Fulmer's 'passion' led sophomore TE/DE to pick Vols

A regular-season loss turned into a recruiting victory for Tennessee.

The Vols picked up a commitment from sophomore tight end/defensive end Eric MacLain from Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, N.C., on Wednesday.

MacLain, 15, is already 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds. He won’t turn 16 until March.

MacLain is UT’s first commitment for the 2011 class. The Vols don’t have a commitment for the 2010 class. UT has 16 pledges for 2009.

The commitment was based off a trip the MacLain family took to see UT play Florida on Sept. 20, a game the Vols lost 30-6.

Lifelong UT fans, it wasn’t the game that stood out to the MacLains; it was coach Phillip Fulmer’s response when he visited with several UT prospects and their families afterwards.

“After the game Coach Fulmer came into the room with his head held high and was talking about ‘This isn’t the Tennessee Volunteers that you saw today.’ ” MacLain said.

Eric MacLain’s father, Michael MacLain, agreed.

“After the debacle of the Florida game, Coach Fulmer came in and talked to the people there,” Michael MacLain said. “The passion in his voice is what you’re looking for.”

The MacLains also were impressed with UT’s players following the loss.

“There was no finger pointing,” Eric MacLain said. “They took the loss like a man.”

The MacLain family, who lived in Powell for nine years and have several family ties to Knoxville, knew they wanted their son to go to UT following the Florida visit.

“I don’t want them (other schools) to be misled,” Michael MacLain said. “Let’s make this official.”

UT’s engineering program also factored into the decision. Eric MacLain selected Jack Britt in order to take part in a special engineering program. He has a 4.36 grade point average.

The Vols made MacLain his first offer. It won’t likely be his last, especially since MacLain can’t sign with UT until February 2011.

“I’ll listen to what they have to say,” MacLain said of other schools, “and I’ll tell them ‘No thank you. I’m committed to the University of Tennessee and that’s where my heart tells me to go.’ ”

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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