'15 TN CB Ugo Amadi

#577
#577
Just hung up with Amadi after he left to go back home to Nashville from his official visit this weekend.

He was hosted by Josh Malone and made it clear that the Midstate players' success this season, particularly so many guys he grew up with and has trained with for years with In Full Motion/Playmakers Academy with Buck Fitzgerald, Ced Wilson and those guys, had definitely resonated with him.

He also made clear he sees it as an honor and very telling that Butch Jones has taken the lead role in his recruitment and that Tennessee's coaches spent a lot of time with him this weekend explaining how Amadi can be an impact player next season --- not just on defense but on special teams as we previously noted.

Amadi's stats back this up; he had four total kickoff and punt returns for TDs this season, averaging 29 yards per kickoff return and 35 yards on five punt returns before teams just stopped kicking his direction.

"That Coach Butch is really recruiting me, it
means he actually wants me, he's serious. I feel like they're
letting me know I'm a missing piece for them next year to be good like they want to be. It gives me a lot to think about it," Amadi told us.

He said he may return to Knoxville next weekend for the Missouri game on an unofficial visit, and he is a midterm enrollee so he wants to have the process settled in early December.
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-VQ.
 
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#580
#580
A lot of people point toward How he helps with Phillips but he also helps with Martin if we need help there. They were teammates last year.
 
#582
#582
eazyTD said:
If he comes back next weekend on an unofficial, the flip will be imminent imo.
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I think so as well. Curious to see if Miller announces he is taking any visits. IMO that would also say a lot as far as Amadi goes. Not sure how they could take both, plus Abernathy, Griffin, and Martin(if they plan to get Justin) in the defensive backfield for 2015.
 
#583
#583
LebanonVolunteer said:
I think so as well. Curious to see if Miller announces he is taking any visits. IMO that would also say a lot as far as Amadi goes. Not sure how they could take both, plus Abernathy, Griffin, and Martin(if they plan to get Justin) in the defensive backfield for 2015.
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Didn't Miller already visit OSU as a Vol commit? I believe that fits in your theory of take a visit and you risk getting axed.
 
#585
#585
I've thought for a while now that Miller wouldn't be in this class when all is said and done. Abernathy, Ugo, Martin and Griffin sounds like an A+ DB class to me.
 
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#589
#589
Miller is a good player and will pay dividends for the team that lands him. I do however believe in the game of college football that if you can improve on your position by recruiting a more valuable player, you do so. I believe this is the case both here and potentially with Cherry.

Not disappointed if nothing changes but potentially we can get even better.
 
#591
#591
eazyTD said:
I've thought for a while now that Miller wouldn't be in this class when all is said and done. Abernathy, Ugo, Martin and Griffin sounds like an A+ DB class to me.
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I had thought so too until his most recent visit. All he did was rave about it on twitter and even was up on the press box. Obviously that doesn't mean much but you don't bring someone in and give him that kind of love if you don't see him in your future.

Until very recently, I had thought Miller, Abernathy, Martin, and Griffin was going to be our class.
 
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#595
#595
*had been a number of previous trips for*Ugo Amadi*to the University of Tennessee, from camps to unofficial trips and more.

But until this weekend, Amadi had not fully experienced Rocky Top on an official visit --- or with his family. The Ole Miss commitment left UT Sunday afternoon impressed with the scene and the Vols' football program.

"It was great," said the Nashville Overton four-star defensive back. "I wanted my family to come with me, to get to see the campus and everything. I just wanted them to get an experience of what it looks like as well.

"They liked the visit. They liked what they saw, and the fans as well. It definitely captured everybody's attention."

Considering an educational path in physical therapy, Amadi said he got some questions answered about Tennessee's health and administration program as he continues to learn "what athletes need to do to take care of their bodies and even for nutrition, what athletes are supposed to put into their bodies. I want to know for myself and to help other people out."

The Vols pitched to Amadi the complete Tennessee program, noting in their pitch how they believed Amadi could find success on the gridiron and in life. He was hosted by fellow Midstate native*Josh Malone, a former five-star recruit who picked Tennessee last December and with whom Amadi used to train in the Nashville-based*National Playmakers Academy*program with*Buck Fitzgerald.

"They told me, 'We want you to come here. This is home for you,'" Amadi said. "(Malone) was just telling me it was a good place. And that if you stay at home, people remember your name and remember where you came from. That's pretty much what he was saying.

"It definitely gave me something to think about. All that they put in my ear, it gave me something to think about."

Especially as Tennessee's coaches, from head man*Butch Jones*to special teams coordinator*Mark Elder*and several other assistants, outlined for Amadi exactly how he could fit in the Vols' future special teams plans.

Smart, too, since Amadi emerged as one of the state's most dynamic return men the past two seasons. This year alone Amadi returned four total kicks --- three punts, one kickoff --- for touchdowns before teams largely avoided him.*

"They said they need a lightning player and they said that could be me. Coach Elder sat there and broke it down to me and how I can help in the punt return game, especially," Amadi explained. "That stood out to me, that they took the time to actually break it down and give me a visual. They're being serious about what they're talking about. And they showed me how successful they were at other schools, how they had ranked in the top 10 in punt and kickoff returns at their first two stops (Central Michigan and Cincinnati).

"I really want that opportunity at the next level. I feel like I can raise my stock even more. I like having the ball in my hands. I feel like I can make plays, and I feel like I'm an impact player."

Amadi said he's further felt Tennessee's belief that he could be an impact player by how personally Jones has recruited him as the Vols ratcheted up their pursuit of the First-Team All-Nashville and Hume Award finalist.*

"That really means a lot as well. Coach Butch is really recruiting me and it means he actually wants me, he's serious," Amadi said. "I feel like they're letting me know I'm a missing piece for them to be good next year like they want to be."

And Amadi sees all those fellow Midstate natives already shining for the Vols, only further adding to his thoughts about Tennessee.

"It gives me a lot to think about," said Amadi, who indicated he could return to Rocky Top as soon as next weekend for an unofficial visit. "I grew up with these guys. I feel like if I stay home and excel here, it's giving me something to think about. We all think differently. It depends on how everything goes."

Amadi is a midterm enrollee and said he would like to settle his recruiting process within the next two weeks or in early December.
 
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