The Timeline: How Tennessee landed Ramel Keyton

Auburn was in this until the end. Ramel Keyton also listed Ole Miss and Penn State as finalists, but on Wednesday afternoon, the Vols beat the Tigers for the four-star wide receiver out of Marietta (Ga.).

Florida was in this at one time and he was high on Clemson and Georgia early too, but Tennessee took the lead earlier this year and Keyton tells the story on how he came to his decision.

"I have liked Tennessee for a while, but my interest in them as a recruit really started early," said Keyton. "While Butch Jones was the head coach, I visited two or three times, so I learned a lot about the school pretty early. The Florida game in 2016 is really when they started to move up my list and I started to look at them pretty serious. They got down big early in the game and my mom actually wanted to leave, but I got her to stay, then they came back to win with a big second half.

"The fans have stood out to me, even when I was there before I had the offer and that was on my mind. Tennessee was the third school to offer me, so I have had them on my list for a while. Right after Jeremy Pruitt got the job, they re-offered and things picked right up with the new staff. Things really got going then."

"The spring game for me really made a big impact on me. It is just different there now than it was under coach Jones. I liked Tennessee then, but I like how things are going there now a lot more. My interest got higher right when coach Pruitt took over and then at the spring game, it was really over for me.

"That was the best visit ever for me. The way they had it set up was impressive and I had a great talk with coach Pruitt after the game. I basically made my decision then. I pretty much left that day knowing I was going to Tennessee. I called him the day after and committed to him.

"I think he had an idea that it was coming. My mom and I talked about it when we were driving home and we both loved it. She took a visit to Tennessee by herself this spring while I was out in L.A. for a 7v7 tournament and they made it feel right for her too. That weekend of the spring game pushed Tennessee to the top."

"Outside of how I feel up there and how the coaches recruited me, the direction of program was big in my decision. This recruiting class is going to be very good and in the next couple of years, I see Tennessee as a championship team. I think a lot of people will jump on the wave Tennessee has going right now.

"Coach Pruitt is going to do all he can to win. He is a hard worker and he is going to push the players on his team to their limits. Off the field, he is a cool guy, but on the field, he really wants to be the best.

"It was really Tennessee, Auburn, Ole Miss and Penn State. Then Penn State kind of dropped out. Next Ole Miss was out and it came down to Auburn and Tennessee. I can't wait to get to Tennessee now. I want to get up there and play in front of those fans. The recruiting process was kind of stressful, but I enjoyed it the further I got into. I feel great now though being committed to Tennessee."

Visit Volquest.com for the latest on Tennessee's 2019 recruiting class.