Dynamic 2021 receiver Kobe Paysour talks interest in Vols

CHARLOTTE — While Tennessee is looking to add three or four receivers to its 2020 class, Tee Martin is already targeting potential playmakers in 2021, too.

Back in February, the Vols extended an offer to Kings Mountain (N.C.) sophomore Kobe Paysour, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound playmaker from North Carolina.

The next day, Paysour visited Tennessee for one of its Junior Day’s, meeting Martin, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

“I like Tennessee,” Paysour said before the Rivals 3Stripe Camp in Charlotte.

“I like coach Tee Martin and (quality control analyst) coach (Caleb) Cox. They treat me with respect. They really like me. Tee Martin has a lot of stuff going with wide receivers in the NFL. They’re telling me Tennessee is basically Wide Receiver U. He developed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Nelson Agholor and those are some of the guys I like in the NFL.

Paysour holds early offers from UT, South Carolina, Georgia, Duke, NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina, among others. He’s only visited a handful of schools, though, including two trips to Tennessee after catching the Missouri game last fall.

UNC and Duke are early contenders for the North Carolina native, but Paysour said his prior relationship with Chaney from Georgia helps Tennessee, too.

“I like the offensive coordinator a lot,” he said.

“He’s real honest with me. He’ll talk to me about my game. Let me know what’s wrong with it, what I need to work on. That’s what I like about the coaches. The connections.”

As a sophomore, Paysour led Kings Mountain with 71 receptions for 1,596 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also added a two interceptions on defense, including a long pick-six.

“I’m a playmaker,” he said.

“If you throw it up, I can get it. I can also out-run people.”

Just a 2021, Paysour is in no hurry to end his recruitment.