Football coaches generally don’t like recruiting surprises — but in this case, offensive coordinator Dave Clawson will make an exception.

“I know I surprised coach Clawson a little bit with the timing,” said UT’s newest commitment, quarterback Josh Nunes from Upland (Calif.) High School. “I called him up on the way back from a camp and just committed right on the spot.”

And there it was. UT’s 11th commitment of the 2009 class came in the form of a 6-foot-4, 211-pounder, who is widely considered one of the top 20 pocket passers in the nation.

“I’m a pro-style quarterback,” Nunes said, describing his game. “I take a lot of time in studying the game. I believe in my abilities to read defenses. Once I do that, I can get the ball to the receivers.”

It’s not that UT deemed Nunes a long shot — far from it. The Vols felt good about their chances of landing Nunes, who threw for more than 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns.

However, UT coaches surely figured Nunes would need to visit Knoxville (which he hasn’t) and/or see Clawson’s offense in a game (which he hasn’t).

“I formed a good relationship with coach Clawson,” Nunes said. “I can tell he’s the kind of person that will put in the work to get things done. I’m very confident in his ability to coach the offense. I’m sure things will be good.”

As for campus life, Nunes said, “I’ve done a lot of research on the schools I’ve been looking at. You can’t go wrong at Tennessee. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I just felt like I should jump on it.”

And so the Elite 11 camp invitee announced his decision over scholarship offers from Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arizona State among others. Nunes seemed unfazed by the recent commitment from quarterback Bryce Petty from Midlothian (Texas) High School, who chose UT over Portland State and New Mexico.

“Anywhere there’s going to be competition,” Nunes said. “I’m coming into compete no matter what so, overall, it didn’t affect my decision.”

Petty said his commitment to UT was still solid even with Nunes’ commitment. As a lower-rated prospect than Nunes, most would say Petty will be the underdog when the two compete for playing time. Petty doesn’t see it that way.

“It’s definitely a motivating factor,” Petty said. “He is higher ranked than I am. I can’t really say anything until we strap it up.

“I know he’s going to go compete and so am I. Whoever gets it, gets it. I’m confident in myself that I’m just as good as he is.”

Petty and Nunes have both said they are willing to redshirt their first season at UT in 2009. That would still give both a chance to compete for the starting job in 2010 against redshirt freshman B.J. Coleman and sophomore Nick Stephens.

The Vols seem well equipped to move on without Sarasota (Fla.) High School quarterback Casey Kelly, who was drafted with the last pick of the first round by the Boston Red Sox in this spring’s amateur baseball draft.

Since being drafted, Kelly has said all along that he expects to pursue a professional baseball career instead of a football career at UT this fall. Kelly told the News Sentinel this week that he expects to sign his contract in the first week of July.

Under the tentative stipulations of the agreement, Kelly wouldn’t be able to play college football for five years once he signs with Boston.

Nunes is UT’s seventh commitment since June 12. Given UT’s recent success, perhaps sudden commitments shouldn’t be that surprising.

“I just woke up feeling really good about Tennessee,” Nunes said. “Things are rolling for them right now and it was the right time to pull the trigger.”

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.