The question all spring and early summer has been who will Tennessee land to play quarterback for its 2019 current recruiting class?
And as the month of June winds down, Jeremy Pruitt, Tyson Helton and the Vols finally have their man at quarterback for the 2019 class as Ocala, Fla., quarterback Brian Maurer pulled the trigger on Wednesday morning by committing to the Vols after a whirlwind final few weeks to his recruitment.
"Tennessee runs a true pro-style offense," Maurer said. "Tennessee has some best facilties in the country and the coaches made a big impression on me."
Maurer has been hot on the recruiting trail the last few weeks with recent offers form the Vols and Ohio State. After visiting Tennessee, he made his way north to Columbus where he put on a show with his arm and then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. He's a dual threat quarterback with that type of speed, but he would rather be known as a quarterback that can run instead of a running quarterback.
"I don't necessarily want to run, but if I need to run I will," Maurer said. "It's a dimension to my game, but I like to be in the pocket making big throws. That's where I feel like I can make an impact. I add a lot with the other guys committed and we can build on that."
Maurer returned home on Monday night and spent most of Tuesday mulling over a decision. He talked and talked about it with his coaches and family. And when he looked at the tale of the tape, it came up orange.
"I sat down and had about a two hour discussion with my coach and Tennessee came out on top," Maurer said.
"The fans help sell it and you know you are going to get a sold out venue each game. They are going to compete for championships under coach Pruitt."
And after that discussion with his head coach, Maurer called Pruitt and Helton to give them the news. That included plenty of jubilation from the first-year Vol offensive coordinator.
"He said it made his whole year," Maurer said. "He said it made his summer and made his whole vacation very different. He was ecstatic."
Pruitt was very happy also according to Maurer. The first year head coach is getting a quarterback with swagger that believes in his abilities.
"I'd be scared to play myself," Maurer said. "I've had other coaches come up to me before games and tell me their game plan is to get to me as fast as they can. They don't know if I'm going to run or throw."
Maurer learned after sitting down with Pruitt during his visit last week that Pruitt admired his toughness. That included his ability to stand in the pocket and deliver the tough passes under pressure. And in the rare occasion that he made a mistake, step up and make a tackle following an interception.
"I'm from Florida and that's all I have to say," Maurer said. "Florida football is built different than any other state. Kids are just build different because we are built to be tough and not run away from contact."
And now Maurer will run straight for the other top prospects in this class. He wants to find the players that want to join him on Rocky Top.
"I'm not going to target anyone in particular," Maurer said. "I'm going to recruit the guys that want to be a part of something special at Tennessee."