Brian Randolph is quickly developing a strong relationship with the Tennessee football coaching staff.
The 6-foot, 180-pound safety from Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., visited UT’s Junior Day on Saturday.
“It was great,” Randolph said. “I liked everything about it.”
So much so that Randolph said his top three schools are UT, Florida and Georgia Tech.
Randolph said all three schools have offered scholarships. He said Georgia and Mississippi State have also extended official invitations.
Randolph said UT ranks high on his list because of his comfort level with the coaching staff.
“I like every person I met,” he said. “They don’t bull. They tell you the truth.
“They don’t tell you what you want to hear. They tell you what’s real.”
UT’s staff has told Randolph he’s needed for the 2011 signing class.
Randolph said UT believes he can be a perfect fit for the program the Vols are trying to build.
“They want me because they think I’m a good person on the field and off the field,” Randolph said. “That’s what makes a program work.”
Randolph has also visited Florida and Georgia.
He said he was impressed by Florida’s atmosphere in Gainesville.
“I like the college town,” he said. “They’re an elite program and they’re on top every year.”
Georgia Tech will be a school to watch for Randolph.
His brother, Justin Randolph, is a freshman running back for the Yellow Jackets.
“That’s a big deal,” Randolph said.
Randolph said he would like to choose a school before his senior season begins, but he hasn’t set a definite timetable for a decision.
“I’m not going to rush it if I’m not sure,” he said.
UT's new $45 million football…
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 38
DooleyNoted writes:
Hope this is one of many.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Could be a big time get for UT! He has some big time schools looking at him! Hope we can get him!
BIVOLAR_BEAR writes:
I think this raid of Jojaa talent will continue for years to come..The charm of a real Southerner like CDD gets them every time..GBO!!
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Scout.com has him at three stars and unranked. Rivals.com doesn't even seem to be aware of him. Scout.com says that he's been offered a scholarship from Florida, but I can't find any independent source for that claim. Despite this article claiming that he's 6 ft, Scout has him at 5'11'' (a bit undersized for a safety, so hopefully he'll grow three inches). I just don't know why I should be excited about this offer.
The kid has a 4.1 GPA and offers from Stanford and Vanderbilt. If I were him, I'd go get a $100,000 undergrad degree for free.
nocleats writes:
All I need to know is Fla and Ga have also offered, Coaches know much more about it than writers for scout and rivals, their only in it to get you to pay them money.
jimr07 writes:
Have you offered your expertise to the coaching staff. I feel like they would love your input.
FWBVol writes:
I guess the Fulmer and Company as well as Monte Kiffin didn't know that Eric Berry is a bit undersized to play safety at 5'11".
I hope the NFL doesn't make the same mistake in April and draft him too high he's short.
InTheShadows writes:
even a biased source like UTSports has Eric Berry listed at 5-11...and you should be excited about this offer. Offers mean more than stars, and Florida just had arguably the best recruiting class of all time. If a top schools like Florida, UT, and GA Tech have offered also with the interest from other schools. This kid is good enough. Lets Get Him CDD
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
Any of you see Hardesty today at the Combine? Looking good. Beat out McKnight from USC on all but 1 category. Inproved his stock a TON!
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
NFL Network showing it again tonight.
FEARinSEC writes:
Agree, but the fact that Dooley and Co. can have a top-talent kid like this talking about UT, even when his brother plays for GT, shows what we have to look forward to!
GO CDD, REEL 'EM IN!!
BIVOLAR_BEAR writes:
My sorry network moved the NFL channel up to a pay site, but did catch glimpses of MH on ESPN..He is an animal, I hope my Cowboys get him..
crimsonviper writes:
I agree marc..I think he will make HUGE impact.
