Tennessee lands elite DE Dylan Brooks
This wasn't how he thought it would happen.
Dylan Brooks planned to take his time, get back on the road when the ban on visits was lifted, and take more visits before making a decision likely in the fall, or even after the season.
That plan changed slowly over the last couple of weeks.
The 6-foot-5, 220 pound rush end out of Roanoke (Ala.) Handley let Rivals.com know multiple time in recent weeks that Tennessee was the school he was speaking with daily and that the Vols were recruiting him harder than anyone else.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida State and LSU were all involved in this race about a month ago, but Tennessee pull ahead and landed a commitment from the No. 3 player in Alabama.
"I was feeling it would come in December, then maybe over the summer at the earlier, but I made my decision today" said Brooks. "Tennessee has made me feel like a priority. They have recruited me the hardest, they have been my No. 1 school and I really like it a lot when I am up there."
He has tripped to Knoxville numerous times, including when the Vols hosted Vanderbilt last season. That date is so big, and maybe it tipped Brooks' hand a little, because that game was played the same day as the Iron Bowl.
His family grew up huge Auburn fans, so the in-state Tigers have always been viewed as a contender, and the frontrunner by many. That may have shifted the second half of the 2019 season though.
"I liked the vibe at Tennessee a lot and I loved how they finished the season last year," said Brooks. "The team played hard, they showed a lot of improvement and the team was different at the finish than they were at the start.
"Coach Jeremy Pruitt is a great coach and he got the team playing very well last year. I like how they played, I like how I vibe with the coaching staff and Tennessee has been up high for me for a while."
Schools aren't going to give up on Brooks, and he is still likely to take at least some of his official visits, but Tennessee is now publicly the schools all are chasing.
There are multiple reasons the No. 53 player in America feels Knoxville is where he should be.
"The keys in my decision were the connection with the coaches, who I can feel can really coach me up, the chance for playing time and where I feel I can produce," said Brooks.