Jerome Carvin flirted with a number of schools throughout the process, but the 4-star offensive lineman had his sights set on one school in particular for awhile.

The mammoth Memphis native committed to Tennessee on Wednesday, kickstarting the new early signing period with with an early win for Jeremy Pruitt.

Carvin picked the in-state Vols over top schools like Mississippi State and UF, among others.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle gives Tennessee a trio of in-state offensive linemen for its 2018 class, as Carvin joins 3-star tackle Tanner Antonuitti and 3-star guard Ollie Lane.

"I've always liked everything down at Tennessee," Carvin told VolQuest on his decision.

"Having Trey Smith and Drew Richmond there make it even more better."

Carvin visited Rocky Top multiple times this year, developing a close relationship with former offensive line coach Walt Wells. He quickly felt comfortable in Knoxville and also got to know many of Tennessee's commits — guys like Alontae Taylor and Greg Emerson.

"I have a good relationship with the guys that are currently committed. That made it even better," he said.

Tennessee's previous staff made Carvin a priority since extending an offer in February, and Pruitt and new offensive line coach Will Friend didn't let up after taking over the job on Dec. 7.

Carvin said he already had a nice relationship with Pruitt dating back to his recruitment with Alabama and he's quickly developed a strong rapport with Friend.

"We had a good relationship when he was at Alabama. I always went in his office to talk to him. He always kept it real with me when I went down there," Carvin said.

"He would just call me in there and just talk with him. He just kept it real with me. He’s a great guy. He loves his players.

Friend likes Carvin's versatility, with the 4-star lineman saying, "Coach likes that I can play multiple positions on the offensive line, not just pigeonhole me into one. I can play tackle, guard. He said I’m a dog on film, so he wanted me to bring that to Tennessee."

Carvin becomes the 12 verbal commit in Tennessee’s 2018 class. He will enroll in January.