Georgia RB Jordan McDonald recaps official visit to see Vols' new culture
Georgia running back Jordan McDonald had heard all he needed to hear from Tennessee’s coaches over Zoom calls and over the phone.
This weekend, as he took his first official visit of the summer to Tennessee, was all about interacting with the coaches and players in person, and seeing just how genuine the new culture under Josh Heupel is.
“It went really well,” McDonald told Volquest following his visit. “I loved the interaction we had between the coaching staff.
“Going into the visit I wanted to see the interaction between the players and the coaches, and the interactions between the players as well to see the new culture they’re trying to build and also understand and get my eyes on how the relationship between the coaching staff really looks because as recruits, there’s things over the phone that we can’t really see. I wanted to see the up close and personal behind the scene things of what was really going on.”
McDonald took in what Tennessee had to offer with Vols quarterback commit Tayven Jackson, who was also in town for a visit. The potential backfield duo began to form a nice bond over the weekend.
“I loved getting to know the new recruits and Tayven Jackson,” McDonald said. “Me and Tayven formed a good little bond over this nice official visit. It was all just a great time.”
The 6-foot, 217-pound back still wants to take time to talk to more coaches, but “Tennessee is still very high on” his list following his latest visit to Rocky Top. McDonald was also on campus for the Vols’ spring game back in April.
McDonald spent the most time with Vols running backs coach Jerry Mack on his latest visit.
“Coach Mack is a great guy and a very funny guy,” McDonald said. “Dinner with his family and mine was all great. It was all nice and we were all clicking. It was just great conversations overall. He’s a very straight-forward guy. He doesn’t like sugar-coating things and he tells you how it is. He’s very up-front with you and he’s someone that you really want to coach you.”
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gave off the same vibes to McDonald.
“Coming into the visit, we got to talk on the phone a couple of times,” McDonald said. “Being able to see him in person and energy in person matches what it was on the phone. He’s very energetic and is always smiling. There’s a really nice vibe in the air for everyone when he is around. He lights the whole place up when he comes into the room. It’s not one of those relationships where everyone gets tense when he walks in or is timid or is afraid to speak. Everyone is excited to interact with each other.
“I was very impressed by the efforts the coaches took to make good relationships with the players and the effort the coaches took to build a new culture. You could tell there’s something special building up at Tennessee and something coming on the horizon under Coach Heupel. It was great to see.”
McDonald doesn’t have a timeline on when he wants to make a decision, as he’s still in the process of talking to as many coaches as possible.
At the moment, Tennessee, Michigan State and Central Florida are the three schools standing out the most.