TommyJack writes:
Doubt $100k would cut it for 4 yrs. at Vandy or Stanford.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
True, not even close.
cobbwebb writes:
hardesty will be a player at the next level! he is looking good at the combine! he ran a sub 4.5, and he is one of the bigger backs. may be one of the top 4-5 backs taken in the draft.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
I have. Just this afternoon Coach Dooley and I were sitting around talking about prospective recruits and Randolph came up. I told Coach that I was really impressed with Randolph's ability to excel in the classroom while also making a good show of things on the field, but that he might be a little too small to really get it done at UT. Coach just rolled his eyes and told me, "Don't you worry son. He's gonna be giving Jon Eastman fits come next September."
westennvol writes:
unlike the former coaching staff, i appreciate the honor being brought back to the hill. i applaud coach d and his staff on their integrity. I look forward to watching them for hopefully many successful years!
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Berry was the top ranked player in the country coming out of high school. His football IQ was (and is) astronomical. It's a bit of stretch to compare Randolph to Berry. It would be like me comparing Bray to Peyton Manning (and I am a HUGE Tyler Bray fan).
As for Berry's size, he isn't 5'11", he's 6'0" (the same height he was when he graduated from high school). Even at 6 ft, Berry is regarded as an undersized NFL prospect.
http://walterfootball.com/scoutingrep...
Berry is going to be drafted in the top five because he is a RARE athletic specimen. That rarity was identified when Berry was still in high school by those same stupid scout.com and rivals.com evaluators that can't get an evaluation right because they don't have the magic crystal ball that every UT football coach gets when he accepts the job.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
I don't think anyone was comparing ability just general size..the same way they have compared Bray to Manning in size not ability as freshmen at UT.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Well as everyone knows the more offers and big name schools that look at this kid that 3* will go to 4* and Rivals hasn't evaluated the 2011 class yet so no recruits have any stars on there yet...Well ESPN has him at 6'1". Scout has him 5'11" and Rivals 6'0". 180lbs all around and around 4.5 40.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Two inches on a safety doesn't mean a lot until that safety is two inches away from an interception, breaking up a pass, or grabbing the arm of a running back and forcing a fumble.
At the Div IA level, and especially in the SEC, size matters. Believe me, I hate it. I was never big enough to get past the high school level, much less play in the SEC.
As for Bray, while he only received three stars, his performance in summer camps had people like Kirk Herbstreit (a long time Vol skeptic) claiming that Bray displayed the most long term potential out of all of the 2010 QBs. Maybe Randolph is the Tyler Bray of the 2011 safeties, but I doubt it.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
If Notre Dame even farts in his general direction he'll get a five star rating (the ridiculous Notre Dame bias is the most legit criticism of the high school evaluators and even I can't explain away that lunacy).
If ESPN is right, then I've got no problem with Dooley offering a 6'1" safety that can run the 40 in 4.5. However, I still don't understand how people on this site assume that just because Dooley offered the kid, he must be the second coming.
easleychuck writes:
Whether you are "excited about this offer" has nothing to with anything. You looked at rivals.com and scout.com.
The coaches have looked at film and spoken with the young man in person.
Guess I will have to go with their opinions.
bigorange61 writes:
You are right, TJ. The going rate at Vandy for tuition, room, board, fees and books is 52K per year. That's sure to go up over 4 years.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
And what do the evaluators at rivals and scout look at? Do they just roll a five-sided dice and award the number of stars that pop up?
Do you really think that rivals and scout make the lions share of their profits off of casual football fans?? Newsflash: UT Athletics use these services. So does UF, Bama, USC, Georgia Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.
How is it that when UT hauls in a top 10 recruiting class studded with five star prospects, nobody gets on these message boards and complains about how the coaching staff decided to pull in a class based on talent and not character? Or is it that UT only ever gives scholarship offers to the best players in the country?
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
That's less than a year's worth of tuition and books at Harvard Law School....insane.
Volie writes:
Your right, you shouldnt get excited...your getting paid alot of money to evaluate talent...I think you should contact Dooley, Wilcox, Thompason, Chaney, Smith and the rest of the satff and tell them what you think.
CroKev writes:
Why are so many people ripping you for an informative reply? Yeah, you're a bit off when it comes to tuition at Ivy League level schools but I appreciate the leg work you did on this guy - something KNS seems to avoid for some reason (something that everyone on this site cannot understand...).
