Christian Harris needed very little time to consider his scholarship offer from Tennessee.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker from Etowah High School in Woodstock, Ga., committed to UT on Saturday after receiving an offer earlier this week.
It was the first offer for Harris, who called linebackers coach Lance Thompson to commit.
"Coach Thompson said they're looking for a big linebacker, someone who can tear heads," Harris said. "I can do that. I think I'm a perfect fit for Tennessee.
"They like me and like who I am. They offered me so I took it."
Harris is the first 2011 prospect to accept an offer from new UT coach Derek Dooley.
"It feels good," Harris said. "I feel like they have a great group of coaches. They seem like good people and they know football and they're intense about it and that's what I like."
Harris realized UT was the place he liked most when he attended junior day on Feb. 27.
Harris said he was impressed by UT's facilities, especially Neyland Stadium.
"The stadium is incredible," he said. "It's huge."
UT's campus is also close to home, which was a factor for Harris.
"It's only four or five hours away from my home so my parents can come up and watch me play," he said.
Harris said he expects to have plenty of success at UT. He said he believes Dooley and his staff are building a winner in Knoxville.
"I know Tennessee has a great football team and great coaches," Harris said. "Coach Thompson knows what he's doing and he's a good person. I'm just going to take the steps to get better for them and help Tennessee win a national championship."
Harris said he hasn't decided whether he will visit other schools.
He said he's received interest from Auburn, Clemson and Central Florida.
Harris said he plans to visit UT for the Orange and White Game on April 17.
Josh Ward is a freelance contributor.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 75
VOLinAthensGA writes:
Awesome! Love to hear of a Georgia boy with Big Orange Blood!!! Just like Coach Dooley!
GO VOLS!!!
ric1958 writes:
1st.......and if Coach Thompson said he is what the Vols need thats good enough for me.
ric1958 writes:
Ok....2nd
VOLinAthensGA writes:
Darn right, 2nd! Ha!
CoverOrange writes:
Ya know, I've been first a couple dozen times. Never mentioned it. Not a big deal. Didn't even get the lousy T-shirt.
mdvol writes:
Same high school as Lady Vol, Alicia Manning. Note to Harris, it's only 2 hrs 45 minutues from Woodstock to Neyland. Ask me how I know.
vol4gzus writes:
what t-shirt?
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
obviously its not your greatest life-time achievement as it is for these others who have nothing else to point to
RockyToptoNeyland writes:
its only three hours from tlp!!!
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
This is a good sign. In the coming months these coaches will develop relationships with 2011 prospects. Now this young man can start recruiting for us down his way next season. AWESOME!
paradisetaxi writes:
Welcome Christian !
mdvol writes:
Towne Lake Parkway?
VolMoment writes:
He meant round trip! It will be easy for them to only have to drive five hours to see him play and not spend the night.
Some of you need to gain a little analytical brain cells!!
utwick writes:
Let the head tearing begin.
VolJoe writes:
My little brother gets phooey for wearing his orange at Etowah, I guess now he has a classmate to get harassed with...
GBO
nocleats writes:
Ok, you got us ! We see it now, thanks for pointing it out! Im going to go throw away everything I own that is orange, jeesh
VolGrad writes:
The sky is falling! The freaking sky is falling! OMG! Open your eyes! Don't you dare tell me it's not - freaking look! Freaking look!!! OMG! OMG!
ROTFLOL!!! You are hilarious! :)
You were being sarcastic, right?
ROTFLOL!!!
GBO!
OrangeVeins writes:
Well tell me how many recruits on rivals or scout, (that are seniors in HS right now), that are 5*? Tell me...it happens when BIG TIME SCHOOLS come KNOCKING at their door! It's been a month or two for the new recruits to be processed as anything?! YOU IDIOT!!!
VolGrad writes:
OMG! I can't see any stars! OMG! Where are the stars?! I can't see any freaking stars!!! OMG!
Still LOL!
GBO!!!
VolGrad writes:
OMG!!! Ayyyyyyyyyy! (running in circles pulling out hair...) OMG!
He's going to need a defibrillator.
GBO!!!
deputy658 writes:
After following the recruiting process intently for the past 25 years I have come to realize that how many stars that a recruit has does"nt translate into much. Someone has to be the first school to take interest in this kid , and now that UT has offered other schools will look hard at this young man . If coach LT thinks this guy has the tools then thats good enough for me . Let the UT staff coach him up. GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OrangeVeins writes:
Florida's commitments don't have *'s either? What are they gonna do....WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO?!?!
You're AN IDIOT!
murrayvol writes:
Afraid not VolGrad. Serious as a heart attack.
BlakeyWakey writes:
They dont rank alot of the players till later on! he wont be a "no star" player, trust me!
VolGrad writes:
O Wow, dude. Now Orangeblood5 has a witness. The sky really IS falling. Man, I'll take y'alls expert opinion over stupid ole' Lance Thompson's anyday. I mean, who does he think he is anyway? Lance doesn't know anything about football next to you two guys. I'm am like so upset Mike Hamilton refused to give either of you a freaking interview.
The Defibrillator is on stand-by whenever you need it.
GBO!
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
I really don't think murrayv was agreeing with Ob5, VolGrad. He was just pointing out that the poor, misguided soul was being serious, not sarcastic.
BAFLETCHER writes:
Remember Virginia Tech
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009...
