The vibes were "great" during Tennessee's 42-20 win over South Carolina this past weekend for Liberty commit Christian Harrison.
The 6-foot-1, 180 lbs. athlete and his family made their way up north from Georgia to take in Saturday's game that Harrison described as "lit."
“It was real good," Harrison told VolQuest. "I loved it. Watched the Vol Walk, met all the coaches before the game, was talking to Coach Martinez, Coach Banks, Coach Heupel. Had a great time during the game. Got to talk to the coaches a lot more after.
“We loved the vibe. My mom loved it. She really liked the coaching staff as a whole cause she talked to all of them. My dad liked it too because of the coaching staff as well. He said he could see things turning around because everyone on that coaching staff is pretty close since they were together before. We just liked the coaches, the players, everything.”
Harrison is the son of former NFL safety Rodney Harrison who spent 15 years in the league. The eldest Harrison and the youngest each hit it off really well with Tennessee defense backs coach Willie Martinez.
“Me and Coach Martinez hit it off pretty good," Harrison said. "We were talking a lot before and after the game. Coach Heupel is a real cool dude and this program is about to change with this new coaching staff. Coach Banks is cool too. I even talked to Coach Burns and he was cool.”
Harrison plays both ways in high school. For his Woodward Acadmey team in College Park, Georgia he plays wide receiver and defensive back. Tennessee is recruiting him to play on the defensive side of the ball.
“They’re recruiting me as a corner and I like that because I want to play defense in college," Harrison said. "I want to be the one hitting people. My highest ceiling as a player is on defense. I play corner and receiver in high school.
"Tennessee likes my physicality and my ability to press the line and play bump and run coverage. They like my size, which is what they wanted to see on my visit. They liked my speed and stuff. I’m able to run with bigger, faster guys, which you need that in the SEC.”
Harrison doesn't yet hold an offer from Tennessee. He wouldn't be surprised if he received one in the near future from the Vols, however.
"I was really like the only recruit Coach Martinez was talking to the whole time," Harrison said. "He was telling me that he was going to talk to Coach Heupel real soon to discuss a potential offer for me, but the way they were talking, I could see an offer coming in real soon.
“It would mean a lot. The SEC is the best you can get in college football. It would mean a lot and put Tennessee high up on my list. And then I’ll take things from there.”
Harrison explained that if an offer does come he'll sit back and evaluate things with his parents in order to see what he should do next in an effort to not rush into things.
Tennessee was the fourth visit he's been on this season. Harrison also took an unofficial visit to Michigan in addition to official visits to Kansas State and Liberty. He hopes to make it back up to Knoxville to check in on the Vols' defense that he loved watching handle business against the Gamecocks.
"The whole time I was watching Alontae Taylor because he and I have a similar build and play the same position and even wear the same number," Harrison said. "I watched Trevon Flowers too. He’ll come down and hit you. But yeah, I love their defense. The corners press, play off depending on the down and distance, and I like that a lot — a lot of man coverage.”
“My dad talked to Tre Flowers after the game cause he stood out to him. And I was talking to Alontae after the game. He’s a real cool dude. We followed each other on Instagram.”
Harrison has been committed to Liberty since July 27 and holds offers from Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Air Force, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky, Furman, Kennesaw State, Marshall and Mercer.
