Lawrence Lee admittedly was leaning toward Tennessee before he arrived on campus for the first time Saturday to see for himself what the Vols have to offer. By the time he left, he knew it was where he wanted to play. The junior wide receiver from West Florida High School of Advanced Technology in Pensacola, Fla., committed to Tennessee on Sunday, giving first-year Vols coach Butch Jones and his staff their ninth commitment for the 2014 class and their second in less than a week.
I was a fan of Tennessee before they offered me, and I just enjoyed how the atmosphere was on campus, he said. I always liked their tradition, and the players were very nice and the coaching staff was just great.
The 5-foot-10.5, 167-pound Lee said he informed Jones of his decision near the end of his weekend visit. I talked to Coach Jones before I left, and we were just talking about how my day went, and I committed to the University of Tennessee, Lee said. He couldnt believe me. He was very happy for me. He was ready for me to come in, and Im also ready to play for him and Coach Z (wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni).
Lee, who picked up an offer from the Vols more than a month ago, said he recently has stayed in contact with Azzanni and Derrick Lett, the Vols offensive quality control assistant.
I liked Tennessee. I just didnt want to commit before because I had never been to the campus. But I figured I was going to like the campus, and Id always heard good things about Tennessee, said Lee, who claims to have been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Once I really saw for myself that it was a nice campus and it had all the resources you need to be a good student-athlete and all the resources you need to be a better football player, then I knew thats what I was looking for.
I talked to Coach Jake, the offensive coordinator, and he said he would like to put me at the slot and (use me as) kind of a bubble guy, said Lee, who claims to have been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Lee said hes not sure yet when he plans to enroll at Tennessee, but hes interested in looking into whether he could have the option of being an early enrollee. On the way back (from Tennessee), I was talking about that with my coach, he said. Ill have to check with my school and see how that goes. If I can, I will be an early enrollee and get ahead of the other guys coming in and just get started (on learning) the system.
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