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Shankle stunned by Vols' offer
Corner can play run as well as defend pass
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Cornerback Terry Shankle received a surprising phone call from Tennessee defensive tackles coach Dan Brooks.
Brooks called to offer a scholarship to Shankle, a cornerback from South Stanly High School in Norwood, N.C. Shankle said he didn't expect the offer.
"I was shocked," he said. "I was like, 'Wow.' I couldn't believe it. That's a big SEC school. Not just anybody gets to play in the SEC."
The offer came a day before Shankle traveled to Knoxville to participate in UT's junior day.
The 6-foot, 170-pound Shankle said he checked out the Vols' campus and facility during his trip.
"There's a lot of history with the athletes that were there," he said.
Shankle said he spoke with Brooks, head coach Phillip Fulmer and defensive backs coach Larry Slade.
Shankle said he was impressed by the fairness the Vols' coaching staff offers its players.
"You come in and they give you a chance to play," Shankle said. "If you're good, you get to play. If you're not good, you're not going to play."
Luke Little, Shankle's head coach at South Stanly, believes Shankle is good enough to play.
Little pointed to Shankle's ability to defend the pass and stop the run. Shankle, who intercepted 13 passes as a junior, moved from corner to safety midway through last season in order to make more plays.
"People quit throwing his way so we just put him in the middle of the field," Little said.
Little said he believes Shankle's size makes him more appealing at cornerback in college.
Shankle agrees because of his ability to cover tall receivers.
"If I were 5-8 or 5-9 rather than 6-feet tall, I couldn't jump with the big receivers," Shankle said. "I want to be able to jump with them."
Shankle also has received offers from Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
He said he's received interest from Florida, Clemson and Wake Forest but hasn't received an offer from any of them.
Shankle has attended Clemson's junior day and plans to visit Alabama next weekend.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by Gigavol on March 3, 2008 at 11:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like a good pickup for the Vols. This sounds weird though: He sounded shocked to get an offer from an SEC team, yet he has offers already from Bama and South Carolina?
Posted by burntorangeVOLffle on March 4, 2008 at 1:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is this same article up twice with two different headlines?
Posted by nicksjuzunk on March 4, 2008 at 2:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
burntorangeVOLffle,
It's one of my favorite KNS blunders. They are good to do this at least once in two months but usually more often.
Posted by pdhuff on March 4, 2008 at 8:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The man wants to play DT, not contend for a Rhodes scholarship. Come on board, Mr. Shankle.
How you gonna keep 'em on the farm once they've seen the city?
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
burntorange, It is because the sports editor does such a great job, so bright, so thorough, so diligent... he should receive an extension and raise for his fine work.
pdhuff, Gerry, et al- Did this post violate my promise?
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You know I'm glad for this article and especially for this kid... but to be honest there were other very, very impressive guys at the Jr Day who had good things to say about it.
Several highly recruited instate kids were there and should be easy for KNS to contact. There were several from bordering states like AL, GA, NC, and VA.
Why hasn't there been an article about Jr Day? Why haven't there been more interviews or at least a list of attendees?
It is definitely "newsworthy" after all the handwringing over this year's recruiting class.
Posted by juicetke on March 4, 2008 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm a little confused myself. Does he not know what teams are in the SEC or just not want to acknowledge them as SEC teams?
Keep in mind that this is not a "pick up." Tennessee simply offered. He did not sign.
Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on March 4, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
GigaVol.
The way I read it, he was shocked to get an offer from a "BIG" SEC team. Perhaps, contrary to popular beief on this site, some kids around the country still respect Tennessee's football program. And perhaps he still considers Bama and South Carolina "lower tier".
Posted by juicetke on March 4, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
vol in lsu, that is a great way of looking at it. Thanks for showing me the light.
Paroll Tide!
Posted by invisiblekid on March 4, 2008 at 3:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Why hasn't there been an article about Jr Day? Why haven't there been more interviews or at least a list of attendees?" I'll tell you why sjt18, Adams burned up all the minutes on the KNS cell phone plan with his call to Finebaum the other day.
Posted by thesavageorange on March 4, 2008 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We will have more open scholorships next yr, than UF,GA,AL etc...W/ Shankle being offered that makes around 52(twice as much as this time last yr) that UT has currently offered.GA has offered around 30(half of what they offered this time last yr).For entertainment purposes, here is what a few of the high profile guys said about their visit. Johnnie Farms a 6'3 285lb Guard "The coaches were all great," Farms said. "The basketball game was big and the locker room was great. Just a great place."
