With the early signing period in recruiting coming up this week, many schools around the country will be working overtime to try and secure signatures from prospects in the 2019 cycle. That will include programs trying to flip players committed to other schools in an effort to steal away a coveted recruit from a rival or another top school. But one of Tennessee’s more intriguing prospects says he won’t be a threat to do that to the Vols.
Chris Akporoghene, a three-star offensive tackle who plays for IMG Academy, tweeted out on Sunday afternoon that he’s shutting down his recruitment and is “staying home” with the Vols.
I will give my all to Tennessee…
Am staying home @CoachJPruitt pic.twitter.com/76AAfuOuoO— Chris Akporoghene Jr. ???? (@yomzking) December 16, 2018
Akporoghene hails from Nigeria, and he moved to Knoxville prior to starting high school to pursue a better life for himself. He began playing football at The Kings Academy in Knoxville, and even as a raw prospect he began to flash some of his potential.
“Physically, when he walked through the door the first time, you knew ‘hey man, this kid’s got a chance,” Akporoghene’s former head coach at TKA, Matt Lowe, told us in an interview over the summer when Akporoghene committed to the Vols. “At the time he came in as a 15-year-old he was probably 6-foot-3, 230 or 235 pounds, but you saw that there was a chance that this kid was going to be a player.”
Now at 6-foot-4, 294 pounds, Akporoghene has the perfect size to play offensive line in college, and Tennessee stole him away from some other programs when he committed. The former TKA prospect was getting serious interest from schools like Texas and Oregon before he pledged his commitment to the Vols.
Akporoghene may have committed to Tennessee over the summer, but he still wanted to look around to make sure he was making the right choice. He took an official visit to Mississippi State during the season and went on an official visit to Michigan last weekend.
But no other college or coaching staff stood out to Akporoghene the way Tennessee’s did.
“Chris is one of the more loyal people you’re going to be around,” Lowe said of his former player. “He likes being close to family and likes having family around. He likes having people there that he knows. I think he’s really found his groove and likes being in the area and likes what football has offered him here in the area.”
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Akporoghene is the No. 835 overall player and the No. 68 offensive tackle. He’s a four-star on Rivals.com, but he’s still rated extremely low on the regular 247Sports ratings. There’s a good chance he gets a major bump in the final rankings update later on by 247Sports.
The Vols are also hoping to try and get one of Akporoghene’s teammates at IMG Academy to join him at Tennessee next season. Four-star running back Noah Cain joined Akporoghene on an official visit this past weekend, and both seemed to enjoy their visit a great deal.
