McKenzie adds to Memphis commit list

Weed (Calif.) College of Siskiyous safety Tremaine McKenzie has ended his recruitment. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound physical safety would be a big pickup for any school, evidenced by his strong offer lost including schools like Colorado, Purdue and West Virginia. On Monday, McKenzie decided to take his services to the University of Memphis.

"I committed to the University of Memphis," McKenzie said on Monday evening. "I actually did it today. I like their defense and the scheme of the defense and I feel like I can go in and make an impact with the team and I just like Memphis because it's an up and coming program and I can make a difference there."

McKenzie has yet to visit Memphis but he does have an official visit set up on Jan. 7. Though he hasn't seen the campus yet, McKenzie did get an extra opportunity to see some of the coaches and his future teammates when the Tigers were down in his hometown for the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 20.

"I talk to the coaches quite often. When they came down here I had a chance to go and meet all of the coaches and I met a lot of the guys on the team and met some of the coaches that I hadn't met before."

McKenzie, whose brother Jermaine McKenzie plays at the University of Miami is a big safety that should provide a run support presence for the Memphis defense.

"I'm real aggressive," he said. "I'm more of a strong safety. I'm an in the box player. I like to get around the ball but I can play free safety as well. I've got the speed to get over the top."

This season for the College of Siskiyous, McKenzie had 42 tackles, 9 pass breakups, one interception and two tackles for loss playing primarily as a free safety.

Fortunately for McKenzie and Memphis, he will be heading to the program with four years to play out his three remaining years of eligibility. McKenzie plans on starting classes on Jan. 13 and being ready to play spring ball with the team.