“Really, they showed me everything the past few times I came. My purpose this time was to show my mom around the college and stuff — the academics part — and just basically everything they showed me my first couple times that I came, I just wanted to show her.” Beckwith said his mother was impressed by her first look at Tennessee.
“She liked it,” Beckwith said. “She thought this would be a place for me, especially by it being closer than Florida or closer than all the other ones. She enjoyed it.
“The distance, that helped it out a lot. And then my mom liked it. It kind of boosted them up there.”
He said there’s “no doubt” that distance from home will play a role in his college decision, and it has become more important to him and his family with signing day approaching. “We can always fly (to Florida),” Beckwith said. “But, I mean, it costs money to fly, so this four-hour drive isn’t really that bad compared to a nine-hour drive.”
Beckwith said he “spent the most time” during the visit with Tennessee offensive coordinator
Jim Chaney and offensive line coach
Will Friend, the same two coaches who traveled to Florence on Friday to meet with him and see him play basketball. Vols wide receivers coach
Tee Martin and head coach
Jeremy Pruitt also met with Beckwith during the visit. “We really weren’t talking much about football,” Beckwith said. “We were just hanging out, having fun.”
“They told me I’m labeled as an athlete, so that’s what I’m going to be here,” Beckwith said. “They were like, they would move me all over the field in different scenarios, and they’ll find ways to get the ball in my hands. It’s still the same, as athlete. It’s not a particular position for me. It’s really receiver and more, like, in the backfield. “I’ve heard it from a couple schools, actually, that thought I would be a pretty all right running back. I’ve actually played running back in the past, so I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
“They told me once I got here, they’ll kind of mold me, and it was really up to me to figure out where I wanted to play and where I wanted to be at. So when I got here, when I start to practice and play at it more, then I’ll see what position is the best fit for me. They were just like, as soon as they get me to work out and all this, then they’ll see what position I’ll play and stuff like that,” Beckwith said. “But it’s probably going to be the same as high school — like, on the wing.”
His half-brother, running back
Camryn Beckwith of Killen, Ala., already has committed to Tennessee as a preferred walk-on and accompanied him on the visit this weekend. “About us playing together, I mean, it’s not really that big of a factor because we’ve been separated for, like, three years now,”
Damarcus Beckwith said. “But us playing together, I mean, it could happen and that would be great for our families to come to one place and watch us play instead of us splitting up, and then they’ll have to go to two different colleges.”
“Really, I’m looking for how my parents would come to the games and stuff like that, and how we could get used to going that distance — if we’re going to fly or if they’re going to take that nine-hour drive,” Beckwith said. “If they do manage to fly, then we’ll see.”
