After redshirting last year at Cal Poly, a Football Championship Subdivision school,
Nick Figueroa left in March and transferred to a junior college in hopes of earning an opportunity to play a higher level. He said he thought “my game had surpassed where I was at” after he was “a late bloomer” in high school, and he thought he was capable of playing for a major program. Figueroa already is proving he was right.
But he said he’s not necessarily surprised by the growing list of teams pursuing him. It’s what he wanted — and expected — when he left Cal Poly earlier this year. "It's been great, but it was what I expected,” said Figueroa, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 159 overall junior-college prospect and No. 13 juco strongside defensive end in the 2019 class. “I took a bet on myself and this was what I wanted, so this was what I expected. This was what I was working toward.
Figueroa said his offer from the Vols, which was his first from an SEC team, “was a nice surprise.” He said he learned of the offer during a phone conversation Monday with Tennessee quality control analyst Joe Osovet. “I talked to him for about, like, 20 minutes,” Figueroa said of Osovet. “He let me know I had an offer. They just really like what I put on tape. It was cool. It was a nice surprise. I'm real excited.
“He said they’re trying to just bring in a group of, like, hard-working guys who can come in and try to play, but really put an emphasis on high-motor guys who can play and try to play every down, and they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. And I think that’s how I consider myself, as well. I do it all every down and leave it all on the field. “He really emphasized that, trying to bring this Tennessee program to the strength that it was once.”
