Murfreesboro defensive lineman commits to Tennessee

By Dave Hooker

Originally published 06:44 p.m., January 27, 2008
Updated 07:22 p.m., January 27, 2008

You won’t find a bigger fan of the inaugural Toyota East-West Tennessee All-Star Classic than Montori Hughes.

Had it not been for the event last December, Hughes would be mulling over schools like Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech or Carson-Newman.

Now, with a scholarship offer from the University of Tennessee firmly in hand, he’s committed to be a Vol.

“I always wanted to play for Tennessee,” the 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive lineman from Siegel High School in Murfreesboro said on Sunday evening following his official visit to UT.

The Vols started pursuing Hughes after seeing him in the East-West all-star game, which replaced the Tennessee-Kentucky all-star game last year.

“I think that helped me out a lot,” Hughes said of his performance in the game and practices leading up to the event. “I did pretty good in the all-star game.”

Hughes couldn’t remember his statistics from the game, but remembers the reaction from fans and coaches.

“People were telling me I was interrupting a lot of plays … so my teammates could make the tackle or the play wasn’t ran right,” Hughes said.

Playing defensive end, Hughes registered more than 25 tackles for a loss during his senior season at Siegel. Hughes has the frame to grow into a defensive tackle, a move he said he wouldn’t resist.

“I want to play end but it doesn’t really matter,” Hughes said. “It’s just going to feel good putting on the orange.”

Hughes may have to wait awhile to don a UT jersey. He’s expected to enroll in prep school or junior college to improve his academic standing.

Hughes is UT’s 14th commitment of the 2008 class. National signing day is Feb. 6.