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
I already told the other guy how me and Coach Dooley spent the afternoon discussing this kid. Look above.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
I honestly think that it's a defensive mechanism. UT football is hallowed ground to a lot of people and they regard criticism of the program as heresy. I know, because that used to be how I reacted to negative comments about UT football...but that all changed after the 2005 season.
After 2005, it became painfully apparent that Fulmer's program had stagnated. He was pulling in high level recruits, but still not able to consistently beat Floria. The 2006 season was better, but we still lost four SEC games and each loss had the same flavor: highly touted recruits underachieving on the field. Then came 2007, which is by far the most overhyped football season in school history. After losing to California, Florida, and Bama...UT stumbled backwards into the SEC championship and lost to LSU. It was a heartbreaker, but what really got under my skin were the terms and conditions of Fulmer's shiny new contract.
Apart from the $6 million buyout clause, Fulmer's contract obligated UT to rehire him after three years if he lost no more than four games per season. The functional reality of which was to grant Fulmer a reward despite his inability to beat Floria, Alabama, and 2 SEC Wildcard teams each season (I call it a wildcard because after 2006 you could virtually guarantee that Fulmer would lose games against Bama and Florida, but his magic number seemed to be 4 losses a season and so he was given that leeway). The freaking contract REWARDED and EXCUSED his inability to win the games that matter most to the UT faithful. How did the UT administration get away with such an obvious insult to the fans? The fans didn't question the decisions of those in charge of UT football. How did Kiffin get away with being a weekly d**chebag? Because the fans didn't question the decisions of those in charge of UT football. Do you see a pattern?
iadvol writes:
Can you say Bryce Brown?
volunteer_cowboy writes:
How many RB's do you think the cowboys need? the cowboys need OLinemen PERIOD......
murrayvol writes:
UT was about 2.5K a year for me back in the 60s. Of course a huge chunk of that covered "refreshments".
SoFlaVol writes:
I'm still lmao offer the "refreshments" comment. That was a big part of my expense budget at UT i the 70's too.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Depends on which source your're looking at. I think that Scout.com had him at 3, and rivals.com moved him up to four stars after he got an offer from UT.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Wow...ok. I'll slow it down for you. Rivals has not taken the time to evaluate this kid before this year...thus, while they have a file on him, he apparently doesn't seem to be high up enough on whatever evaluative scale they're using to take a whole lot of notice. As for rivals having him listed at 6'0", scout has him at 5'11"...one of them is correct and since scout.com has actually taken the time to award him an initial ranking...I figure that they are more interested in him that rivals.
As for what schools are interested in him, personally I'm not that impressed with schools like South Carolina or Georgia. Neither team has been competitive recently and both have been plagued by a lack of talent on the field. Of course, maybe we could bring up football powerhouse Maryland...they seem interested in the kid as well (oooh, Maryland...the turtles).
As for Stanford and Vandy, I only mentioned those schools because of their academic reputation. Most kids coming out of highschool won't even get a second look by the NFL scouts and since Randolph is carrying a 4.1 GPA he has the unique opportunity to receive a free education at two of America's premier universities. I just think that it would stupid for him to pass up the opportunity that his hard work in highschool has presented to him.
Finally, as for who gives a F>>K what I think...probably everybody out there that doesn't think that every decision the UT football staff makes is the most brilliant tactical move in the history of college football. Maybe I am stupid, but at least I'm not a sheep.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
Ok...let it never be said that I did not admit when I was wrong. I'm a Dooley skeptic and I don't buy into all of the aggressive UT "character" campaigning that is going on and I will continue to question this new direction for our program until I see it prove successful on the field...BUT I have looked into Randolph and he seems to be the real deal. He is extremely talented and apparently brilliant. He would be a fantastic addition to UT's football team if he chooses us.
I was wrong about THIS recruit and I apologize to the Vol nation for my negativity and to Brian Randolph for doubting his accomplishments. Still, if it were me, I'd take the scholarship at Stanford. For an academic school, they did very well in the Pac-10 and while I love UT, they just aren't going to be able to provide the level of academic opportunity that Stanford would allow Mr. Randolph.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.