When facing a disaster, a friend can provide the best relief.

Residents of Hampton, Va., were being evacuated as Hurricane Isabel bore down on the coastal town in September 2003.

Brent Vinson was one of many in the storm's path. He was staying at a friend's house when it was time to leave. He had two options -- travel to his aunt's house with his mother or leave for New Jersey with his friend.

Vinson went to New Jersey with his friend, standout UT basketball signee Duke Crews.

Vinson, who signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to play football for Tennessee, calls Crews his best friend. He said the trip to New Jersey for two weeks brought the two closer together.

"I got to go see his background and learn more about him," said Vinson, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver from Phoebus High School. "That made our friendship a lot stronger. By me going there and spending time with him in his hometown we've become real good friends since then."

Crews lived in New Jersey until he moved to Hampton before his sophomore year with his older brother, Terrence Patrick. Crews attends Bethel High in Hampton.

Crews signed with UT in November. When Crews found out Vinson was interested in playing football for the Vols, he immediately began recruiting for the Vols. .

"I just told him if I liked it he'd like pretty much everything I liked," Crews said. "I figured he would like it up there and I know they've got a good football team.

"I knew right after his visit that they were his leader. We kept talking about it and then he finally committed."

Vinson said he listened intently to what Crews had to say about UT. If he could trust one person, it was Crews.

"He used to just put a buzz in my ear every time: 'Tennessee man, it's a real good place,' " Vinson said. "He knows the type of person I am. If I have an environment for me to stay focused and concentrate and do what I've got to do then I'm going to be at my best.

Vinson took an official visit to UT on Oct. 28. Crews was in town on an unofficial visit that same weekend. The trip gave Vinson a first-hand look at everything Crews had already told him.

"When he went to UT, he saw it for himself," Crews said. "He really didn't believe it when I first came back. Then when I went out there he saw how they were treating me and then he saw how much respect the football team got. It was just something he liked."

Crews said he pointed out the support from UT fans, something that amazes him every time he visits Knoxville.

"When I go out there, they all know who I am," Crews said. "It feels good to know they follow the recruits. I don't even go there yet and they knew everything about me."

Vinson and Crews plan to be roommates when they arrive this fall. Crews said it will help to have a familiar face nearby when he leaves for a change of scenery.

"We're with each other a whole lot," Crews said. "It'll be a whole lot easier to adjust to things, especially going through tough times. It's a whole lot better when you've got someone there you know."

Like Crews with the UT basketball team, Vinson should be a big addition to the Vols' football team. Vinson said wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor stressed the importance of a wide receiver that can gain yards after the catch -- which Crews said is Vinson's biggest asset.

"The coaches told me they needed receivers and players to come make plays," Vinson said. "When I watched the (South Carolina) game he (Taylor) wasn't feeding me any crap. He was telling me the truth.

"I saw a couple receivers drop some passes. Not to say receivers don't drop passes but they dropped a couple of big passes."

Phillip Fulmer wasn't the only head coach from UT who spoke to Vinson. Vinson said he also received an encouraging word from basketball coach Bruce Pearl.

"He (Pearl) just told me to stay positive and keep doing what I'm going," Vinson said. "It's kind of like a family environment. It's good to know he knows about the university."

Crews said Pearl extended an invitation to Vinson to try out for UT's basketball team but he is expected to focus solely on football.

If Crews hadn't signed with UT, who knows if Vinson would have selected the Vols? All Vinson knows is that it made his decision a lot easier.

"The chance would have been a little slimmer to pick Tennessee if I was going there by myself," Vinson said. "I would've been concerned about someone being there. If you have to walk a very long distance and you have someone walking with you, it makes it seem a lot easier.

"I kind of thought of it like that. Duke's going to be there with me."