Juco player Harris is third DL commitment

Tennessee picked up another defensive line commitment for the Class of 2010 when junior college standout Patrick Harris said he would play for the Vols.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Harris didn’t play his final two seasons of high school football after he transferred to a charter school that didn’t have a team.

Harris then went to Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.

Harris is UT’s third defensive line commitment for the next signing class, joining defensive tackle Risean Broussard from LaGrange High School in Lake Charles, La., and defensive end Jacques Smith from Ooltewah.

UT recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron has secured two commitments in the past week with the additions of Harris and Broussard.

Harris plays a position of need for UT.

The Vols listed only three non-senior, interior defensive linemen on its depth chart for the Orange and White Game: Montori Hughes, Victor Thomas and Chase Nelson. UT signed only one defensive tackle in the 2009 class: Arthur Jeffrey.

There was some late night confusion Thursday over whether Harris was a UT commitment. Volquest.com quoted Harris as saying he had not given UT a verbal commitment and that he would like to go to Tennessee. Later, insidetennessee.com, which was first to report Harris as a UT commitment, removed their story.

However, a source close to Harris’ recruitment re-confirmed afterwards that he was a UT commitment.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!