“I really enjoyed the facility, the people and the coaches,” the Fairfax, Va. native told Volquest. “I enjoyed watching practice with the intensity and how fast they move.”
The All-State athlete reeled in the awards following an impressive junior campaign. He’s been named an Adidas All-American and won various offensive and defensive player of the year awards. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder can run a 4.4 forty-yard dash and squats over 400 pounds.
Programs all around the country are evaluating him at both linebacker and running back, but the Volunteers don’t care which one.
“Tennessee is one of the biggest schools that is offering both - Tennessee, Ole Miss, Syracuse and a couple of others,” the 2023 prospect said. “But it’s mostly just defense.”
Defense would likely be the course of action on The Hill, so developing the relationships with those coaches on that side of the ball was critical during his two-day stop in Knoxville.
“He’s really smart. He has experience coaching the linebackers even though he’s the defensive coordinator,” Rojas said of Tim Banks. “He has good experience with the linebackers and defensive backs. He really knows what he’s doing.”
The priority target, who visited Tennessee for the first time this week, was able to sit in on meetings and talk shop with linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary as well.
“I talked to him a lot and he was showing me some plays,” the athlete said. “He was cool. He was showing me what position I would be and how they play the gaps and all that.”
“I’m think I’m cutting my list down after spring break. After Clemson and South Carolina, I’m going to cut it down to three schools,” the athlete told Volquest. “Tennessee is going to make it because I loved it there. It’s one of the best I’ve been to.
“I know Tennessee will be one of them because I loved it. I’m not sure about the others right now.”
Just before leaving campus Tuesday afternoon, perhaps the icing on the cake of the excellent visit was catching up with the head man.
“We talked to coach Heupel at the end. He’s really cool,” Rojas said. “He’s more about the people and not about the place. He’s a really good coach.”
E Cain
VolQuest - Tennessee impresses four-star Tony Rojas
, wrap it up.