Despite having never chased after the spotlight, that's just where Marcus Goree Jr. finds himself.
The Bradley Central junior's undeniable on-field talent simply would not allow him to go unnoticed, regardless of how soft-spoken he is off it.
"Marcus doesn't say much and has never tried to draw attention to himself," Bears coach Damon Floyd said. "He just shows up to workouts or practice every day and works to get better.
"I'm not even sure he understands yet just how rare it is to have the amount of attention he's getting nationally, but I've tried to tell him this isn't normal. We've never had Notre Dame coaches on our campus to recruit a player but they were here to see him. It's pretty much a different major program that visits just about every day."
The Chattanooga area produced eight Power Five signees in 2010, including seven with SEC programs, but has not had more than five in any signing class since. The most impressive group of recent area signees came in 2020 when McCallie's Jay Hardy signed with Auburn, North Murray's Ladd McConkey with Georgia and Dalton's Jahmyr Gibbs with Georgia Tech.
Last February three area players signed with service academy programs and only two others signed with Power Five programs.
But that relative dry spell for talent appears to be ending with a junior class that includes four of the top 20 prospects in Tennessee -- Brainerd athlete Boo Carter, McCallie defensive lineman Carson Gentle, Baylor receiver Amari Jefferson and Goree.
The list of in-state prospects also includes Bradley defensive back Tito Williams, who has offers from Ole Miss, West Virginia and Duke, as well as Baylor quarterback Whit Muschamp, Red Raiders receiver Max LeBlanc -- who picked up an offer from Virginia Tech on Monday -- McCallie quarterback Jeremy St. Hilaire, Red Bank defensive lineman Kobe Smith, East Hamilton defensive back Kireese Willis and South Pittsburg safety Logan Hargis.
"I think Goree is a fantastic athlete and might have a chance to be one of the top two or three players in that class," 247Sports.com recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan said. "He's that lengthy, fast defensive back that this state hasn't produced many of the past few years.
"Boo Carter is just a playmaker on both sides of the ball. He's not the biggest player out there, but he has a tremendous skill set."
According to Coach Floyd, Tennessee coaches have informed him that the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Goree, who had 11 tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups and returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown, is the top overall defensive back on their recruiting board.
"Marcus has that quick-twitch ability to turn his hips and get to a spot faster than anyone else on the field," Floyd said. "He also has a natural instinct for where he needs to be to make a play and, unlike a lot of athletes, he isn't interested in playing receiver. He's very physical and wants to play defense."
While competing at a camp Tennessee last summer, Goree was timed at 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Vols head coach Josh Heupel approached Goree and Floyd, offering the Bradley star on the spot.
"It's been kind of surreal, honestly, because I grew up watching all these teams on TV and now their coaches are coming to my school to see me," said Goree, who currently has scholarship offers from Tennessee, Auburn, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Louisville, among others.
"My freshman year was only my third year to even play football and I became a starter that season," Goree said. "I really started to believe I could play against anybody after I went up against some high-level talent last year at a camp in Detroit. Since then I've just been working to keep getting better and looking at which schools I like. I know I want to stay pretty close to home and go somewhere that I'll have a chance to earn early playing time."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis