On Friday, four-star defensive back Kamar Wilcoxson announced that he would be flipping his commitment from Tennessee to Florida, marking the third time in his recruitment that the Florida DB had committed to the Gators.
Back when Wilcoxson committed to Tennessee in late April, he and five-star Dylan Brooks helped spark the Vols’ tremendous run in the 2021 class. Those two were the first two recruits to commit to the Vols in a run that saw over a dozen players join UT’s 2021 class in a four-week span.
Understandably, some Vol fans were worried that Wilcoxson’s flip to Florida could spell danger for some of Tennessee’s other commits. After all, Wilcoxson was a very vocal peer recruiter for the first month or so of his commitment to the Vols, and a large portion of Tennessee’s current commits jumped in the boat after he and Brooks pledged themselves to the Vols.
But if social media reaction is any indication, Vol fans shouldn’t have too much to worry about with the rest of UT’s class.
Several of Tennessee’s 2021 commits took to Twitter shortly after Wilcoxson’s announcement to react to the news and also reaffirm their own commitments to the Vols. Wilcoxson has since deleted his tweet with the graphic announcing his commitment to the Gators, but a handful of UT’s commits quoted that tweet with their reactions while others tweeted out things of their own accord.
Here’s a look at the reaction from 2021 Vol commits after Wilcoxson’s flip to the Gators.
Terrence Lewis, the highest-rated prospect currently committed to the Vols in the 2021 class, had several things to say after Wilcoxson’s decommitment. He tweeted out two GIF reactions to Wilcoxson’s now-deleted tweet announcing his commitment to Florida and also replied to a Vol fan pointing out Lewis’ message when he committed to Tennessee back in April.
Huh? https://t.co/nmCIVYmRC2 pic.twitter.com/K4iI6qesX2
— TerrEnce Not TerrAnce? (@Terrence21Lewis) June 19, 2020
I’m tripping? https://t.co/nmCIVYmRC2 pic.twitter.com/q0IhIqan8n
— TerrEnce Not TerrAnce? (@Terrence21Lewis) June 19, 2020
Truly https://t.co/IHvsmAKKCV
— TerrEnce Not TerrAnce? (@Terrence21Lewis) June 19, 2020
The Vols’ second-highest-rated commit, defensive end Dylan Brooks, quoted Wilcoxson’s tweet and said “all love fam” before quoting another tweet asking him when he is “coming home” to Alabama (Brooks plays high school football in Alabama). Brooks replied to that question with “neva.”
All love fam ?@KamarWilcoxson4 https://t.co/tJDGjXoG5w
— Dylan Brooks (@_dylanbrooks) June 19, 2020
— Dylan Brooks (@_dylanbrooks) June 19, 2020
Four-star linebacker Aaron Willis reacted to a Twitter account notifying him to Wilcoxson’s decommitment with a gif of his own.
https://t.co/CDMnjtHSZn pic.twitter.com/4WGnZF52zS
— Aaron Willis (@44crzy) June 20, 2020
Four-star wide receiver Julian Nixon was one of the more vocal Vol commits on Twitter after Wilcoxson’s decommitment. Along with Lewis, Nixon posted several tweets after the four-star DB’s flip. He quoted Wilcoxson’s tweet and said the two are “still bros.” He followed that up by saying “Life goes on” and then tweeted out a graphic showing an edit of him in UT gear and saying he is a “Vol for life.”
At the end of the day we still bros?? https://t.co/7a6DKYR6uU
— Julian Nixon? (@JulianNixon11) June 19, 2020
Life goes on..
— Julian Nixon? (@JulianNixon11) June 19, 2020
VOL FOR LIFE!!?? pic.twitter.com/LSwIVBKzkN
— Julian Nixon? (@JulianNixon11) June 19, 2020
KaTron Evans, a four-star defensive tackle who is a teammate of Aaron Willis, tweeted out a graphic of him in Vol gear inside Neyland Stadium with the caption “Imma VOL that ain’t changing.” He also added later that this season is “personal.”
Imma VOL that ain’t changing #GBO? pic.twitter.com/EsOcQCTQRI
— KaTron Evans (@ColtBoyKayy) June 19, 2020
This season personal ‼️
— KaTron Evans (@ColtBoyKayy) June 20, 2020
Tennessee’s quarterback commit, four-star dual-threat QB Kaidon Salter, tweeted out a graphic showing him in football gear and a UT suit with a caption stating he is “1000 percent” locked in, adding that Vol fans “don’t have to worry about me.” Salter was also invited to the Elite 11 Finals on Friday, marking the third-straight year a Vol QB commit will be at the Elite 11 Finals.
1000% Locked in don’t have to worry about me #GBO #VOL #7UP#ComingSoon pic.twitter.com/6tl9B1wYyi
— ksalt (@KaidonSalter_7) June 20, 2020
Tight end commit Miles Campbell, who recently got bumped to a four-star by 247Sports, tweeted out that he “will not be going anywhere” with the “GBO” hashtag.
I will not be going anywhere!!! #GBO
— MILES CAMPBELL (@Miles3campbell) June 20, 2020
Three-star offensive tackle Colby Smith sent out a picture of his visit to UT’s campus and added that his commitment “wasn’t for the hype” and told Vol fans “this kid ain’t goin nowhere.”
This wasn’t for the hype‼️ I jus wanna let y’all know this kid ain’t goin nowhere?? #GBO #TrenchGang pic.twitter.com/AbN0cPA48L
— Colby Smith (@BiGShoW1212) June 19, 2020
Running back Jaylen Wright, arguably the fastest player in Tennessee’s 2021 class, not only tweeted out that he is “all in” with the Vols, but also seemed to throw a little jab at Wilcoxson’s statement of making a “business decision” over emotions by picking Florida.
All-N
— Jaylen wright? (@jayyw5) June 19, 2020
Business is business ??♂️?
— Jaylen wright? (@jayyw5) June 19, 2020
Edwin White, a three-star safety out of Alabama, tweeted a graphic of himself in UT gear above Neyland Stadium and said he doesn’t “fold under pressure” and added “I’m staying committed, don’t have to worry about me.”
Aye I don’t fold under pressure , I’m staying committed don’t have to worry about me !! pic.twitter.com/FsHGLiGpKs
— Edwin White 1️⃣ (@TheEdwinWhite6) June 20, 2020
While four-star running back Cody Brown didn’t tweet anything specifically about his own commitment, he took the time on Friday night to try and peer recruit one of Tennessee’s top remaining targets to Knoxville. Brown tweeted out a graphic featuring himself and five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims and asked Vol fans to show Mims some love. Mims then replied to Brown’s tweet and said “you know what we talked about.”
You know it’s the move @amarius_mims ??
Vol nation y’all show my boy some love!! pic.twitter.com/ELTvnfSPP0— cb⁷ (@_codywbrown) June 19, 2020
you know what we talked about✊?
— 〽️ I 〽️ S (@amarius_mims) June 19, 2020
