Darrian Felix has been considering Tennessee since he picked up a scholarship offer from the Vols more than two months ago. His first trip there made them even more of an option in his mind.
The three-star rising senior all-purpose back from Fort Myers (Fla.) High School said he had a great experience at Tennessee last weekend during its Orange Carpet Day, and the Vols now are one of four teams in the mix for him, along with Oregon, Miami and Auburn.
It definitely exceeded my expectations, said Felix, whos ranked as the nations No. 294 overall prospect and No. 6 all-purpose back in the 2017 class. Just the coaching staff amazing coaching staff. They like to have fun, but they get the job done. The players, theyre very friendly, much like myself, so I can relate to them.
Theyre definitely an option.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Felix who claims offers from nearly 30 schools said Tennessees coaches have been making me a priority, so he just had to come here and see it for myself.
He admitted he didnt know what to expect before arriving in Knoxville, but he was blown away by what he saw and experienced.
I didnt look it up or anything, said Felix, whos also ranked the nations No. 599 overall prospect and No. 8 all-purpose back. I just knew about Neyland Stadium how big it was, how many people it holds. But the scenery and everything, the people, it blew my mind. I never expected it.
Felix said he was impressed by the fun he had throughout the visit, everybody coming together and the coaches at Tennessee. One of the highlights of the visit, he said, was a water-balloon fight the prospects in attendance had inside Neyland Stadium.
We were down there partying, having fun, he said. A water-balloon fight thats the first time Ive ever seen that. We had a water-balloon fight. Everybody was just going after everybody. It was fun. It was crazy.
A couple of the newest additions to Tennessees roster freshman wide receiver Tyler Byrd and freshman running back Carlin Fils-aime, who are from Naples, Fla. both had talked with Felix before the visit, and he said they told him that Tennessee is just great and the Vols program is family oriented.
They have brotherhood just Vol for life, Felix added.
He said he also has been in contact with Tennessee running backs coach Robert Gillespie and first-year tight ends coach Larry Scott, a former Miami assistant, over the past few months.
They said theyre taking two running backs in my class possibly three, because theyve got four people on scholarship and two of them are leaving, Felix said.
Felix admitted the Vols depth chart at running back is among the reasons hes high on them.
He said hes being recruited by Tennessee as a running back whos also capable of lining up in the slot and at his best in open field.
But I can go through the hole, too, Felix added. I can be those backs. Whatever gets me on the field faster.
While Felix said he has no leader right now among the group of teams hes considering, hes hoping to decide on a college within the next few months.
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