"Before I committed to Notre Dame, Tennessee was really high on my list," Pouncey told Ivins. "It was probably between Notre Dame and Tennessee when I first committed."
The Vols have made it clear to Pouncey that he could earn early playing time in their offense.
"The message has really been, 'We need you to come in and play,'" he said, referring to Tennessee's sales pitch. "That's really the message that all the schools have been telling me, because I wouldn't be considering a school that's going to, like, redshirt me. I expect to play as a freshman. With all the schools I'm considering, my top four, that's the case at all of them."
Tennessee coach Butch Jones has developed a good relationship with Pouncey, he said, and has been in contact with him since even before the Vols extended a scholarship offer to him in May.
"I love Coach Jones. He's a real cool guy," Pouncey said. "I've known him for quite a while now. I think Tennessee started recruiting me my freshman year, like, kind of under the radar a little bit. But Coach Jones is somebody that I have real close ties to."