Fans can mark down Fisher Anderson as another in-state prospect new Vols coach Josh Heupel reached out to on Wednesday night – his first day on the job.
The former UCF coach, who took the Tennessee coaching job last Wednesday, has been hard at work calling in-state prospects since being named the head man. Heupel called several 2022 prospects on his first day and the 6-foot-7, 265-pound offensive tackle was one of them.
“I was kind of surprised, honestly,” Anderson told Volquest. “It was a late call and for only a few minutes, but it was his first day – so I know it was busy. I was surprised he still wanted to talk to me the first day on the job.
“It surprised me in a good way.”
As has been the formula with fellow in-state 2022 prospects, the Wednesday night conversation with the Franklin, Tenn. native was more of a meet-and-greet.
“We really didn’t go into anything super in-depth,” Anderson said. “He just seemed like he wanted to talk to me. He was a nice guy – very personable. Some coaches want to stick with football only during these calls, but we talked about other stuff too.”
The four-star is the sixth-rated prospect in Tennessee for the 2022 class and a Rivals Top-200 recruit. Anderson is tabbed as the No. 24 offensive tackle in his class and owns a 5.8 Rivals Rating.
“He made it seem like he really wants to start with in-state kids and work his way out,” Anderson said. “I don’t feel like I would have gotten the call that night if that wasn’t the case.”
That would be the logical path to take as Tennessee’s in-state 2022 talent is of plenty and has the potential to surpass the 2020 signing class that saw 10 Volunteer State natives come to Knoxville. In all, the state owns eight of the top-250 prospects in the county.
And with the offensive reputation Heupel brings to town, it has several skilled players buzzing inside the borders.
“I haven’t really studied or watched film of his offense yet, but I have studied his coaching staff at UCF,” Anderson said. “Usually when a head coach leaves, he brings a couple of assistants with him. But I have seen the graphic released about his offenses and how aggressive they are.
“That’s pretty unique – an offense like that with up-tempo and efficient play.”
The Franklin standout released a top-15 earlier this fall but has no plans of making a decision anytime soon. For Anderson, it’s all about visits.
“It’s kind of a letdown right now because we can’t take any visits. It’s all zooms and phone calls, so it’s very repetitive,” Anderson admitted. “I seriously doubt I’ll be committing any time before my senior year. If I do, it’s because something happens that I feel really confident in.
“The next step for me is to start narrowing down some schools and trying to get more out of a few programs instead of a lot out of many.”
With the hope of in-person recruiting gearing back up in May, Anderson hopes to knock some official visits out of the way before narrowing his list of schools down any further. The in-state talent has already been to Rocky Top about five times, unofficially.
In the meantime, Anderson will continue his new trait picked up over the winter months – wrestling.
“It’s still a new experience and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, but it’s definitely a beneficial one,” Anderson concluded. “I can already see improvements in my game and am excited to see how much it pays off next fall.”
