'22 GA EDGE Darren Agu (Vandy commit)

#152
#152
The Class of 2022 edge rusher from Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Rabun Gap, Ga., said he’s “torn” between the Commodores and Tennessee going into his official visit to Vanderbilt this weekend. He plans to choose between the two schools after his weekend stay in Nashville, Tenn., before announcing his final decision on Wednesday, the first day of the Early Signing Period.

“Pretty much, after the visit this weekend, I’m going to have made my mind up,” said Agu, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 29 edge rusher in the 2022 class and the No. 43 senior from the state of Georgia.

Before leaving Thursday night for his visit to Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-6, 233-pound Agu received a visit Thursday from first-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, defensive line coach Rodney Garner and Mike Ekeler, the Vols’ outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.

Agu, who has received scholarship offers from more than 30 schools, said Tennessee’s coaches told him “pretty much that I have an opportunity to play early” for the Vols and “that I can be one of the players that contribute to making Tennessee a better program again.” He received a similar message from Tennessee last weekend during his official visit to Knoxville, and he said he came away impressed with the Vols.

“I mean, I liked everything about it,” said Agu, a former Notre Dame commitment. “I liked experiencing the campus in first person. I liked seeing all the coaches face to face, learning more about them, learning more about Coach Garner’s success, getting to feel Coach Heup’s vibe. I mean, just seeing the campus, I liked the facilities and visualizing myself (there).”

Tennessee extended an offer to Agu in March and has continued to pursue him in recent months despite his commitment to Vanderbilt. He attended the Vols’ home game Sept. 11 against Pittsburgh before making the trip to Knoxville again last weekend.

He said he spent the most time with “probably Coach Ek, to be honest,” during his official visit to Tennessee. Agu said he enjoyed getting to spend time with the energetic Ekeler.

“His personality is insane,” Agu said. “He’s got a whole lot of energy. His vibes are crazy. I mean, he seems like a great person.”

Tennessee defensive analyst Levorn Harbinhas been spearheading the Vols’ pursuit of Agu in recent months and has built a strong relationship with him. Agu said Harbin was “one of the people most responsible for me coming on the visit” last weekend.

After visiting Tennessee twice within the past three months, Agu said he’s strongly considering the Vols because of “pretty much what the coaching staff has been able to do in a short period of time, from when they arrived at Tennessee, and the success they’ve had this season.”

“I mean, the future looks bright for them right now,” he said. “They’ve got a great coaching staff, as well — Coach Garner, my position coach, 33 years of experience. He’d definitely be able to make me a better player than I am right now.”

Agu said he also enjoyed Tennessee’s game-day environment during his visit for the Vols’ loss to Pittsburgh.

“I mean, the game against PItt, the stadium wasn’t packed,” he said. “But even though it wasn’t packed, it was still insanely loud. The fans were amazing.”

Tennessee senior defensive lineman Maurese Smith served as Agu’s player host during his official visit last weekend, he said.

“He just said the coaches came in, told them a whole bunch of stuff,” Agu said, recalling his interactions with Smith during the visit. “They bought into it and improved their game dramatically. I mean, he himself said he improved a whole lot from when Coach Garner came in. He said that Tennessee’s a great place and I should come.”
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-Callahan
 
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#154
#154
Maxwell865 said:
-Callahan
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Even though it's Vandy, you never like a recruit to feel "torn" and be visiting the other school on the last weekend. I think our coaches feel good about this one, but it can be hard to overcome the last visit, especially when he's currently committed to them. You better believe Vandy will roll out the red carpet for him this weekend.
 
#155
#155
He’s very serious about his academics, hopefully (if he’s interested in the Business School) we rolled out the latest Haslam COB rankings in various disciplines. Several are elite.

UT has other things nationally ranked like some of the engineering disciplines as well, but we won’t ever get over the overall hump until we improve the perception of the freshmen transfer out rate.
 
#156
#156
BigorangeBoy said:
He’s very serious about his academics, hopefully (if he’s interested in the Business School) we rolled out the latest Haslem COB rankings in various disciplines. Several are elite.

UT has other things nationally ranked like some of the engineering disciplines as well, but we won’t ever get over the overall hump until we improve the perception of the freshmen transfer out rate.
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Haslam*
 
#161
#161
“Torn” = TN may or may not have a spot for me depending on how things shake out for them. If he has a spot, there’s no way he chooses Vanderbilt over us.
 
#162
#162
OGbabyaviVol said:
“Torn” = TN may or may not have a spot for me depending on how things shake out for them. If he has a spot, there’s no way he chooses Vanderbilt over us.
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I think he's actually torn because he feels like he's going back on his word to Lea. If that's the case, it means he's a good person in my eyes because I get that struggle if you have a loyal nature.

That said....Vol. LOL
 
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#165
#165
VFL92 said:
Even though it's Vandy, you never like a recruit to feel "torn" and be visiting the other school on the last weekend. I think our coaches feel good about this one, but it can be hard to overcome the last visit, especially when he's currently committed to them. You better believe Vandy will roll out the red carpet for him this weekend.
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Fear the Vandy Red Carpet. 😏
 
#167
#167
VFL92 said:
Even though it's Vandy, you never like a recruit to feel "torn" and be visiting the other school on the last weekend. I think our coaches feel good about this one, but it can be hard to overcome the last visit, especially when he's currently committed to them. You better believe Vandy will roll out the red carpet for him this weekend.
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Vandy getting their red carpet ready....
packaged-goods
 
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#170
#170
I honestly can’t understand how any recruit that has offers from TN, Auburn, SC, Fl, etc would go to Vandy. Vandy has the by far the worst game experience of any SEC program and the worst facilities. Unless a recruit has a family connection there or the recruit’s top priority is to play early then what could be the draw. Vandy undergrad isn’t on par with the Ivy League or Stanford so I don’t agree with it being academic.
 
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#172
#172
Really hope we get this kid bc he has huge potential


With that said whether you come here or not we are going to win and we are def gonna kick your ass while you're at Vandy. Make the best choice.
 
#173
#173
UTK's academics have great increased since the lottery scholarship. We capped enrollment and now only accept the best & brightest. Vandy is a great liberal arts college however that does not always guaranty success.
 
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