Whats next for Tatum

As was originally feared, the knee injury suffered by Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds linebacker Joshua Tatum turned out to be a torn ACL and the athlete will miss the rest of the season for the second year in a row. Tatum will still take an official visit this weekend and it's very possible he'll making his college choice before the month is over.

Tatum, 6-1, 220 pounds played in just two games as a junior due to a torn labrum so the disappointment of having his year end early for the second straight season was crushing.

"Yeah, Joshua is still in shock," McClymonds head coach Alonzo Carter said. "He was in such good shape this year and was ready to have a huge season. He was really the focal point for our defense and to have his season end on kind of a fluke play was pretty devastating."

With the recent injury and upcoming surgery, Tatum's recruitment has undergone a few changes.

"He's going to visit Tennessee this weekend," Carter said. "After that, we're not sure what's going to happen. He did have a visit set for Michigan next weekend but that's out now. He's going to have the surgery in two weeks and after the surgery, he won't be taking any more visits. We're still trying to set something up with Miami but they play on the road next week so I'm not sure what is going to happen there.

"He has already been to USC and Cal so he doesn't have to worry about visiting one of those schools. The good thing for Joshua is the day after the injury, Pete Carroll called him to say they still want him, Jeff Tedford did the same. He also talked with Kevin Simon at Tennessee who we've known for a long time. Kevin just talked to him about overcoming the injury and working hard, things like that because Kevin has been through that a lot as well.

"So right now, the plan for Joshua is to make his decision by the end of the month. Whatever school he chooses, he could still take an official visit to that school later in the year, if it's not Tennessee, but that will be the only other visit he'll take. He's committed to battling back and getting through this and knowing Joshua, I have no doubt he will."