Tennessee continues to push for linebacker Jeremiah Telander

When Georgia linebacker Jeremiah Telander left Knoxville following March 5’s Junior Day, he was feeling the Big Orange.

Not much has changed as the relationship between the two sides continues to grow with Josh Heupel and Brian Jean-Mary pushing hard for the priority target,

“The relationship has been going great and we talk every week. I talk with coach BJ and coach Heupel on the phone a lot,” the prospect told Volquest. “They say they are ready for me whenever I am and are always encouraging me to go hard every day.”

Tennessee stopped by to see the three-star linebacker on Wednesday, the first official day of Gainesville spring football practice. The 6-foot-2, 220 pound defender plans to be back up on campus for the Memorial Weekend premier recruiting event and has locked in his official visit with the Vols for the final weekend of June.

“I love coach BJ. He’s been to a lot of different places throughout his career and he’s a well-developed coach,” the 2023 prospect said. “He’s developed a lot of good linebackers. It’s his second year at Tennessee, so he’s fiery and ready to get something going over there. I like coach BJ a lot.”

Telander will also officially visit Louisville and Florida during the month of June. Aside from stopping by Knoxville this spring, the linebacker checked in with Florida and Georgia as well.

The Vols like the defender in the middle at linebacker and view him as a guy who can go sideline-to-sideline or line up outside of the box. Telander believes he’s a good fit for Tim Banks’ scheme and for how Jean-Mary coaches the position.

“They fly around. Their linebackers are sometimes in the middle, sometimes on the outside. They can rush the edge, rush up the middle,” the Tennessee target said. “There’s a lot of stuff you can do with their linebackers. I feel like that defense is linebacker friendly where they can go and make plays.”

“Tennessee thinks I can play in the box or drop out and go into coverage. They think I can go and get the quarterback, too. The coaches see me working well with their defense, just being all over the place. Playing linebacker is in my veins – it’s in my blood. I’m all about linebacker.”

Telander sports well over 20 offers at the moment and plans to release a ‘top-five’ shortly after spring practice concludes.

“Tennessee is a contender, for sure,” the prospect assured Volquest.

Tennessee continues to trend well here, but it’s not over. With at least two other official visits scheduled at the moment and two more remaining, it’ll be important for the Vols to keep pushing. Memorial Day weekend will be big for the staff and the visit in June could be the clincher, if all goes well.

Regardless, Heupel is treating Telander like an absolute priority and that’s sticking out to the linebacker.

“He’s great. You can feel the energy every time I talk to him and he always stays the same,” Telander said of the head man. “He’s all about family and the environment that surrounds everyone and tries to make good vibes for everyone.

Coach Heupel is fiery too, like coach BJ, and wants to win and succeed. You can tell that.”