"I loved the stadium. That place was so big and their sky box was unreal."
Farms really liked his time with Coach Phillip Fulmer and says his experience as an old offensive line coach is a huge positive for the Vols.
"I'd love to work with him," Farms said. "To have two coaches on the offensive line would be a real asset. Especially with one of them being a big time offensive line coach that is now a head coach."
William Ming 6'4 250lb D-lineman "Everything was really nice," Ming said. "The indoor facility was the best one I have seen so far. The basketball game was really nice. The atmosphere around here with the fans is really good."
Tajh Boyd a 6'1 QB/ATH "It was really nice there," Boyd said. "The coaching staff was great. We had a really good time. I like coach Scott and coach Clawson a lot."I got a chance to visit with coach Fulmer and he was great. For a head coach, he was really laid back and easy to talk to. Not all head coaches are like that, but he was cool." Boyd is also friends w/ B Vinson.
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 4:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Keep it coming savage... Where KNS fails, we trust you will fill the gap.
It is ridiculous that they have this many guys on staff and can't put together a comprehensive report on Jr Day which by their own reporting "kicks off" the 2009 recruiting year.
Posted by kaplan on March 4, 2008 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Junior Day is not open to the media.
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 4:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
savage, is Farms the kid from Lovejoy HS?
UT has a solid pipeline into that school. I think UT already has two OL's from there, right?
Chris Scott is one of them. Seems like there was someone else in the past too.
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 4:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks kaplan. I was aware of that. Not sure about the others.
However, Rivals and numerous bloggers have found out who some of the high profile attendees were and have interviewed them. Shouldn't KNS at least be able to get the in-state kids if not the bigger names?
Posted by thesavageorange on March 4, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sjt18 ,Farms is listed out of Perry, GA Perry HS.By the way, it is said GA will sign about the number of players we signed this yr.They already have 5 commits, all from instate.Hopefully we can knock down some of our instate kids early ,and get the ball rolling.More available scholorships , and better instate talent this yr will help.Alabama is in a similar situation as GA.We could have a big class next yr.also ,here is what Dallas Lee 6'4 290lb guard of Buford GA said about his experience "I really liked everything about the trip, especially the weight room.I didn't know a whole lot before I came up here. knew they had a big stadium, but it's a lot nicer in person.""
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 5:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Keep it rolling bubba.
I know there is a kid from Lovejoy that UT is after this year... Lovejoy is in Hampton, GA.
Are you sure about UT's available scholarships next year? They'll only graduate about 18 players or so if I remember correctly.
I guess you could say Wardlow and Davis helped out but one of those scholarships could go to Warren.
Do you know for certain how many UT will have to give?
Even if it is fewer than you think, they'll have an advantage over 2008 considering that UF, UGA, Bama, and Arkansas all signed large classes and shouldn't have many scholarships at all to offer in 09.
Rufus, Sykes, and Hall seem like certain returnees from JUCO.
Posted by sjt18 on March 4, 2008 at 5:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BTW, any word on non-qualifiers from this year's class? I'd heard that Hughes, Thomas, and of course Walls were questionable. Heard anything?
Posted by THE_VOL on March 4, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Terry - you weren't the only one shocked!!! Making offers to kids at this point shows just how bad this recruiting class is and how desperate FOOLmer and company have become!
Posted by thesavageorange on March 4, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
THE_VOL ,Everyone does it.????????
Posted by thesavageorange on March 4, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sjt18 ,We will graduate around 28.However not all of those are scholarship players.I believe Hubbs said it could be somewhere around 25 ,depending on non qualifiers leaving and returning,Folks leaving early for the NFL etc....I believe Hughes and Thomas are definate, but haven't heard about Walls.Also haven't heard where they will go.Coker helped as well.I believe we had a couple left from this yr's class.
Posted by sjt18 on March 5, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
THE_VOL, Making statements like that at this point just shows how ignorant you are of the recruiting process.
Go educate yourself then come back.
Posted by sjt18 on March 5, 2008 at 9:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks. I was kind of hoping that Hughes would make it. If not, I hope it is prep and not JUCO.
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