Fort Walton Beach, Florida offensive lineman Brian Grant has been slowly building momentum in the football recruiting world the last few months. Noticed by then UCF offensive line coach Glenn Elarbee, Grant has built a bond with the now Tennessee assistant. That culminated with a commitment on Monday morning.

"They were excited," Grant said about telling the staff. "They were honestly pretty shocked. They were very pumped. It just feels like one big family up there. Its just an opportunity couldn't pass up."

Grant came up for spring practice last month and got a great vibe. He was able to see how the fans were and talk to some of them while walking around the campus. It left a big impression on him.

"I honestly fell in love when I came up there this spring," Grant said. "I liked the people there walking to the game. I could see how much they love that place and it fed off into me."

Tennessee is looking to add several offensive linemen in this class and Grant becomes the first and fifth overall commitment. His relationship with Elarbee made the difference as those two bonded quite well.

"He's energetic and always face to face with me," Grant said. "He tells me that he likes I'm quick for my size and that I have good bend. He likes how tall I am, but I can get low. He's like a really close uncle."

And as for the top Vol, Grant says he has a good feeling about Josh Heupel.

"I normally talk to coach Heupel on a zoom or FaceTime," Grant said. "He seems like a really good guy that I can trust and he sounds like he knows what he is talking about. I talked to him this morning and he was excited to hear I'm Vol."

Grant is still finding his way on the football field. He's been a basketball first type prospect up until this past season when he came out for football. He started picking up offers from Maryland, UCF, BYU, Tennessee and others and things took off.

"I believe my speed really helps," Grant said. "I'm 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds. I assume I'm probably going to be 300 and pure muscle by the time I'm done."

And his time with the roundball has given him the tools to showcase the better parts of his football craft.

"Basketball has helped me with my athleticism and my footwork," Grant said. "It makes it so much easier to move because of the quickness I've learned playing basketball."

Grant plans on visiting Knoxville again next month.