Yeah, obviously Ruby was interested in Tennessee under Harper, too, and of COURSE she canceled her visit when she did. I'm sure Kellie called Ruby to tell her what had happened before any of us knew so she and her family could adjust appropriately. Can you imagine the utter failure that visit would have been if she'd decided to do it, anyway? (Not that anyone has ever suggested she should have!
) Our players were probably all over the place, crying and upset and maybe angry. The staff was obviously upset and not in the greatest mental/emotional place to be hosting a recruit who's looking to see what the environment is like at Tennessee. Mercy!
Ruby has obviously liked Tennessee for a good while, and I am grateful to the Harper staff for well planting that seed within her. Once the dust settled and Whitehorn and her family saw the excitement going on under Caldwell, and that they were successfully landing some high quality players themselves, she made the wise decision that Tennessee is STILL a great place to be. But she'd already had a pretty good idea of that.
It must have been a really wonderful time and series of feelings that came up in the Whitehorn family when they realized that the firing of the Harpers was something the great Tennessee could handle and move on from in a way that everyone can be encouraged by and feel excited for the future still.
Smart family, and we're glad to have all of our latest Lady Vols in orange. I wish we could speed up time and be close to the season starting already, 'cause I'm ready to goooo!