Alontae Taylor a Vol again
It only seems fitting that Coffee County standout Alontae Taylor's recruitment took the twists and turns of one of the many lengthy touchdown runs during his phenomenal prep career. And like those runs, he ended up in a familiar spot at the end. The one exception being instead of delivering six on the gridiron, he delivered No. 6 to Rocky Top.
"It just came down to representing my state," Taylor said. "Being from here and being all around the University of Tennessee since my freshman year was something I couldn't pass up."
Taylor took visits to Notre Dame, Georgia, and last weekend to Tennessee before cancelling his planned trip for Louisville this weekend for a return trip to Knoxville.
"Tennessee has always been there since I decommitted," Taylor said. "After seeing what coach (Jeremy) Pruitt is going to do with this program and seeing his ideas and his assistant coaches, I just feel like Tennessee is headed in the right direction and I want to be a part of that."
Taylor was one of the first phone calls Pruitt made after landing the Tennessee job last week. He challenged Taylor to stay at home and be the leader for this 2018 class. He took that to heart and looks forward to evolving into the role of class captain.
"I just take that role and I'm very passionate about the University of Tennessee," Taylor said. "I'm going to go out there and recruit the top guys and help the staff the best I can between now and February."
And even while taking visits, he was beginning to take on that role with other top players in the state.
"I talked to Jerome Carvin and Jeremy Banks. I told Jerome he needed to cancel his Florida visit and come up to Knoxville. We all hung out at the Tennessee All-Star game and I was in their ear a good bit. (Carvin) text me last night and told me he had cancelled the visit and was coming up this weekend. I told him he will feel the attitude and mindset is totally different. We could sure use him."
Tennessee doesn't have a wide receivers coach at the moment, but Taylor didn't sweat that when weighing his decision. He spoke with Pruitt and understood the direction WRU is headed.
"I know the situation with the receiver coach and the strength and conditioning coach so I'm not worried about that," Taylor said. "I have full trust in coach Pruitt."
With recruiting firmly behind him, Taylor now turns his focus to recruiting and spring practice. Perfecting his craft won't be easy with him being so raw to the position, but a tireless work ethic gives him an edge on most.
"I feel like I'm getting more comfortable with it," Taylor said. "The route running has improved and I'm looking forward to working on that craft every day in the spring. Just looking forward to every bit of the next few months.
"I counted it down and I can say I regret that. It came so fast. In three and half weeks, I will be on a college campus, living the college life. I'm ready."