Not all have given up on four-star Tennessee commit Roc Taylor
Quietly back in April, Oxford (Ala.) four-star tight end Roc Taylor committed to Tennessee. At the time, he committed to the Vols over Arkansas and South Carolina.
During the off-season, Taylor spent a lot of time at home working on his speed, route running and strength. It paid off, because in game one last week, he got off to a great start when he hauled in two touchdowns against Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson.
The communication between him in and Vols has stayed strong, and most important, consistent the last few months.
"Over the spring and summer, me and Tennessee have done a lot of FaceTime calls, a lot of regular calls, a lot of texting and things like that," said Taylor. "We have stayed in good contact with each other, and they have continued to show me a lot of attention.
"With them, since I committed, it has been kind of half and half — casual talk and recruiting talk. We are building on our relationships and they are still telling me about Tennessee and what is happening there."
Tee Martin has been Taylor's lead recruiter from the start, and he, along with head coach Jeremy Pruitt has checked on him a good bit too, but that connection with Martin is easy.
"It is fun talking with coach Martin. We have a great vibe, we really connect and we can talk about things outside of football. He gets me, I get him and we just have a great vibe with each other."
Another wide receivers coach has tried to get his program in this race. Like Martin played at the school he now coaches at, Kodi Burns did the same. He has trying to help Auburn make a move for Taylor.
"Auburn has really come on strong and they are recruiting me really hard right now," said Taylor. They just keep telling me they need me, that I would be a perfect fit there and things like that.
"The main coach has been coach Burns, and he has been on me a lot. He has called, texts, and things like that. That is the school that has recruited me hardest the last few months other than Tennessee.
"Coach Burns and Auburn have shown me a lot of attention, but I am still strong with Tennessee."
Tennessee's approach has paid off to this point. Consistency was key when Taylor committed, and it still means a lot to him.
"The consistency with Tennessee keeps me strong with them," said Taylor. "The coaches have always recruited me hard, they stay in contact with me and they have done that from the beginning.
"They recruited me hardest from the beginning, and that pushed them ahead of all the other schools. Nothing has changed.
"I feel Tennessee is on the way up. We have a lot to prove this year and I am excited about the future there."
