Former Tennessee linebacker Henry To’o To’o spent two years playing for Tennessee before transferring to Alabama in the last offseason. To’o To’o has been through an eventful 2021 that saw him leave Tennessee, join Alabama, and then be named the starting linebacker for the Crimson Tide.
On Tuesday, To’o To’o spoke to the local media in Tuscaloosa and briefly hit on a few Tennessee-related topics. To’o To’o also gave the reasons as to why he chose Alabama in the end.
“Who wouldn’t want to play for Coach Saban?” To’o To’o said according to Bama Insider. “And the culture. The guys around here and how they are so eager to win. It’s just a blessing for me to be here.”
To’o To’o, a former SEC All-Freshman at Tennessee, led the Vols in tackling his final year in Knoxville. However, To’o To’o began his career as a Jeremy Pruitt commitment in the class of 2019. To’o To’o also spoke about his former head coach on Tuesday.
“I give a lot of props to coach Pruitt,” To’o To’o said about how learning under Pruitt prepared him for Alabama. “[He] taught me a lot of the game. I’m talking a lot of the system, similar systems, similar defense. Being able to learn from him and then come here and apply the teachings that he taught me, and kind of taking on from there with coach Saban and coach Golden really helped me in my transition here.”
Speaking of Saban, To’o To’o also spoke about his relationship with the Alabama coaches dating back to when he was in high school.
“Alabama was in my top three,” To’o To’o said when recalling his high school recruitment. “Definitely was one of my top schools coming out of high school. I built relationships here and then honestly when I got in the transfer portal, it kind of just picked up where we left off when I was in high school.”
Lastly, To’o To’o did say that he has not lost connection with some of his old Tennessee teammates and did watch the Vols last week.
“Definitely,” To’o To’o said when asked if he still kept in touch with any of the Tennessee players. “Those are my brothers, man. Been to war with those guys. And those relationships you built aren’t just going to fly away. I definitely keep in touch with my Tennessee guys, watched them play last week, and I was truly happy that they got a win.”
The Tennessee Volunteers will travel south to play To’o To’o and Alabama on Oct. 23.
8 Responses
Things at Tennessee got tough and then he bailed on his teammates. Bottom line
Please stop writing about players who left the program and stop showing them in Orange. Focus on those who chose to stay with the program instead.
He left. They fired his coach, and he left. They can sugarcoat it all they want to, but he (among others) had sour grapes that they fired their coach (and wouldn’t surprise me if anything of the investigation comes to fruition and some that entered the portal have their names mentioned) and they left. He’s not a VFL. He’s a quitter. Period.
Who cares he left because he was involved in a scandal who cares what he does or goes. He wasnt in it for the team or school only self gain a complete snow job!
If he wants to leave when things got tough
So be it. I think we need to concentrate on the players who elected to stay
As always I hope Alabama loses every time they play anything
Go Big Orange!
Concentrate on VFL’s, not traitors.
I don’t care why he left its time to move on, he made his choice now let’s talk about TN people who stayed not the ones who left. I will say he shows a lack of character by not staying with a commitment that he made. Now move on he’s no longer a Vol let alabama deal with him.
He took the money and ran, just like Gray and Morris.