Not good news for UT's recruiting weekend

A woeful weekend will make for a very uncertain National Signing Day.

With just two days until commitments become signees on Wednesday, Tennessee fielded bad news from its football prospects across the eastern United States. At least six prospects seemed to have soured on the Vols.

Here’s a list of the last-second setbacks:

n UT commitment Aubrey Phillips seems destined to play his college football elsewhere based on comments the 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive lineman made following his official visit to Auburn this weekend.

“I’m still committed to Tennessee, but on Signing Day there will be a change,” Phillips told Auburnsports.com. “My Auburn visit went good. I got a chance to hang out with the players and meet the coaches and really liked it.

“I like it down there. I like the stadium. I like the coaches. All of them are cool. You can go to them with your problems and none of the players had one bad thing to say about them.”

Phillips committed to UT in June but became a prime target for Auburn when it hired away former UT coach Trooper Taylor from Oklahoma State in January.

Taylor recruited Phillips, who is from Olive Branch (Miss.) High School, to play for Oklahoma State before accepting a position on Auburn’s staff.

When Phillips’ teammate, safety Daren Bates, committed to Auburn last week, UT had reason to be concerned. Phillips told the News Sentinel that Bates’ decision would have a major affect on his decision.

n Tight end Zaccheus Mason will sign with Ole Miss, the standout from Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville told the News Sentinel via text message Sunday.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder had been considering UT, having taken an official visit to Knoxville on Jan. 16. Mason visited Ole Miss on Jan. 23.

“I enjoyed Ole Miss a lot more,” Mason said in a text.

n It looks as if David Oku’s recruiting journey will go longer than expected.

The Tennessee tailback commitment from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla., has said he might postpone his final announcement until after National Signing Day.

The extra decision-making time is “because of the opportunity of coming down here,” Oku told The Birmingham News following his official visit to Auburn this weekend.

Oku was very complimentary of Auburn’s offense under first-year Tigers offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who led Tulsa to a high-scoring offense as its coordinator for the past two seasons.

“Basically his offense is not fair from what I’ve seen,” Oku told the newspaper. “It’s not fair with some of the trick plays he has done. I was laughing at the plays because the defense didn’t know what was going on.”

Oku committed to UT in September but has since taken official visits to Auburn and Syracuse, where former UT running backs coach Stan Drayton is coaching.

Oku is considered the top all-purpose back by Rivals.com and one of the top 100 prospects in the nation.

n Linebacker Robert Nelson did not commit to UT this weekend as he had hoped to do, the linebacker confirmed via text message.

It is unclear if the 6-5, 205-pounder from Stone Mountain (Ga.) High School was offered a scholarship on his official visit to UT as Nelson wasn’t available to comment further.

Nelson told the News Sentinel last week that he would commit to UT if he was offered a scholarship and the visit was satisfactory.

Nelson has fielded scholarship offers from South Carolina, Auburn, West Virginia and Illinois, among others.

n Nu’Keese Richardson said he will stick to his Florida commitment following his official visit to UT this weekend.

The 5-foot-9, 151-pound wide receiver from Pahokee (Fla.) High School said he enjoyed his visit to UT. It just wasn’t enough to sway Richardson from Florida.

“I’m still 100 percent committed to Florida,” he told the News Sentinel.

Richardson said the Vols might have had a better chance of landing him if he had more time to get to know UT’s staff.

“I could say that,” Richardson said. “They made a push, though.”

n Defensive end Jarrett Brown from Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, has committed to Oklahoma.

The news isn’t surprising. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Brown told the News Sentinel last week that he would likely commit to Oklahoma during his official visit this weekend.

Brown chose the Sooners over UT, Kansas State and Iowa State.

Kid in the Hall: There was some good news for the Vols this weekend.

UT made a strong impression with offensive lineman Marcus Hall, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman from Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, who took an official visit this weekend.

“That coaching staff is incredible,” Hall told the News Sentinel. “The amount of players going to the NFL from there will probably go way up. I know that for a fact.

“That’s because of the atmosphere Coach (Lane) Kiffin and Coach (Ed Orgeron) is creating around there. They’re really going to change that place.”

Hall was hosted by redshirt freshman offensive lineman Preston Bailey, who told Hall the Vols are in desperate need of offensive linemen. Immediate playing time is a real factor for Hall.

“That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a school,” Hall said. “When (Bailey) said that it was just words, but when you actually look at the depth chart it’s a fact.

“It’s not just him or the coaches talking. It’s actually there to see.”

Hall might not have seen UT if not for his high school teammate, cornerback Mike Edwards, who committed to UT last week.

“He told me he liked it a lot,” Hall said. “That really showed me something. That’s what really got me interested.”

Hall said he has eliminated Michigan from consideration and will choose among UT, Ohio State and Miami. He said he plans to make his decision on Monday or Tuesday.

Josh Ward contributed to this report.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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