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
UT is kind of a hybrid school. The fan base goes freaking wild when we get a five star (see Da' Rick Rogers), but then dismisses the ranking system as pointless and inaccurate if we miss out or have to settle (see Raiques Crump).
Oh and I'm not implying that Crump won't be fantastic, but his offer and signing were last minute and I remember a lot of people posting things like "ratings don't matter" yada yada and NOBODY posted anything like that when it was announced that Da'Rick was signing with UT.
OrangeVeins writes:
Kissed your a55 and it tasted like Gator...you R an IDIOT, because you DON'T know WHAT this guy will be rated yet and you make assumptions?!?! As for "I know more and have done more for UT football for you to even think about calling me an idiot."
How do you prove that sir? You're not an idiot...you just sound like a sour a55!
germantown902#555819 writes:
Two words: Bryce Brown
Number 1 overall recruit...5 stars
2010 Status: Unknown
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Smart young man.
Welcome aboard.
vol88 writes:
Yep.
OrangeCrush writes:
If Coach Thompson says he's good, that's good enough for me.
rockytopatl writes:
Re Brown, Tony Barnhart makes it sound like he might be gone:
http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college...
jobrando#216494 writes:
Also did not appear to have the hard nose drive to excel in the SEC.
TLepage writes:
Hammy better PAY Lance after this season to make sure we can keep him for a while.... I think he is one of our best commodities and is certainly our best recruiter..... When it is all said and done, i bet he signs 10 or more of our 2011 incoming prospects.... Hopefully Hammy will make this happen.....
ForeverOrange writes:
You guys need to chill -- I have seen him play, and he plays with intensity, passion, and yeah, he can bust heads. Welcome Christian!!!
tnsportsman writes:
LOL, Nooky? Where is the Nooky? Woo Hoo Nooky!
Playoffs? Did you say Playoffs? Don't talk to me about Playoffs, Playoffs?
The Big Orange will be just fine with CDD and this Team will win games!
Nooky?
GO VOLS!
VolGrad writes:
I'd say in about two and a half years we will have a little more solid information about CDD and the direction of the program. Until then, it would be ridiculous to make a judgement. By then he will have had a couple more recruiting classes under him, and we should be seeing the impact of his ability to develop a class or two of them.
In the meantime, there is no need for panic unless we start having a rash of off the field problems. The last thing this program needs right now is another new coach at the end of next season.
NeylandWest writes:
Slow down...and get your info together before making such remarks. There are several examples of guys that don't have *****'s next to their names for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes they don't make it to every single camp or they're a sleeper that hasn't been noticed yet, but will eventually see their stock rise.
If you think stars are all that matters and that more stars equates to more talent then please tell me what happened to Chris Donald. (Right about now you're probably saying, "Chris who?")
...and right about now I'm saying, "Exactly."
FWBVol writes:
From what I'm reading about this kid I think he will be a nice player for us.
I've never been real fond of the star system in ranking players, or even ranking players for that matter because it makes maniacs out of otherwise reasonable people.
I prefer to look at the measurables such as size, 40 speed, shuttle speed and GPA. I throw the GPA in there because that gives an indication of how bad a kid really wants to do well all aspects of life.
I trust the coaches that are recruiting a kid and have talked to others that know the kid will to judge the intangibles such as attitude, heart, work ethic and football instincts. And I trust the coaches in their meeting with kids to know if a kid fits the bill needed at Tennessee.
I only needed to see Emmitt Smith play one time his sophomore year in high school to know that he was special. And although Smith was the National High School Player of the Year his senior year at Escambia High School in Pensacola, he wasn't the top-ranked recruit in that class. There were some experts that questioned his size and speed. We all know the rest of that story.
jack_2222#231746 writes:
5-star … 35
4-star … 70
3-star … 85
2-star … 86
1-star … 21
Unrated… 32
Distribution of players at this year's NFL combine-- over 2/3 were 3* or below.
If the kid is 6'2, 230, he's already the 2nd biggest LB UT has.
easleychuck writes:
What part of no ratings are availble for the majority of these kids for 2011 at this point in time? With all due respect, to someone who calls themselves a UT fan, do you actually read your words before actually posting them? The future has yet to occur...that is why it is called the future, and yet, you know exactly what is going to happen before a man coaches his first game at a school???
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
As long as this kid can tear someone's head off, then he's good enough for my Vols. I trust CLT's judgment because he is know what he is doing!!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
Why would we want someone who can tear heads off, they would just get banned from playing if they did that? My dog Nopey tried to bite my head off one time and I stuck him on a leash outside for a whole day for that! We don't want heads tore off, thats nasty, but we want someone who can bust some heads!
UTByrd writes:
Am I dreaming or did not a few WALK-ONS have a huge impact on last year's team, Nick Reveiz to name one.
Personally, I like DD's philosophy of not only recruiting talent but character as well. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Give me a 3 star with a team first attitude over a 5 star prima donna any day."
Go VOLS!!!!!
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
KNS reported it last week.
VolAlum2003 (Inactive) writes:
This is old news and, while I wish Bryce luck in his future decisions, we're stocked at the position so the loss isn't as overwhelming as it seems to be. There's also a good bit of evidence coming out that Brown played 2nd string despite Poole being the better player in practice because he was promised playing time by Kippers.
We've got Poole (Jr.), Oku (So.), Williams (Fr.), and Neal (Fr.). I'm not worried about the RB position at all.
Volunatic writes:
You should call up the News Sentinel and DEMAND that they give you your lousy T-shirt.
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