Offer from Vols "just different" for in-state lineman
2023 offensive lineman Luke Brown was headed to church when his high school coach instructed him to call Tennessee wide receivers coach Kodi Burns. Waiting on the other end of the phone call with Burns was an offer from the Vols.
“I was just in a complete state of shock,” Brown told Volquest. “It was a really good feeling, especially when he said he was offering me. Growing up around Tennessee people, a Tennessee household, it’s just different.”
Tennessee is one of several schools Brown is hearing from early on in his recruitment. In addition to the Vols, the rising-junior is hearing from Vanderbilt and Florida State frequently. Brown has also received offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana and Memphis.
The Paris, Tennessee native is coming off a strong sophomore season that saw his Henry County Patriots finish 11-3 and miss out on playing for a state championship. Brown dealt with a minor knee injury throughout the season.
Now that Brown has received an offer from the team he grew up rooting for, he’s focused on building relationships with Tennessee's new coaching staff. For now, Burns is the one that Brown has communicated the most with.
“Every coach I’ve talked to has been a good guy,” Brown said. “I like all of them. I feel like all of them bring something to the table, especially Coach Burns. He’s a really good guy. Seems to care about people he recruits and wants to get to know them, which is a good thing.”
First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s up-tempo offense isn’t a foreign concept to Brown. He played in a very similar scheme during his freshman season at Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee. Constantly going after somebody was “pretty fun” to Brown, who projects as a tackle with his frame.
“I could probably play anywhere,” Brown said. “I can snap, I’ve played guard before and right now I’m playing tackle. I like tackle but I don’t have a problem with moving into the interior because I feel like I can have an upper-hand on people with leverage because of my length.”
Brown hasn’t been able to take visits because of the ongoing recruiting dead period. When you add in the fact that his recruitment is in the infant stages, he’s just taking things slowly right now. Once he’s able to take visits, he’ll have a better idea of who he wants to build relationships with.