‘23 GA CB Branden Strozier (Clemson commit)

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#105
Branden Strozier viewed Tennessee as one of his top college choices even before he returned to Knoxville on Saturday. But his second visit with the Vols in a little more than two months only improved his opinion of them.

The Class of 2023 cornerback from St. Francis High School in Alpharetta, Ga., said Tennessee is “pretty high on my board” following his visit Saturday for the Vols’ first spring practice in pads. He said traveling to Tennessee again “boosted” its standing among the 18 schools pursuing him, and he expects to visit the Vols again as he moves toward his college decision.

“They sit pretty high on my board. I can say that for right now,” said Strozier, who’s ranked the No. 375 overall prospect and No. 40 cornerback in the 2023 class and the No. 33 junior from the state of Georgia, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. “They sit pretty high on my board.

“They were kind of already up there, but today just boosted them a little bit.”

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Strozier said Tennessee moved up in his mind Saturday because of “mainly just the practice — the practice feel, the feel with the coaches and stuff like that.”

He said Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson recently have “been the ones that (I have) been mainly focusing on. But I still keep everything open.” He also visited the Crimson Tide and the Tigers earlier this month, and Clemson gave him his latest offer following his visit there on March 12.

Strozier, who received a scholarship offer from Tennessee on Jan. 22 during his first visit with the Vols, said he’s high on them because of “mainly just the love here and the fan base here.” He added that he has gotten a better feel for Tennessee’s fans “mainly online.”

“The fan love here is crazy — I can say that,” he said. “I’ll put out a tweet, something about Tennessee, and (there will) be, like, 200 people commenting, liking it in, like, 20 minutes. It’s crazy here.”

He said he enjoyed seeing the Vols in action on the field Saturday during their third spring practice.

“It was pretty good coming back and being able to see the practice and how they operated during practice,” Strozier said, “and the tempos and stuff like that. … Mainly just the tempo of how fast they switch from one period to another and the energy, that’s really what surprised me.”

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s staff showed Strozier plenty of attention during Saturday’s visit, led by defensive analyst Chad Creamer, defensive backs coach Willie Martinez, defensive coordinator Tim Banks and Heupel himself. Strozier said he also spent time with Vols defensive scouting coordinator Trey Johnson and defensive graduate assistant Tyson Kee.

“They were just telling me that they really need me in the back end, and they feel like I’ll be a great fit here, pretty much,” Strozier said.
The Vols have made him a priority since extending an offer to him more than two months ago.

“I talk to them every day — I would say every day or every other day, at the (least),” Strozier said. “It’s been a consistent relationship between me and Tennessee. (I talk with) mostly Martinez. I try to talk to Heupel once a week. I talk to Coach Kee often.”

Strozier, who was accompanied by some of his teammates on Saturday’s visit, said he also has taken notice of Tennessee landing five-star Class of 2023 quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach, Calif., on Monday.

“I mean, that’s a pretty big deal,” Strozier said. “He’s a five-star — their first five-star quarterback, i think, since, like, 2002 — so it’s pretty good. It just boosted up their rankings in the recruiting class to (No.) 10, I think, so that’s pretty good.”

He added that finding a program that’s competing for championships, or at least showing clear improvement in that area, is “not a priority” for him in picking a college. But he admitted “it’s a big deal for me, knowing that (Tennessee has) been improving all around.”

Strozier said he currently plans to decide on a school “before football starts,” perhaps within the next three months. He said he expects to take more visits before announcing a commitment, but he doesn’t have anything planned at this point.

“This was my last visit that I have scheduled,” he said. “But I’m probably going to attempt to go to some spring games. I’m not sure yet. … Probably during June or the end of May, I plan on making my decision.”
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-Callahan
 
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#108
#108
T2P_Priceless said:
“The fan love here is crazy — I can say that,” he said. “I’ll put out a tweet, something about Tennessee, and (there will) be, like, 200 people commenting, liking it in, like, 20 minutes. It’s crazy here.”

Interesting, I thought kids didn’t care about that 🤔
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I’m not convinced they care about anything but that, these days.
 
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#110
T2P_Priceless said:
“The fan love here is crazy — I can say that,” he said. “I’ll put out a tweet, something about Tennessee, and (there will) be, like, 200 people commenting, liking it in, like, 20 minutes. It’s crazy here.”

Interesting, I thought kids didn’t care about that 🤔
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AP said that fan reaction with Kasper leading up to his visit would be huge for him. Tifwiw
 
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#112
#112
Really need to get this kid in the boat.6'2 corners with fast hips n lateral skills don't grow on trees.Without Taylor and Theo I'm worried.Then u got half the 2ndary out for spring!I'm just saying it's a big big issue I don't trust anyone back there rite now and I'm suppose to trust them come Bama game with a handful of practices lol pray boys we need help.

*doesn't help us this year so I hope they have a portal guy or 2 their set on.Idk change my mind lol
 
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#113
#113
We got a JUCO and a transfer with what we had last year I hope we wait and get high schoolers from the 23 class with the way things are shaping up on the recruiting front. I think we'll see more pressure on the QB's this year and with a year under their belts I think we'll look better on the backend this year.
 
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#114
TitanicVolz said:
Really need to get this kid in the boat.6'2 corners with fast hips n lateral skills don't grow on trees.Without Taylor and Theo I'm worried.Then u got half the 2ndary out for spring!I'm just saying it's a big big issue I don't trust anyone back there rite now and I'm suppose to trust them come Bama game with a handful of practices lol pray boys we need help.

*doesn't help us this year so I hope they have a portal guy or 2 their set on.Idk change my mind lol
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Kamal Hadden and Turnage who balled out in conference play against scar come back for summer and pre season camp. They already know the playbook unlike a transfer who has to learn the system in 3 months. Turnage is also 6'1 ish.
 
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#115
Mr French said:
Kamal Hadden and Turnage who balled out in conference play against scar come back for summer and pre season camp. They already know the playbook unlike a transfer who has to learn the system in 3 months. Turnage is also 6'1 ish.
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yeah, haddend and turnage are two kids i look forward to seeing more of. it just sucks they're going to miss spring....but if they come back and are ready to go and have a good fall camp, our db situation isn't as dire as it seems right now. just some 'if's and but's' to work thru until then.
 
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#116
jakez4ut said:
yeah, haddend and turnage are two kids i look forward to seeing more of. it just sucks they're going to miss spring....but if they come back and are ready to go and have a good fall camp, our db situation isn't as dire as it seems right now. just some 'if's and but's' to work thru until then.
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Yep.. the only reason Turnage didn't play is because we had an ALL SEC NB in Theo.
 
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#118
#118
jakez4ut said:
yeah, haddend and turnage are two kids i look forward to seeing more of. it just sucks they're going to miss spring....but if they come back and are ready to go and have a good fall camp, our db situation isn't as dire as it seems right now. just some 'if's and but's' to work thru until then.
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(whispers) missing spring is overrated.
 
#119
#119
bignewt said:
(whispers) missing spring is overrated.
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i think for some, it probably is. but for guys that are moving up the depth chart, haven 't had a tone of playing time, more reps, the better. that said, it's not like it's their first season. so on that alone, i do tend to think it's not as big a deal as is being protrayed. especially if they're available thru the summer and full go in the fall.

where it does get problematic is like a couple years ago where we had so many guys miss spring cause of covid, it just became a numbers issue, and it killed us.

either way, we'll find out next season. lol
 
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