Safety D.J. Swearinger from Greenwood (S.C.) High School has committed to South Carolina.
Swearinger, who decommitted from Tennessee earlier this month, said the time was right to give his pledge to South Carolina.
“They made me feel at home,” the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder said. “It’s a good place to play. South Carolina’s starting to build up with the recruiting class they’re putting together.”
Swearinger continued to visit South Carolina while he was committed to UT.
He said he doesn’t plan to consider any other schools now that he’s committed to the Gamecocks.
“South Carolina’s the school I’m going to be at,” Swearinger said. “I don’t think anybody can change my mind.”
That includes UT’s next head coach.
Swearinger said the Vols’ next coaching staff won’t be able to sway his commitment to South Carolina.
“If they call me I’m going to talk to them,” Swearinger said, “but South Carolina is where I’m going. It’s not going to affect anything.”
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 41
arkyvol writes:
if this is the price of progress, so be it. players come and go quickly. head coaches, not so much.
utallvol writes:
you'll be sorry, should have stayed.
rockytopron writes:
It could be a long next couple of years for Tennessee Football. At this point, I seriously doubt hamilton is going to get any of the names thrown out there since he fired Fulmer. Don't be surprised if they hire John Chavis to take over because no one else wants this job. Why would they, if the fire a legend because of a bad season, then why would they want to take over here with the pressure of winning in three years or you're out.
Alabaster_Jones writes:
You'll be sorry, Tennessee is the place to be if you like looking up from the bottom of the division
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
Hire Chuck Webb and all will be well.
tnbigg writes:
Bye...
tnbigg writes:
Wait! Isn't that what KY had last week?
Volunatic writes:
Hire Kyle Whittingham!
He's a defensive guru, he knows urban meyer's offense better than anyone, he is taking Utah to a BCS game this season (after beating two teams that had been ranked in the top 10, he also smacked down Michigan back when Michigan still had high hopes for the season, plus he beat Oregon State, the only team to beat SoCal and the likely winner of the PAC-10).
I repeat-- HIRE KYLE WHITTINGHAM!
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
Don't let the doorknob hit ya where the good Lord split ya!
We shouldn't let ourselves be disappointed over losing a 2 star guy who is the 150something ranked safety in the country, I would hope that we could do better!
KENVOL writes:
It would have been nice to have him but if he isn't a QB,DT, or an OL I'm not to worried.
Hopson2008 writes:
This guy was still considering South Carolina the whole time. I live in SC and they were still writing about him in the paper after he committed to UT, so this is not a surprise and may have nothing to do with the coaching change. Good try though RockytopMoRon. Oh, and I'm sure every good coach in the country is willing to turn down $4 mill a year. Keep bringing up the ridiculous and invalid points and the intelligent fans will keep shooting em down. That goes for WeLove and Butch as well.
law_vol writes:
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are just trying to throw some bait out there to get people talking about Fulmer's inadequacies. Thanks for being a team player.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Does this mean we will only have 26 DBs?
TommyJack writes:
Nicky: You waited all this time to say that??
GreerVol22 writes:
Hopson08 is right. local radio was never firm on the UT thing as "reports" about this kid kept leaking out early on. He can be home in a half hour... so be it....
volaholic45 writes:
The "coach gets fired after one bad season" types just haven't been paying attention. Have they not noticed the gradual (and now almost complete) decline against the real powers of the SEC over the years? Have they not noticed the gradual decline in talent to the point that we now have one premier player on the field, like some of the Vandy, KY, and SC teams we are used to playing; and to the point where we are in the ridiculous position that the forward pass is more likely to produce points for the opponent than it is to produce a TD for us? Have they not noticed the long decline in player discipline on the field, so that you can almost count on a senior or junior coming up with a personal foul or offsides or pass interference at just the wrong time? Have they not noticed the decline in coachability of our players, with seniors repeatedly making freshman mistakes, and occasionally lashing out at fans as if it was all about themselves and nothing else? We didn't get where we are now by taking a wrong turn in September - we've been on this road for a long time.
Citico writes:
over a bad season? you must really drink from the orange kool-aid. This program has been slipping since 2001. They back thier way in the SEC championship last year. Please recall just how close VANDY and KY came to beating us!!! Phil is a great guy but the time has come his program is behind at least half of the SEC and based on what you saw this year can you seriously say we are moving up next year?
bugman (Inactive) writes:
Really? He wants to play for a coach who tell the media his teams suck. Well I say GOOD BYE!
bobbyutvol writes:
Hope he flunks out, we already know he is a liar, his word was nogood. think he was going to go to south carolina any way. He wanted to watch Stevie throw his visor GOODBY
Go4Two writes:
Maybe Hamy should hire Spurrier he's done more for South Carolina recruiting than anyone.
zqvol writes:
Another of many, it is going to be a long time before we crack the top 25 again.
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
Congratulations Bloggers! This is apparently what you were wanting with the shots you took at the coaches and the program. This is also what the kns hopes to achieve with their birddogging of the players and department.
How about Houston NUTT for the next copach. He has sec experience and apparently can work successfully within their system, All he would need to do is evade the local media and "fans".
nivatne writes:
Not the only one...Rivals.com says that Oku has officially opened his recruitment back up
law_vol writes:
"never see" - And you would base such a certainty on what exactly?
username writes:
Righting and leting?
mhillvol#275693 writes:
I don't think it is as bad as you think? If you ask me UT is considered one of the best jobs in the country. Can you imagine for a player and coach to play in front of 100,000+ fans. I think there is more interest in this job than we think? Just my opinion.
