KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s struggles in recent years have surely left some football recruits wondering why in the world they would choose the Knoxville program over any other number of opportunities they might have across the country.
Aubrey Solomon has a message for them: “Why not?”
The 6-foot-3, 299-pound defensive lineman was faced with a similar decision after entering the NCAA transfer portal after two seasons at Michigan. Solomon knew exactly where he wanted to go, though.
“I actually initiated the contact with them because I’d seen who all was here in Tennessee,” Solomon said, “and I was like, literally everybody here recruited me, everybody knows me. I was like, let me reach out, let me see what I could do, let me see if I could play there.
“Coach (Tracy) Rocker, Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt – it was the combination of both of them being here,” he said of the Volunteers’ defensive line coach and head coach. “Just seeing a head coach who really cares about his players way beyond football. He cares about you becoming a man, becoming a father, stuff like that. That, to me, really showed me he really cares about you beyond football, beyond the X’s and O’s, and the same thing with Coach Rocker. I was like, this is a no-brainer.”