Vols standing out for Alabama athlete Malachi Bennett

Tennessee dipped into Fairfield Alabama in the 2020 class when they signed lineman RJ Perry. They are back again for the 2021 class as they push for athlete Malachi Bennett. He was in Knoxville in mid-January and liked everything he saw.

"The coaches came to me and talked to me about the campus and the school," Bennett said. "They talked to me about the future they see here at Tennessee. It was just a good experience."

Tennessee is one of seven schools to offer Bennett. They have been ahead of the curve in his recruitment and he has taken notice of that.

"It gives them a leg up," Bennett said. "I like the coaches and how they interact with you. I like everything about Tennessee."

Bennett was being recruited by former linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer before he left Tennessee over the weekend for a gig with the New York Giants. He's also built an early relationship with Tee Martin and Jeremy Pruitt.

"Tee is a good coach and he talked to me about what I could do here and how I could be special to help the team," Bennett said. "Coach Pruitt is a good man and I could see myself here playing for them in the future."

Bennett could play wide receiver or defensive back in college. His desire is to stick on the offensive side where he has had plenty of success at Fairfield, but he's also started both ways.

"I feel like I could be a big factor to their 2021 wide receiver class," Bennett said. "I just like to compete and I'm always working on my craft. I'm never going to settle."

Bennett says the Tennessee coaches have told him to take his time with the process of coming to a decision and to lean on his parents for advice. He hopes to come back to Knoxville sometime later this spring.

"I hope to make it back up for spring practice, but I don't have anything set up as of now," Bennett said.

Rivals.com ranks Bennett as a 3-star athlete in the class of 2021.