Chris Donald needed a little help from his friends.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker from Huntingdon (Tenn.) High School has seen Tennessee on plenty of occasions. This time, he wanted some other opinions so he brought three childhood buddies to Knoxville on his unofficial visit on Sept. 9.

"I brought some friends that haven't really seen the other side of Tennessee," Donald said.

During the Air Force game on Saturday, Donald was flanked by three confidants, who surely hold valued opinions for the News Sentinel's top prospect in the state.

"They enjoyed themselves," Donald said. "They met all the coaches and most of the players. They were excited."

Donald said he's still leaning towards committing to UT over Notre Dame. Last weekend only seemed to help.

"I like their fan base," Donald said of UT. "They showed me a lot of love. That made me feel like I was home."

As for Notre Dame, Donald said a recent unofficial visit wasn't quite what he expected.

"I thought it was bigger than what it was," he said. "It was a small school. It was a small town."

Still, don't count the Fighting Irish out. Donald cited plenty of reasons to head north.

"I like how Notre Dame plays -- the tradition," Donald said. "It seems like they've been put out there more than anybody. But they haven't had a lot of linebackers come through."

That's certainly not the case with the Vols, who have a strong history of producing NFL linebackers under defensive coordinator John Chavis.

"They have great tradition, too," Donald said. "I like how the linebackers play with coach Chavis. He's one of the best linebackers coach and defensive coordinators in the nation."

Several prospects have said UT seems more appealing after its fast start in the season opener against California. Donald, however, said that hasn't had a great effect on his thinking.

"I wasn't really going to base my decision off a team having a bad season," Donald said. "Everybody has those. It looks like they've put in a lot of hard work and it's paid off for them."

Donald may have been the only linebacker in Neyland Stadium that wanted to play against Air Force's triple-option attack. The Vols struggled against the unusual offensive style.

"That's a hard offense to defend," Donald said. "I think it's fun to play against the option. You get a lot of big hits off of it."

Donald said several schools still are pursuing him, such as Alabama, Ole Miss, Clemson, Memphis and Vanderbilt. However, Donald is hardly listening. He said any official visit to a school other than UT or Notre Dame won't be serious.

Donald said he will visit South Bend officially sometime during the season. He said he'll probably take his official visit to Knoxville on Dec. 10, likely UT's most significant weekend for official visits.

Donald said he hopes to announce his decision before January.

Donald said it's all about being comfortable at his school of choice. He'll determine that with a little help from his friends.