Ted Meline always thought there was something special about a certain color.
“That orange,” Tennessee’s newest commitment said Wednesday. “I always watched them when I was a kid, playing the Florida Gators.”
The Gators, with their own orange in hand, had the inside track for the 6-foot-2, 170-pound athlete from Miami North (Fla.) High School. But when they didn’t show enough interest, Meline was ready to move on.
“Why stay home?” Meline said shortly after committing to play for the Vols. He is the 16th member of the signing class for 2010 and third prospect who plays wide receiver, joining Markeith Ambles of Henry County High in McDonough, Ga., and Matt Milton of Mascoutah (Ill.) High.
Meline said he plans to take his official visit to UT on Oct. 30.
Despite an injury-riddled junior season in 2008, Meline reeled in over 20 scholarship offers and is considered one of the top athlete prospects in Florida.
Meline suffered a shoulder injury in the second game a year ago and twisted his ankle shortly after returning in the seventh game.
Athleticism, Meline said when asked of his strengths, is his strongest attribute.
“I bring speed,” he said, “and my talent to jump over defenders.”
Meline’s commitment to UT is a direct result of its coaches proving that it will indeed play freshmen as they have repeatedly promised publicly. The Vols played several newcomers in key roles in last Saturday’s season opener against Western Kentucky.
Running backs coach Eddie Gran was in charge of two: Bryce Brown and David Oku. That wasn’t lost on Meline, who Gran recruited.
“I think he’s a great coach,” said Melinem who watched the game on television. “Putting all those freshmen on the field, that tipped me off. (UT is) the place to be.”
An aggressive billboard marketing campaign by UT in Florida surely helped as well. When Meline was ready to commit early, he had some not-so-subtle reminders where to go.
“I just wanted to get it over quick,” Meline said. “Like I said all along, I didn’t want to go through the whole process.”
Meline said he’ll still take four of his NCAA-allotted five official visits to UT, Purdue, Georgia and Oregon. Meline said he’s unsure where — or if — he’ll take a fifth.
But as for his UT commitment, Meline said, “Right now, I’m all the way.”
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 93
matrosscbc writes:
BUYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VOLS_R_BEST_DEAL_WITH_IT writes:
Keep rackin them in Kiffin. Give Bray some more targets :)
RockyTopBoy writes:
Now we need some O-Linemen. Too many seniors in key spots on our line.
FranklinCo_VOL writes:
Rivals says he runs a 4.4 40 yd dash. A four star prospect. The commitment from Bray must have pulled him in.
volzcrushm writes:
What's the bones say now witch doctor!? Yeaaaa Babeeeee!!
salute_to_the_hill writes:
gotta love the recruits just piling up....GBO
volzcrushm writes:
VOLS 42 ucla 16 !!!!
AllVol1 writes:
This is good, coaches must believe they can coach him up because he is only rated the #76 WR by Rivals. Good size and nice speed, though. I trust these coach-recruiters totally. Maybe his rating has to do with him being out with injury his junior season. Bring on Cobbs (anyone know anything about him?) and Dyer. I think Dyer is going to be a serious stud. I know Auburn was leading for his services, but I would still love to land him to fill Montario's slot. I don't like counting on Toney coming back to be just as powerful after such a huge injury. If he does, great.
Cobbs and Dyer, please, please, please.
And of course, some OL pancake chefs.
And Luc!! Orange Storm and Swarm!
orangepridenation writes:
alright! another one reeling in. keep it up vol nation, now lets get some young blocking and we're in pretty dang good shape.
Joevolsxtra writes:
This snowball's getting bigger!!
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
This kid was injured his junior year, which is when most receivers receive their initial evaluations by recruiting services. Scout isn't really high on him yet, but he's got good size and speed.
Still need to secure guys like Leifheit, Stone.... Damian Anderson or Matt James would be nice. I heard somewhere in the rumor mill we might turn Jawuan James away from Alabama.
I would like to see how serious Hurst is about going to North Carolina too.
