Memphis 4-star linebacker Bryson Eason talks Tennessee pledge
One major domino fell on Tuesday night.
Tennessee landed 4-star inside linebacker Bryson Eason from Whitehaven (Tenn.) High in Memphis, as the in-state target chose the Vols over Arkansas, Mississippi State and LSU.
"Just thinking about my Tennessee visit after my Arkansas visit and how it was two different things," Eason said. "They loved my family and my family loved them. It was just the right thing to do. It would be wrong to not come to Tennessee. It's where I want to be."
The 6-foot-2, 248-pound prospect took an official visit to Tennessee three weeks ago for the Georgia game and becomes the 15th commitment in the 2020 class. The Vols are hoping to add Eason’s Whitehaven teammates Martavius French, who decommitted from Arkansas on Sunday, and Tamarion McDonald, who backed off his pledge to Mississippi State on Tuesday, as both 4-star targets took official visits to Tennessee with Eason.
"It was the final nail," Eason said. "It's this great opportunity to play together and we all trust (Jeremy) Pruitt. I know I trust him and I wanted to play for him and coach Ansley. I wanted to be a part of their family because of the trust."
Eason fills a major need for the Vols, who continue to look to restock their linebacker depth. Eason started for Whitehaven as a freshman and led his team to a state title in 2016. The Vols were in a position to land Eason because the man in charge of recruiting him, running backs coach and area recruiter David Johnson, never let up. Even when Eason and his teammates looked like the Vols were going in two different directions, the man known as ‘Coach YAC’ took that moniker from 'yards after catch' to 'yards after contact' to now 'you are committed' with Eason's pledge.
"Man, that man deserves a raise," Eason said with a big smile on Tuesday night. "He was a great recruiter. He did everything to stay in touch and keep it real with us. He's a great guy. He stayed on us.
"That's what showed me a lot. He had that determination to get us and I just loved it."
Eason and his family had that feeling on Tuesday night and that's when they called Johnson. From there, they were on the phone with Pruitt, and the rest is history.
"He was happy," Eason said. "He was very excited. He was proud and we were on the same page. If I could, I'd go there tomorrow. It came out of nowhere because I didn't plan this. They have his need and coach Pruitt loves my game and he thinks I can have a big impact on this program."
The Vols hope to land all three in the Whitehaven trio plus Omari Thomas and get back in on Texas A&M commitment Chris Morris. While the last few months have been slow on the recruiting trail, Eason could be the igniter in recruiting for Tennessee.
"Those guys are texting me right now," Eason said. "Chris Morris, Big O, all those guys are texting me congratulations. I"m about to start my recruiting right now."