From afar, McKenzie always made presence felt

The nearly four hours that Tennessee head coach Butch Jones spent with defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie during his in-home visit goes hand-in-hand with the relationship between player and coach.

Not only did McKenzie and Jones both do major damage on the recruiting trail as the Vols rolled in another top 5 class, but it was McKenzie who played a major impact at every turn.

"Kahlil is one of those dynamic individuals," Jones said. "He has the respect of everyone because of his play, but also because of his character. He was a driving force, whether it was through social media or reaching out to our prospective student-athletes. It's the pride and passion he has for Tennessee."

McKenzie went public with his commitment on July 10, 2014, and from there he decided to leave an indelible impression on the 2015 recruiting class.

"It really just came down to the fact that this was my way to make an impact," McKenzie told VolQuest.com last week after formally inking with the Vols. "I can't help on the field yet and this was my way of making Tennessee better. I felt like it was my job to go out and recruit."

He worked recruiting like a coach. Case and point was Wednesday morning when he was up at 3:30 Pacific time talking to Venzell Boulware. Ohio State was coming hard and as Boulware was getting ready to make a decision, McKenzie was making sure he had Tennessee firmly on his mind.

"I really didn't go to sleep but about two hours," McKenzie said. "Part of it was excitement for myself. But I also wanted to make sure I was staying on top of other guys. Knowing Venzell was a Vol made me sleep better those few hours. He was one of the first guys that I helped recruit, and I took pride in making sure it stayed that way."

One can only imagine what the 'DreamTeam15' group text looked like as national signing day approached, but the bond between this group of kids will stand the test of time. It was two players in particular that stood out to the Golden State tackle.

"That's tough," McKenzie said. "It's got to be a tie between Shy (Tuttle) and Jack (Jones). Shy is like my ugly little brother and Jack is like my ugly little sister. That's how our relationship goes. We are really a tight-knit unit. Guys like Sheriron (Jones) and Kyle (Oliver) have the same mindset. We think the exact same way and even tweet and text the same way."

Tennessee's Director of Player Personnel, Bob Welton, heard from McKenzie quite regularly throughout the process.

"Kahlil was great because he let us know how the group was feeling," Welton said. "He had the pulse of the recruiting class. Every once in a while he would call and say to make sure we would talk to certain kids. Here at the end, he would DM (direct message) me and say 'Coach, don't worry. I'm on it.' When he gets on a kid he's pretty relentless."

McKenzie has a passion for the orange and white. One day last week as he drove away from his home, he was passed by a Fed-Ex truck. Thinking his National Letter of Intent (NLI) was on that truck, he turned around and went back home. From there, he called Butch Jones and broke down in excitement. His impact was felt from start to finish. And with that kind of impact, it begs the question, what could McKenzie have done if he had been in Atlanta or Nashville and not 2,500 miles away?

"People would probably not be happy if I lived that close with as much as I text," McKenzie said. "Like if they don't respond to my text, that doesn't faze me at all. You could not respond to me for three years and I'm going to text you every day if I feel like I need too. I'm annoying when it comes to that. I'd be around all the time if I were closer to Knoxville. I definitely think I could have had an even greater impact."

McKenzie and Jack Jones were a great tag-team in this class, but who stands alone as the best recruiter for the class of 2015?

"Jack and I debate that all the time," McKenzie said. "My argument is I've recruited more guys and his argument is that he recruited me. He thinks that is an argument ender, but I don't feel that way. We have fun with it."

Coach Jones sees a bright future for McKenzie and that's because of the work ethic the prized defensive tackle shows on a daily basis in every aspect of his life.

"Kahlil has a dynamic on the defensive front that not many people have," Jones said. "He brings a size, speed and stature. He is 350-plus and has great acceleration off the ball and great disruptive quickness. He's a special player and we are excited about his future on Rocky Top."