, left-handed quarterbacks.

"They tried to change their system and make it to the mobility with Brent Schaeffer," he said. "Things didn't go right with Schaeffer. I knew they had to move on and get somebody else, which was me who they came after."

North Carolina could be a school to watch. The Tar Heels have intrigued Cadet since they hired Butch Davis as head coach in November.

He said Davis, who compiled a 51-20 record at Miami from 1995-2000, is a coach players like to play for because of his success with the Hurricanes.

"He has that winning mentality," Cadet said. "He provided a lot of players to the NFL, like Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Santana Moss. I wouldn't have a problem playing for Butch Davis, but Tennessee's still on top."

Cadet said he will make a mid-week visit to North Carolina after his trip to UT. He said he plans to visit South Florida on Jan. 19 and Michigan State on Jan. 26, but he could cancel those visits if he's already made a commitment.