Martaze Jackson is known for playing football. But it is his future in engineering that led to him picking Tennessee.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker from Demopolis (Ala.) High School told the News Sentinel on Sunday he committed during his official visit this weekend after exploring Tennessee’s engineering school.
“It was a really good school,” said Jackson, who plans to major in electrical engineering in college.
Then there was UT’s athletic department, which also won Jackson over.
“The football program is real nice,” Jackson said. “There’s going to be real big changes coming.”
Jackson was referring to some of UT’s improvements in facilities, namely its soon to be expanded athletic complex.
The most recent change involved UT’s coach, newly hired Derek Dooley from Louisiana Tech who replaced Lane Kiffin earlier this month.
“He’s a real, real nice guy,” Jackson said of Dooley. “He interacts with the players. He’s always around the players.”
Jackson picked UT over Alabama-Birmingham, South Alabama and Jackson State. He said he’ll take another official visit later this month to a yet to be determined locale.
“So I can have something to compare it with,” Jackson said.
Jackson's commitment fills a strong need for UT's 2010 class. He's the second linebacker to commit to the Vols, joining Ralph Williams from Southridge High in Miami.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57 men's…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 163
Stark_Vol writes:
good
HallowedHill writes:
Dooley is out of the gate at full speed!
GO VOLS!
HtownVol writes:
Dooley is doing very good for not having a full staff. I seen that the WR from VA asid he is solid to Tennessee. All we need to do is sure up James Stone. O-Line is the biggest need in this class. The 3 we have so far are good, but I would love to see Stone commit.
Cldvols1 writes:
Great job coach, lookin forward to NSD and getting some more good prospects! GBO
Docrok writes:
Does 202 lbs seems a little light to anyone else???
RockyToptoNeyland writes:
ehhhhh, we can do better than this, the past two days we have picked up a 3 star and a 1 star recruit, not big news at all
gwbask writes:
Welcome aboard Martaze. We look for great things from you on and off the field!
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
Apparently, Dooley sees potential in this kid or he wouldn't have recruited him, so I will trust his judgment..Plus, he really seems like he wants to be VOL! Glad to have you, Mr.Jackson.
Reel'Em CDD!!!!
BigBadVol writes:
Nice job coach Dooley and all.
diehardvol writes:
who is the 1-star? In the past week, Dooley has landed two 4-star recruits and now a 3-star LB that fills a need. I say that's good stuff.
appalachianvol writes:
Trust the coach! He knows his needs and who he wants. Remember this is a young man. Weights and proper diet will add muscle and weight. Coaching will do the rest.
mdvol writes:
Good news about the LB.
Here's a link on this rainy Sunday from back when we were good.
http://smokeys-trail.com/best-videos-...
Peyton makes us all proud at 3pm today.
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
I still don't see how LB is such a huge position of need. We lose McCoy, but gain Askew after his redshirt season. Reveiz and Frazier return, and King, Lathers, Thompson, Mitchell-Thornton all had starts last year. We'll be good for awhile.
BTW, read on Volquest that Hunter is planning to run track here too. When is the last time we had a guy run track? Last one I remember is Leonard Scott. He must be a burner!
diehardvol writes:
Hunter is an elite high-jumper. Not sure what else he runs.
newtonrail writes:
*******'s aren't everything. Doom and gloom. Just like my wife.
Gator_Hater (Inactive) writes:
I'll take a high-jumper at wideout anytime. Alvin Harper was a high-jumper, and he didn't turn out too bad.
roloyo writes:
Any word on Stone? I think he was on campus this weekend.
GBO
osbymartin#581730 writes:
Its all in where you look...Rivals has them as 4 star and 3 star. And to an extent the stars are kind of overrated.. No offense at all to Crompton but he was a 4 star..
jobrando#216494 writes:
He will be 220 by this time next year. Book it.
osbymartin#581730 writes:
So is he for sure a LB? All the scouting sites are listing him as a DE or on the DL... Another good get for the Vols! CDD go get some more. You are doing a great job!
BigBadVol writes:
RockyToptoNeyland is not a vol fan. Haven't you guys figured that out yet? Jeez!
TennesseeTuxedo writes:
Jackson will need a year or two of bulking up and learning the nuances of the linebacker position. In that time he could develop into a fine linebacker.
http://www.thevolunteeronline.com
berry4life writes:
gosh folks......... cant we just be with getting players no matter what star there rated. ithink for man comin in right at the heart of signin day is doing pretty good. We might not come up with top 5 recruiting class... but we doing pretty good......lets get behind CDD!!!!!!!
osbymartin#581730 writes:
I totally agree..he came in with little more than 2 weeks before signing day with a depleted coaching staff..I think that he has done a great job of damage control!! Still ranked 13th in Rivals! And got some quality recruits this weekend..hopefully he will be able to land a couple of them.
NorthwestVol writes:
Reposted the below from another chain. Sorry if you've already read it
I did a bit of research. Below are four teams that finished in the top ten of the final BCS poll, their BCS ranking and their average Rivals recruiting ranking over the past 4 years, followed by three more storied programs:
Cinci/3rd/79th
TCU/4th/71st
BSU/6th/75th
Iowa/10th/46th
On the other end of the spectrum:
Notre Dame/NR/10
Clemson/NR/20
Vols/NR/18
Some can win with less.
