Jordan Matthews can see himself playing at Tennessee. The official visit over the weekend only solidified that for the four-star Louisiana defensive defensive back.
“Me being a long, fast corner,” Matthews said on Sunday, “they like press-man (coverage). Like
Alontae Taylor, he likes to do press man a lot. I can get physical up on the line. Lock down the other team’s best receiver.”
“I feel like it’s a real homey vibe here,” Matthews added. “Real nice vibe. I feel like I can play here one day.”
The 6-foot, 195-pound Matthews is ranked No. 139 overall in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite in the class of 2023. He’s the No. 16 corner in the country and is No. 10 overall in the state of Louisiana, out of Baton Rouge’s Woodlawn High School.
He’s visited Tennessee, Michigan and Stanford recently. He has offers in hand from Alabama, LSU and Texas.
“Those are definitely the ones I’m considering the most,” Matthews said. “I want to make a decision before the season, but if it’s not, it’s OK. I just want to make it early during the season so it will be less stressful. I want to enjoy my senior year.”
The Vols are squarely in the mix as he continues to process of making that decision. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made the trip.
“They’re definitely up there,” Matthews said. “They got one of my visits, so I’m heavily considering Tennessee.”
“I went tubing on the Tennessee River,” Matthews said of the visit highlights. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a little minute now. Just hanging out with the guys. They were real genuine. Real welcoming. They weren’t shy. They were energetic and everything. That’s something I like.”
Tennessee corner
Warren Burrell hosted Matthews on the visit, during a busy and important recruiting weekend for the Vols. He said his relationship with both defensive backs coach
Willie Martinez and defensive coordinator
Tim Banks.
“Since they’ve been here, they’ve been with me from the start,” Matthews said. “They’ve been liking me. Coach Martinez, when he came to one of my practices, he fell in love with me and everything. And I fell in love with him and everything.
“So I really like the program. Coach Banks, what he’s doing, he’s been succeeding at every program he’s been to. I feel like he could succeed at Tennessee and I could be a part of that.”
There was plenty of time with head coach
Josh Heupel during the visit, too.
“I love Coach Heupel and he loves me,” Matthews said. “Our bond grew as the weekend went on. He’s a real genuine guy. He’s not some head coaches that are real, you know, I don’t want to take time with my recruits. He doesn’t care. Whatever you want to talk about, he’s comfortable talking about it. He helped me this whole weekend.”
Matthews said he’s looking for a coaching staff that can help him get to the next level, a process that he hopes starts during his first season at the collegiate level.
“How early I can play, as a freshman, even if it’s just playing time or even starting,” Matthews said. “And then I would say the brand of the school, if it’s real good networking with businesses and everything, because that’s what I want to major in. That’s what I’m (looking for).”
