“The whole time I was there it just felt right,” Chatman said. “Just the love the coaches showed. Coach (Nathan) Ollie ran up to me and showed me so much love. … It was amazing.”
Chatman holds more than 40 offers, but Tennessee was the first SEC school to extend the defensive lineman a scholarship back in February. He comes from a family full of Vols, too, as his sister-in-law graduated from Tennessee and his brother is a big UT fan.
“My family had told me how great (the school) was,” he said. “When I first visited (several years ago) I didn’t get to really see anything. So (Saturday), I finally visited and fell in love with it.”
“Thigpen, he’s a great guy,” Chatman said. “He’s not like other coaches. He tells it straight.. If you’r hard-nosed and a really good player, he is going to show you love. He’s straight forward, and that's my No. 1.”
Chatman enjoyed hanging around head coach Butch Jones for the first time, saying, “He’s very exciting and keeps u pumped up. I like the D.A.T. way (Details. Accountability. Toughness) slogan.”
He showed up in Knoxville last weekend with Griffin — his best buddy and someone whom he’d previously pronounced a package deal with. “If we happen to not play with each other, that will be fine,” Chatman said, though. “It’s not that must.” Chatman is at least friends with several other Tennessee 2018 commits, including Georgia receiver Jatavious Harris and 5-star offensive lineman Cade Mays. “Those are my guys,” Chatman said. “Cade tells me he will treat me like family there. That he’ll always been there to help me.”