.
txvolsfan writes:
Has the body to fill out some but remember Derrick Brooks, this Defense is based on speed and a lot guys flying to the ball. He is perfect for continuing the Tampa 2 D
Solid pick up, we need speed on D and need depth at LB
GO VOLS
TXVOLSFAN IN FLORIDA
FearTheVols1252 writes:
A - he's only had a few weeks to assemble some sort of class. We can't rake him over the coals for his efforts... DD is busting his arse right now.
B - Stars don't mean squat!! Crompton was a 5-star QB and really only became a half-way descent QB in the middle of his senior season. While we had at least 3 walk-ons I can think of who did quite well as starters this year.
How well they fit within the system, how much desire they have to play, and their ability to be coached up is what will make or break players... not stars!
HtownVol writes:
Why is it that every recruit that UT gets wasnt good enought for UF?
According to you if I go look at the Uf roster there will be no LineBacker that is under 202, and no LB that runs over a 4.6. Right?
Do you want me to let you know how many I find?
Stupid Arss
dgcarter43 writes:
Trading Ambles for Hunter was a good trade for the Vols. He wants to be here while Markeith wants to follow Kiffin. What happened to the statement that he wouldn't recruit any of UT's commits. Now he's after the juco linebacker Cullen and others. No integrity.
txvolsfan writes:
We need to get faster at LB, most of those guys were recruited for a 4-3 Defense. There is some talent at LB but we have got to get faster to the ball at LB
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
Yeah and I'm sure you're the expert!!(sarcasm)
Whatever, man. I shouldn't expect anything less from you.
RoadTrip writes:
Good post NWVol.
NorthwestVol writes:
I believe the 17 commits include the enrolled, but your point is well taken. A top 20 class is plenty good if they fill the needs and are coached up properly.
txvolsfan writes:
We need to get Barry in here to run the D pretty quick and I think more LB's will follow.
We are set in the secondary. I would put our Safties up against anyone in the country.
Jackson, Miles Jr., the new kid from Texas and then if we could get Dixon back away from Baylor we would be unstoppable at Safety.
GO VOLS
TXVOLSFAN IN FLORIDA
volsfan74 writes:
Thanks for the research NorthwestVol good job. Also people need to realize rivals.com and scouts.com do not spend anytime in the living room of these kids so they have NO clue the character of these kids and I think CDD is looking to recruit character that can be coached into great football players.
raynochonspeed#212632 writes:
Dooley hasn't proven he is one of those that "can win with less".
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
Thank you, Htown for that post. He was responding to my post and as I said before, I expect nothing less from him. If he wants to believe that every 5-star player is gonna pan out and that stars are everything, then let him. I honestly don't give a rat's behind about the Gators. I'm focusing on the Vols, as most of the people on here are doing the same. He always feels that need to come on here and start something when we Vols fans are discussing things.
cumberlandVOL writes:
if you're good enough, you're big enough
TommyJack writes:
taunting, inflammatory. Please remove.
TennHillbilly writes:
Do you remember the name Willie Gault?
ReverendOrange writes:
Depth. Think depth. With players (who REALLY LIKE THE SCHOOL) like this, our defense will be standing tall while the offensive linemen of the other team are sucking air in the 4th quarter. That's how the close one's are won!
asleep#212036 writes:
Redshirt year and weight room will get him to 235 and have him ready for 2011. We are OK at LB this year.
FearThisElephant writes:
Love this time of year when the star gazers come out. I personally look for about eight "high stars" or play makers. The rest need to have a connection with the coaches and the inner desire and commitment to be a part of the university for life. They are the one's who will leave it on the field after giving their all.
Look at Bama's "stars" this year. Marcel Dareus was 3 star, Ingram was a 3 star, Arenas 3 star, Cody a 3 star, Mcelroy 3 star, Upchurch 3 star, Ingran won the Heisman 2 yrs away from his 3 star rating, Mclain won the Butkas 3 yrs from his 4 star rating. 3 star Donta Hightower will be the next All American LB from Bama. There are more and this is all from one team. Coaching and developing players makes championship teams. It has nothing to do with star counts.
I believe by his 2nd year you will see DD field a team that constantly has a chance to win every game with HIS style of recruits. As the keyboard turns.....
JCJ1986 writes:
those rankings DO include the eight that are enrolled.
NoSirRee writes:
Its sad we're even having to put in effort to steal a recruit from a school like UAB. Just another bump to take as we continue to fall down the stairs into the "whine cellar"
cooper65#432178 writes:
I can understand a guy wanting a free trip and being treated like royalty, but if he is truly committed to UT why does he need something to compare it with. These verbal committments don't mean much.
Hounddog writes:
That is really funny. I hope "Coach Jethro"...sticks! Hounddog
OhioVol3 writes:
Couldn't agree more. You won't find a better athlete in the country than Hunter- 7'3" high jump and 25'3" long jump. Great marks! I'll take the better athlete every time...
cc623 writes:
Good recruit...
Pitiful blog.You guys might want to spend some time actually spelling the name of one of UT's most infamous icons correctly(Fulmer is not spelled Fullmer).Don't get me wrong I'm glad he is gone but,I at least have enough thankfulness to spell his name correctly...
NorthwestVol writes:
That glass half empty there Ray?
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.