QB Rettig picks Boston College over Vols

Tennessee removed another quarterback from its recruiting board on Monday.

Chase Rettig from San Clemente High School in Sierra Madre, Calif., committed to Boston College.

UT was the only other school to offer the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Rettig.

“I felt I didn’t need to wait any longer because I felt comfortable with my choice,” Rettig told Rivals.com. “BC was the first team to offer me and that showed their commitment to me.”

UT will now hope to receive a commitment from Jesse Scroggins of Lakewood (Calif.) High School.

Scroggins, who’s considering Southern Cal and Florida, is the only uncommitted quarterback with an offer from UT.

Scroggins plans to announce his college decision on July 25 at the Elite 11 quarterback camp.

UT decided to wait until last week to offer Rettig, despite his strong performance at Tennessee’s summer camp on June 2.

A more immediate offer from UT likely would have resulted in a commitment from Rettig.

“I liked Tennessee a lot and I felt I did good there, but I never heard back from them after a few days after the camp,” Rettig told Rivals. “I wasn’t sure how interested they were after that, but then they offered me right around the time I was thinking about committing to BC.

“It gave me something to think about and both schools are great, but I was already pretty much sold on BC.”

UT has been unsuccessful selling itself to several pro-style quarterbacks in the 2010 class.

Blake Bell from Wichita, Kan., committed to Oklahoma. Jake Heaps from Sammamish, Wash., committed to Brigham Young. Andrew Hendrix from Cincinnati committed to Notre Dame.

That leaves Scroggins, who visited UT on June 20.

The Vols are appealing to Scroggins because of their thin depth chart. Junior Nick Stephens is the only scholarship quarterback scheduled to be on campus in 2010.

If Scroggins commits elsewhere, UT could shift its quarterback search to Barry Brunetti from Memphis University School.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Brunetti is committed to West Virginia but told the News Sentinel last week that he’ll still consider the Vols.

UT could find a quarterback in the junior college ranks.

Cam Newton from Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas, and Matt Sims from El Camino Community College in Torrance, Calif., are prominent possibilities who likely will be evaluated by the Vols this fall.

Nick Lamaison from Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut, Calif., is a more immediate option.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Lamaison could enroll at UT and be eligible to play this fall.

Lamaison’s only offer is from North Dakota State.

Josh Ward is a freelance contributor.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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