Vols heavily in the mix for Pennsylvania offensive lineman Ryan Brubaker

Denver, Pennsylvania offensive lineman Ryan Brubaker has several key opportunities in the recruiting process. He recently has decided on three schools to officially visit when things open back up. Penn State, South Carolina and Tennessee will host him officially with two other visits to be determined later.

"It's been going good," Brubaker said. "Just in talking to someone outside the recruiting game, right now I'm living a 1000 kids dream and that perspective has shown me how blessed I am. It gave me that feeling of being grateful for all that I have and worked for."

The Vols have impressed Brubaker after changing coaching staffs. He's enjoyed getting to know the new staff and has learned a lot.

"Tennessee is a great school," Brubaker said. "I've enjoyed getting to know Coach Elarbee, coach Heupel and the rest of the staff. Coach Heupel has done a great job of bringing in a good cast of characters that are different but share core values. From what I've been hearing from Coach Elarbee and others, they have been putting in the work to turn it around."

So how realistic of a chance does Tennessee have? Brubaker is a firm believer in not assuming anything about his recruitment, especially the distance factor.

"They have spent a lot of time and effort in recruiting me," Brubaker said. "I think one of the biggest mistakes that recruiters can make is assuming that the school that is the closest is going to be the immediate pick of the recruit. There are some like Tennessee that have stepped up instead of stepping away from it. They like the challenge and they aren't afraid to take on schools that may be closer."

Tennessee offensive line coach Glenn Elarbee has been working Brubaker really hard. Those two have bonded and have spent a decent amount of time talking life, but also talking about how Brubaker fits into Tennessee's offensive line room with his skill set.

"He did a zoom with us the other night," Brubaker said. "He went over some film that they had on me and maybe the scariest thing was it wasn't just highlights (laughs). It was film from any game at any time. It was a wide variety of plays and we broke it all down. I enjoyed listening to his teaching style. I liked his gentle and soft spoken instruction. Some scream and yell and that's just not him. It's interesting and appealing."

Brubaker doesn't have a leader at the moment because he says each school that is recruiting him does things that impress him. Things are becoming more clear as he works toward a decision.

"Different schools pull ahead at different times," Brubaker said. "We are starting to get into that phase with official visits. I've got the three set in stone at this point. Over the next few weeks I'll work on getting those other two and see what schools fall into line."

And as for a decision, he hopes to get clarity on that matter sometime this summer.

"Right now if things are slated to open with official visits in June, I'm looking to make my decision before my senior season to make sure I'm locked in and get it over with," Brubaker said. "The last few seasons my recruitment has been on my mind. I'd like to play with all that behind me with no pressure."