VOLHolla writes:
can never have too many wr and rb
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Congrats, young man,
Welcome aboard.
Volomatic writes:
not a great vid but you can see him for yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDPjwm...
golfballs03 writes:
A lot of upside. Wonder how this impacts DeMarco Cobbs? Do schools typically get 4 WRs in a recruiting class? BTW, anyone notice how Jacques Smith has been dropping in the recruiting rankings?
golfballs03 writes:
Yes. OL is a priority. I was surprised that Hurst declared so early for UNC, maybe we can get him to visit and pry him away. But Stone is a must.
ArealVolFan writes:
Guy had offers from a ton of good schools. Bama, Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina all out of the SEC. I think thats a pretty good indicator that this kid has some talent and it a good pickup for us. I would like to see some OLmen start to commit soon. You have to have the big meanies to be successful.
doggonevol writes:
Why wait? Let`s win it all this year. Get on the Kiffin bandwagon!That`s for sure how he is preparing the team. All the way to chamionship.
Volsnfl writes:
5*,,.8.IN.THE.Nation
Volnutt writes:
obviously we're gonna have recruiting classes among the top, not unusual for Tn. difference is we have coaches that know what to do with talent.
SeaBass writes:
RIVALS,has him as the nmbr 40 wr. and preseason 43rd player in the state of fl. my concern with him is his grades and why he transfered.if someone can let me in on there knowledge i would much appreciate,because i have been busy of late and haven't been keeping up with all of the news of late.
whatcanbrowndoforyou writes:
Another young man to the FAST LANE!! No doubt CLK saw big time potential and went in for the kill. I know it's a long way off but I have a strong feeling that after signing day we are going to have signing class that rivals the best of em!! I love the mixture of speed athleticism, and size we are hauling in at wide out. GO VOLS!!
KINGKONG writes:
Its amazing what happens when you get a solid qb to commmit What is so scary this is only the beginning.I cant help but wonder what will upset down in the swamp, will do for recruiting.
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
I was looking...we could really use to make a strong push to turn Xavier Grimble from USC to us. It's not as much that we need a tight end... but if we get him, we have a great shot at his brother next year.
chaos001 writes:
sweetness...
James Stone, please pick up the Big Orange courtesy phone...
whatcanbrowndoforyou writes:
He is listed on the ESPN 150 and is ranked as the 22 wide out by ESPN
memphis_vol_fan writes:
Here's Scouts, Inc. evaluation of him:
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recrui...
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
Something else I noticed... we've heard from 18 of the players who committed to us last year. Compare that to Fulmer's last year with us... where we only heard from 3 of those signees. Kiffin is not just bringing them in, he's USING THEM.
utfan2121 writes:
Keep rackin em up Kiffin, wtg man!
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
Two of the recruiting services say he's pretty legit... one is not so high on him. We'll see, but when I consider who offered on him, and the way our staff has evaluated thus far.... I trust he's a good one.
whatcanbrowndoforyou writes:
Also interesting to note he is form the same high school as another top prospect that has Tennessee on his short list Eduardo Clements forgive me I probably spelled his name wrong. Eduardo is rivals #8 rb. He has reportedly made his pick last week but has not made it public.
utvolz#637682 writes:
EXACTLY!
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
How many players from South Florida are committed now? We got this guy, Palardy, and Jose Jose (my new favorite name!). Isn't there a linebacker thrown in there too? Eddie Gran is the MAN!
MANVOL writes:
And the domino's are falling..GO VOLS!!!
miamiVOL writes:
Is a very smooth, fluid athlete that can accelerate and shows a second gear to run by defenders, but also be a factor after the catch. Looks to have big hands and can pluck on the move and use his long arms to extend and bring down jump balls.
tigervol77 writes:
Freshman starting and doing well is what pulled him in.....of course Bray didn't hurt either.
CLEMSONVOL716WASBANNED writes:
I read he prefers to play safety over WR....grades are supposedly not a problem. 3.0gpr and an ACT of 17. He says he will enroll for next semester to be in place for spring practice.. I think this article was on Volnation. I will see if i can find the link again.
