Tray Curry has viewed Tennessee as one of his top college choices since getting an early scholarship offer from the Vols more than a year ago. That hasn’t changed as the list of teams pursuing him has continued to grow. The Class of 2021 wide receiver from Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, Tenn., said Tennessee is one of two schools currently standing out to him, along with Auburn, and he’s planning to visit the Vols again March 7 to attend their next junior day.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Curry didn’t hesitate to point to Tennessee and Auburn, which hosted him for the first time Feb. 1, as the teams at the top of his list among the more than a dozen offers he has received.
“Auburn, Tennessee — them two, for sure — and that’s really it right now,” said Curry, who’s ranked the No. 318 overall prospect and No. 56 wide receiver in the 2021 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
Curry said the Vols, who extended an offer to him in December 2018, are the team recruiting him hardest, led by wide receivers coach
Tee Martin. “They contact me a lot — almost, like, every week — to see how I’m doing and stuff like that,” Curry said. “They tell me I’m important. They want to do the same thing Auburn wants to do. They want to get me by myself and throw jump balls to me and let me work. … They said I can make an instant impact to their program.”
That’s not the only reason he’s high on Tennessee. “I just like the atmosphere, the coaching staff and really how they use their wide receivers,” Curry said.
He picked up an offer from Auburn last month and visited the Tigers on Feb. 1 for a junior day that allowed him to attend their home basketball game against Kentucky. Curry, a two-sport standout, also received a basketball offer from Auburn in June, and his recent visit there caught his attention. “I liked it. It really did impress me,” Curry said. “I like their facility. I like everything. I like a lot of stuff at that school.”
Tigers coach Gus Malzahn’s staff has told Curry, he said, that “they want to, like, throw it up to me — throw jump balls and stuff like that, get me out by myself so I can work.” North Carolina also hosted him on Jan. 25, and he attended games at Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi State during the 2019 season.
Curry went to two of the Vols’ home games, attending their double-overtime loss to BYU on Sept. 7 and their win over South Carolina on Oct. 26, and he said he was impressed by the progress they showed throughout the year. Tennessee capped off an 8-5 season with a six-game winning streak and victories in seven of its final eight games.
“It seemed like they were finding themselves at first,” he said. “But later in the season they got the hang of it, and they started knowing what they were going to do.” The second-half turnaround convinced him that the Vols are on the right track under third-year coach
Jeremy Pruitt. “I probably needed to see that,” Curry said.
With Curry now focusing on his basketball team’s postseason run, he said his upcoming visit to Tennessee is “the only one I’ve got scheduled right now.” He’s currently not expecting to decide on a college any time soon. “I’m probably, like, a long way (away) right now,” Curry said. “I have to think about it, for real. … (I will) probably wait ‘til the season.”