Just because a prospect is committed elsewhere doesn’t mean Tennessee’s coaches will stop recruiting them. UT’s coaches have proven to be tenacious on the recruiting trail in the nearly 14 months they’ve been in Knoxville, and that looks to continue in the future.
Darion Green-Warren is a four-star cornerback who plays for Mater Dei over in Santa Ana, California. He’s a top-100 overall player in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Green-Warren’s high school is a very well-known program, and he just picked up a scholarship offer from another well-known program recently in Tennessee.
But Green-Warren already has a school in mind. Unless Tennessee can change his mind.
The 6-foot, 183-pound cornerback has been committed to Oklahoma since July of last year, but that’s not stopped teams from giving him offers and pursuing him. And I spoke with him shortly after he picked up his offer from the Vols.
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“It’s always big getting an SEC offer, and Tennessee’s always been a well-known program,” Green-Warren said about Tennessee’s offer. “They said I was a great football player, and I have the talents to do a lot of things at Tennessee. I can come in and really change the program.”
Tennessee’s cornerbacks coach Terry Fair was the coach on UT’s staff who contacted Green-Warren about the offer. The junior cornerback committed to Oklahoma over the summer last year, but he’s still wanting to explore other options and see what other schools can offer.
Since UT offered him, Green-Warren has added offers from Colorado, Texas Tech, and Michigan. He also took a visit to Florida over this past weekend.
So if Green-Warren is visiting other schools and is listening to their pitches, why is he still committed to Oklahoma?
“At the time, Oklahoma seemed like a great fit for me. They still are,” Green-Warren explained. “It was just the right opportunity at the time. They showed me a lot of love when I went up there. I’ve always been an Oklahoma fan, so that was a great opportunity for me. I just wanted to get that out of the way and focus on school.
“Right now, I’m still committed to Oklahoma. But it’s a long recruiting process, and anything can happen. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to get all these offers and for all these coaches reaching out for me. I just want to make sure I make the best decision for my family and myself. So right now, it’s Oklahoma, but anything could happen.”
Green-Warren has already visited Florida, and that’s not the only school he’s hoping to check out. He’s hoping to make it over to Knoxville to get his first look at the Vols, and he also wants to see LSU and Penn State. He doesn’t hold offers from the Tigers or Nittany Lions yet, but that could change soon given how his recruitment is going right now.
The Vols will need some defensive backs in their 2020 class, and it’s clear they’ve caught the ear of Darion Green-Warren. He’ll have plenty of other suitors besides the school he’s committed to, and he’ll be a name to watch in the 2020 cycle.
