“Man, everything was straight. I liked the facilities and talking to all the coaches,” said Boone. “I’ll most definitely consider coming back up for a spring practice or another visit.” He said Tennessee had shown interest in him before the visit, and he had been in contact with
Chris Rumph, the Vols’ former co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Rumph recently left to take a job with the NFL’s Houston Texans, but Boone said he now has talked with “a few other” members of Tennessee’s staff.
Boone said he “mostly” spent time with Rumph during his recent trip to Knoxville, but he also met with Vols defensive coordinator
Derrick Ansley.
“They told me that they wanted to continue using me off the edge as an end or outside linebacker,” said Boone, who holds offers from at least 15 schools, including Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma, North Carolina, N.C. State, Arkansas, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
As he continues to explore his growing list of college choices, he said whether he lines up primarily as a defensive end in a 4-3 defense or as a 3-4 outside linebacker doesn’t “really matter to me. I like being on the edge,” Boone said, “but it don’t matter what kind of formation that they line up in.”
After taking his first look at Tennessee, Boone admitted the opportunity to play in the SEC is at least one of the reasons he’s interested in the Vols.
“The SEC part of it, all that’s intriguing to me,” he said.
His teammate and cousin, Class of 2021 defensive end
Miles Capers, accompanied him on the trip and also picked up an offer from Tennessee while he was on campus. Boone said he and Capers are interested in being teammates again in college. “We’re kind of looking to go to the same school, most likely,” Boone said. “We plan on going plenty of different places together and stuff. We’re tight.”
South Carolina and North Carolina also have hosted him on visits so far this year, and he said he’s scheduled to return to Florida on March 7 after attending one of the Gators’ home games last season. He said he also plans on “going to a few spring practices” at other schools. He said he’s “still a long, long way” from deciding on a college. “I’m thinking (I am) still going to wait ‘til after my senior season,” Boone said.
