Tre'vonn Rybka has narrowed his focus to four finalists and now is a little more than a week away from announcing his college decision. And he already has a good idea of where he’s going. The three-star Class of 2020 defensive lineman from Dickson County High School in Dickson, Tenn., said he’s still planning to reveal his choice on Aug. 20, and he plans to choose between Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon and Kentucky.
Rybka said he’s still hearing from the Vols “every day,” led by first-year defensive coordinator
Derrick Ansley, running backs coach
David Johnson and head coach
Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee’s coaches have told Rybka to “just make them happy men,” he said, by picking the Vols next week and have made it clear he’s a priority for them. “I mean, I can put my head on the pillow every night and let it be known that Tennessee really wants me there,” he said.
“They usually just say I’m a big defensive lineman,” Rybka said. "I’m good. I’m quick. They need people (who are) quick up front so they can play more freely as a defensive group, if their defensive linemen are quicker and stronger and faster and stuff. And they say I’m really quick and stuff, so that’s why they need me. “I was talking to Coach Ansley (on Sunday), and he was like, ‘If you came to Tennessee, left high school right now, you could play here instantly.’”
Rybka said Kentucky hasn’t stayed in contact with him quite as frequently as Tennessee. “Me and Kentucky don’t talk as much, but we talk every once in a while,” he said. “But it’s not as much as Tennessee and everybody else.” Still, he’s strongly considering the Wildcats, who have hosted him on three visits this year, in part because of his relationship with Kentucky defensive line coach
Derrick LeBlanc. “I like Coach LeBlanc a lot,” Rybka said. "He’s a pretty down-to-earth dude. I watched him coach his stuff, and he doesn’t really change as a coach or as a recruiter. He’s the same person. I like that about him.”
No matter which school he chooses next week, he said he’s likely to take at least a few more visits after he announces his decision. Rybka once talked with Oregon about traveling there on an official visit this summer, but he said he’s “trying to wait to official people out (during) the season.” He said he’s also interested in taking an official visit to Oklahoma “during the season, probably, if they still want to official me after my choice — if I don’t choose them.”
He said he also “probably” will take an unofficial visit to Arkansas with “one of my buddies,” Class of 2020 linebacker
Micah Fann of Nashville (Tenn.) Christian School. But the decision Rybka announces next week, he said, is likely to be his final choice. “I don't think anybody could change my mind because usually, when I make up my mind, it’s set,” he said. “If I was going to change it — if I’m, like, doubting it — I’ll change my (decision) date if I’m doubting where I’m going to go.”
