Stewart received an early offer from former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt’s staff nearly two years ago, and he said the Vols’ new staff has picked up where their previous coaches left off in pursuing him. Stewart said he had “been up there maybe three or four times” during Pruitt’s tenure.
He previously played at Marietta (Ga.) High School, where he was a teammate of Tennessee sophomore quarterback
Harrison Bailey, and he once was committed to Auburn, where current Vols defensive line analyst
Levorn Harbin previously was involved in recruiting Stewart for the Tigers. But his multiple connections to Tennessee are hardly the only reasons he’s still taking a hard look at the Vols.
“I still talk to them a lot,” Stewart said. “They still show love, ever since I committed. They believe in me strongly. They always showed love and always believed in me. Never really backed off.
“I’d probably say (we talk), like, every couple days. We talk every week, but, like, every couple days — maybe three or four times a week. I talk to Coach Chop (Harbin), (defensive backs) coach (
Willie)
Martinez, Coach BJ (linebackers coach
Brian Jean-Mary) It’s a lot of coaches I talk to.”
“They really show a lot of love. Coach Chop, he was recruiting me when he was at Auburn, and now that he’s got the Tennessee job, he’s showing me a lot of love. He believes in my abilities and whatnot. I like the feeling that Tennessee gives off. They just give off that vibe that I like. Definitely, that’s the reason why I want to go back up there and take those visits.”
Stewart said last week that he was “mostly getting to know the new staff and really connecting with the players and with everybody,” including Martinez, “and really just getting to
know everybody, meeting all the new faces and whatnot.”
The visit showed him that Tennessee’s new coaches are “friendly, show a lot of love” and make Tennessee a “welcoming home, home feel.”
“Just show a lot of love,” Stewart added. “I definitely feel like they’re going to take care of everybody.
“I’ve done a couple Zooms with them, but the face-to-face is really different — the vibe, friendliness. They really welcomed me. They didn’t act like I was just an ordinary kid. I’m one of their top priorities, and they definitely showed a lot of love — the coaches, from the (graduate assistants) all the way up to the top guy.
“It’s a lot of love going in Tennessee right now.”
The Vols have told Stewart, who’s planning to enroll in January, that he could make an early impact on their secondary, where they have “not a lot of corners.”
“Definitely, I can come in as a freshman and make a big impact,” he said. “They definitely believe I’ve got a bright future there. … They think I can come in and make an impact, at the
corner spot or wherever they need me. They believe I’m that guy.”