Kirkpatrick gives UT a look, but that might be it

Tennessee’s coaching staff asked Dre Kirkpatrick to give them a look.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound cornerback from Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Ala., plans to do so after his unofficial visit to UT last weekend.

The Vols are on a long list.

Kirkpatrick said he’s still considering every school that has offered him a scholarship. He estimated the total is between 40 and 50 offers.

Kirkpatrick said he hasn’t trimmed his list of schools because he hasn’t had time. He said he expects the list to narrow itself down.

“I’m trying to get to the schools that are looking at me,” Kirkpatrick said.

UT is one of those schools.

Kirkpatrick said he talked to UT coach Phillip Fulmer and defensive coordinator John Chavis before the Vols’ 30-6 loss to Florida.

“They just told me I could come in right now and play and make an impact on defense,” Kirkpatrick said.

That wasn’t the first time Kirkpatrick was told he could play early at UT.

UT safety Eric Berry told Kirkpatrick the same thing when Kirkpatrick visited in June.

“He was just telling me, ‘We really need you. The coaches are already telling me you could play. Why not come? It’s not too far from home,’ ” Kirkpatrick recalled of his conversation with Berry.

The boos from UT’s fans last Saturday shouldn’t keep Kirkpatrick from choosing UT.

He said he wasn’t fazed by the boos and wouldn’t be as a college player.

“If I’m going on the field I’m going all out,” he said. “I don’t really hear the crowd.”

Kirkpatrick said he’s received more interest recently from Florida, the team he grew up following.

Kirkpatrick said he’s seen Florida’s defense play with confidence, a quality that matches his style of play.

“Everything I do I have confidence,” he said. “I have swagger on the field. I feel like they have swagger on the field.”

Kirkpatrick plans to visit plenty of schools this fall.

He said he will likely take official visits to Southern Cal and Texas. He said he will take unofficial trips to schools closer to his home.

“I’m going to get to all the schools that are close to me,” Kirkpatrick said.

He’s already visited Alabama and Clemson. He plans to visit Auburn, Florida and LSU, and he will travel to Georgia on Saturday to watch the Bulldogs play Alabama.

Many recruiting experts expect Alabama to be Kirkpatrick’s destination. It’s an in-state school, and his former teammate at Gadsden, Jerrell Harris, is a freshman linebacker for the Tide.

Kirkpatrick said he won’t choose Alabama just because Harris plays for the Tide.

“That’s my best friend,” Kirkpatrick said. “I tell him all the time, ‘You’re going in where you can play.’

“It might not fit for me. I just have to go where I fit in.”

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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