Vols T logoKNOXVILLE — The departure of its offensive coordinator didn’t keep Tennessee from landing more help for its thin backfield.
Running back John Kelly, from Oak Park High School in the Detroit area, committed to the Volunteers when he put on a black hat with an orange “T” during a ceremony at his school Thursday afternoon.
The 5-foot-10, 203-pound three-star prospect picked Tennessee over Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan after taking his official visit to Knoxville last weekend. He is the third running back in the Vols’ 2015 recruiting class, joining junior college transfer and early enrollee Alvin Kamara and New Orleans four-star Kendall Bussey.
“I pretty much had my mind made up two weeks before my visit,” Kelly told the Detroit Free Press. “After I went on campus and got a chance to hang with the players and built a relationship with the running backs coach and the head coach, I knew that was the place for me.
“They’re trying to do something special down there, and I want to be a part of it. Once I got to Tennessee, I knew it was the right place for me.”
Kelly is ranked the eighth-best player in Michigan by Rivals.com.
Less than two weeks before signing day, Tennessee’s class is back to 28 players, 10 of whom enrolled earlier this month, after the Vols parted ways with longtime defensive end commitment Marques Ford on Wednesday.
“Due to circumstances, I am decommiting from the University of Tennessee and opening up my recruitment …,” the four-star recruit out of Gibsonton in Florida posted on his Twitter account.
Ford had committed to Tennessee in June.
The Vols, along with Miami, Missouri and Michigan State, are a finalist for Quart’e Sapp, a four-star linebacker out of Milton High School in the Atlanta area.
National signing day is Feb. 4.