Vols land Rivals100 LB

The Tennessee Volunteers have a huge matchup this weekend on the field as they travel to Georgia. Off the field, the Vols coaching staff pulled in arguably its biggest commitment of 2009 with a verbal from Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith linebacker Jerod Askew.

"Yes, Jerod committed to Tennessee," said Oscar Smith head coach Richard Morgan. "He spoke to coach Fulmer and decided there was no reason to take any more visits. Jerod just loved everything about his visit this past weekend."

Askew, a 6-foot-1, 230-pounder, came away impressed with every aspect of Tennessee according to Morgan.

"He really likes the coaching staff but also fell in love with the atmosphere, the crowd, the school itself, the situation at linebacker...everything."

Askew had more than 30 offers and had narrowed down his list to Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama. He took an official visit to West Virginia the weekend before his trip to Knoxville.

"He was planning on taking more visits but didn't see the need," said Morgan. "I guess you could say everything at Tennessee feels right for him."

With rumors surrounding Phillip Fulmer's job status as the Vols are off to a 2-3 start this season, is Askew done?

"He's done unless something happens with the coaching staff," Morgan said. "That's the way we do things here, he's committed so he's done. The only exception is if the coaching staff a player here commits to is gone, then they have the opportunity to open things up. But with Jerod, the things he liked so much about Tennessee -- the school, atmosphere, fans -- none of that will change regardless so I would assume they'd still be on top for him even if something happened."

Askew is ranked as the No. 77 player in the country by Rivals.com and No. 7 at inside linebacker. He is rated as the No. 1 run stopping linebacker in the land.