Brandon Powell (photo by KNS partner 247Sports)
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Targeting prospects from south Florida carries a certain amount of risk for out-of-region teams.
When the hometown Miami Hurricanes swoop in, local products often have a hard time saying no.
That’s what happened with three-star athlete Brandon Powell, who rescinded his commitment to Tennessee and verbally committed to Miami in the space of a couple of hours.
Officially decommited from the University of Tennessee
— Brandon Powell (@_Powellbp4) August 3, 2013
THE U !!!!!!!!!
[gdoc link=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgBQnqCTaaxzdDFkQjlNckE4dTlJV1ZXMUFMYjd2TUE&single=true&gid=0&output=html&widget=true” height=”750″]
Powell told South Florida High School Sports that Miami wanted him as a running back, while the Vols saw him more as a slot receiver. So that may have been a factor. But the biggest hurdle for Tennessee was likely geographic. There are tons of great prospects in south Florida, which is why recruiters flock there. But new Miami coach Al Golden has proven himself a formidable recruiter, so it’s not easy to steal prospects that the Hurricanes want in their backyard.
The good news for the Vols is that they already have plenty of receivers — four or five, depending on how you count the numbers. There are 12 scholarship receivers in camp, and none of them will leave due to graduation after this year.
[gdoc link=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgBQnqCTaaxzdHdmMDg5ZnlaZFl3VlAzNXRMSEpyeWc&single=true&gid=0&output=html&widget=true” height=”500″]