Volunatic writes:
I think a lot of hotshot coaches can see that UT had TEN YEARS of patience for Fulmer, and paid him EXTREMELY well despite the gradual decline of the program.
Fulmer didn't have ONE bad season, he had TWO in the past 4 years, and this one is potentially the WORST SEASON IN UT HISTORY. He always treated the bowl games as a "reward" for the season and the players viewed the bowl games as a vacation. Only twice since '99 have the Vols WON their bowl game.
A confident coach with some new ideas on how to do things and good motivational skills can turn around the Vol football program fairly quickly. Anyone who isn't confident, who has no new ideas, and has poor motivational skills might be afraid to take the job here. I don't see a problem with that. I think spurrier is washed up anyway.
Volunatic writes:
That HAD to be a joke. If not, him needs two bee edukatid betr bifor him maeks funn uv yer eddykayshun.
Richmondvol writes:
Oku the Running Back out of Oklahoma just backed off his commit.
Hopson2008 writes:
Actually, I graduated from engineering school at UT and missed about 5 home games total between 1993 and 2007 (mostly Vandy or Kentucky games), so while I might not have played college football, I witnessed the 15 years of exceptional talent and mediocre coaching personally. I would think that a former D1 and NFL player would have better opinions. Guess I was wrong.
dvols writes:
oku gone too!
givehim6 writes:
1 bad season? Anyway sounds to me like his heart was not orange any way.
spvol writes:
How are the coaching "flavors of the week" tasting now?
Volunatic writes:
Whittingham still rules (see my above comments if you need clarification). Brian Kelly is on the verge of taking Cincinnati to the BCS. Both are worthy of consideration. As for the rest:
Leach performed as-expected (losing to in-conference rival AGAIN, not sure why UT want to replace our coach with another coach who also consistently loses to in-conference rivals). Davis is still old and out of ideas, and would be the most-expensive option regardless of performance. spurrier is still old, washed-up, and would rather be golfing. Brewster looks more and more like he did last year, when his Gophers lost 11 games. Calhoun got spanked by in-conference rival, much like Leach did. Kiffin is a big question mark.
jsm67vol writes:
You are an idiot. You must be a reporter of some kind just trying to stir the pile of stink. If not then you must be the most ignorant football fan on earth.
jsm67vol writes:
If this decision were made based on what the bloggers and the media say about the program, then Hamilton has the spine of a slug. This is about what has been happening to UTs football program for the past 6-8 years. How can anyone not see that Fulmer is only a good coach when Cutcliffe is running the offense. Fulmer has been a good recruiter and a great person but thats it. He has never been a great gameday coach and he has never been able to have at least a .500 win percentage against the SEC elite coaches. How low does he have to let the program fo before you realize this.
As far as Nutt goes, he has shown an ability to take a team from the bottom to the middle of the SEC but no farther. That is as far as he will take Ole Miss. He is a good coach and maybe he could compete at the top of the SEC with the talent but I think UT can do better.
tennisvol writes:
Just noticed in the Nashville Tennessean that running back, David Oku has reopened his recruiting options.
BSweet writes:
So I take it all these nay-sayers are Fulmer fans because they are certainly not Vol fans, not spouting the horse manure that they are. If those of you who are saying TN will never be great again actually consider yourself Vol fans, you're kidding yourself. Phil Fulmer is not, nor has he ever been, Tennessee football. He was just the coach. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. There were coaches before him, soon we'll have a new coach, and I'm sure whoever it may be won't be the last. CPF did not single-handedly build Volunteer football. Get over that notion. Yes, he guided us to great heights, but that was ten years ago. It's time to move on. Just let it go already!
BSweet writes:
As far as losing this kid and possibly losing Oku, it sucks, but it's better than letting Fulmer continue underachieving with great talent. Scout ranked us the number one class in 2005 and we see where that has gotten us. As others have said, this isn't about one season. This is about the negative trend Phil has had this team in for the last several years. We are no longer competing at the top of the SEC. And yes, I know teams have ups and downs, but we've been going down for seven seasons now. At some point, enough is enough. Phil had his day. It's passed. And for those of you blaming posters on here for his being let go, enough people had to be showing disapproval for Hamilton to take action. This doesn't fall on the shoulders of just a few. A major portion of the Vol nation was unhappy with how we have continued to fall and that is why Hamilton took action. I've heard Fulmer fans call themselves the silent majority. I'm not buying it. A decline in attendance and concessions spoke volumes. In Hamilton's defense, where was your money? He runs a business and when sales decline that speaks to unsatisfied customers. He saw a problem. He took the first step to fixing it. So if anyone is to blame for Fulmer being let go, and his supporters are the majority as has been claimed, then the blame falls on those self-proclaimed supporters who turned into tightwads. That's right Fulmer fans, it's your fault. If you wanted him to stay you should have been spending your money, because that's what Hamilton listens to, not unhappy fans.
drwfocus#660070 writes:
Get used to these announcements. You ain't heard nothin yet! Top 3, top 15, yeah right.
TideRolls writes:
I guess he didnt want that quality Tennisee educashun.
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