CLEMSONVOL716WASBANNED writes:
Here is link for anyone interested:
http://www.volnation.com/2009/08/11/e...
JLeon04 writes:
Freaking Killer!! Wish Riley would go ahead and commit and hope Ronald Powell is paying attention. I know we have bigger needs then Safety and DE, but those two guys would be HUGE. I think we get Riley, not to sure about Powell.
GahLee writes:
Side note; ESPN showing Berry some love, if you have Insider, check out Bruce Feldman's story, tried to copy and paste but it was too many characters for GVX. Really just his top 10 reasons he could go number one in the draft...his real story will be available tomorrow.
TrueVol70 writes:
He wants to play safety? I think we have one heck of a role model for him!
tdvol1989 writes:
In response to earlier mention of Dyer. I am fortunate that he goes to the school where my kids go and wife teaches. This is my 3rd year to watch him in person. He is super fast (Asst Coach told me 4.34) and drags high schoolers down the field. You DO NOT arm tackle him. He plays physical and angry but he is a good kid. I have watched him gut it out with a bum ankle and he still plays hard. My youngest has his autograph.
I cannot begin to imagine how much I would love to see him wear orange. He really is like a combination of Chuck Webb and Jamaal Lewis. The quickness and cutting of Chuck and the quick steps and power of Jamaal into one. And, he has caught several deep balls. When Bryce took it out of bounds, if you thought why, Dyer would not. He is looking for the kill everytime. And, 35 carries a game is not a problem. Obviously, any running back looking at UT is looking at Brown and Oku. I don't think anyone expects Brown to play 4yrs, 3yrs max and 2 likely IF he develops and gets the stats and pub. The talk around school here is Auburn, but he is a local boy and if Arkansas is successful, they may make a play. However, I will say this. He feels pressure to make it to the NFL for his family. So, if the Vols really want him, they can pitch him there. And, the new regime in Auburn has a P/R war to win. Nobody wanted Chizik. He may work out, but he was not wanted.
I love the Vols, but I will root for him anywhere. He is good for a couple of slack-jawed "awes" per game from the crowd. And, I want him to make the best decision.
chad_t31 writes:
Does anyone know what James stone is waiting on? Where do we stand with him?
GahLee writes:
If you go to ESPN and check out the recruiting, you will see that UT is on many of the top prospects list of schools...at this point we have 16 verbals which is good, hopefully we can hold on to these kids until signing day.
One thing to think about is this...with 16 verbals, we only have 28 scholarships available, so it will be interesting to see how the coaches use those remaining scholarships as UT continues o play better and better as the season goes.
Wonder if we play really well and turn some heads with the better prospects if we will retract offers?
Interesting.
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Ralph Williams out of Miami, Gulliver Prep. Listed as a 3* on Rivals, but had 18 sacks last year in South Fla. Don't forget about Delvin Jones who was also recruited out of Miami as a WR.
67ralley writes:
I don't want to read too much into this, but any of these kids we get excited for aren't signed yet...
But as for his UT commitment, Meline said, “Right now, I’m all the way.”
"Right now"?
GahLee writes:
Bryce has to play 3 years...before we start anointing him a first round pick, lets see if he can handle the load all season long...I know, all sign point to yes...as far as Dyer goes, he looks good on paper, but it's high school, big transition to the SEC...would love to have him though.
GahLee writes:
I wouldn't read too much into it...but if any of the Florida schools come hard, chances are he's gone...nothing is set in stone at this point...would love to know what percentage of verbal commits actually sign with that team.
FatherVol writes:
Fear the Kiffin. We're in the Fast Lane.
tennezz writes:
Meline is tall enough, fast enough, and has great hands. The only problem I have seen is that after nearly every catch he falls down, It is hard to take advantage of your speed when laying on the ground. However I believe these coaches can correct this. I believe this guy is a winner!
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