Tyler Bray tells the story of Lane Kiffin allegedly illegally recruiting him to Tennessee
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Tyler Bray is one of several players who arrived at UT in early 2010 as an early enrollee. Bray signed with the Vols expecting to play for Lane Kiffin at Tennessee. But shortly after arriving in Knoxville, Kiffin left to become the head coach at USC, which set off a wild […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Tyler Bray is one of several players who arrived at UT in early 2010 as an early enrollee.
Bray signed with the Vols expecting to play for Lane Kiffin at Tennessee.
But shortly after arriving in Knoxville, Kiffin left to become the head coach at USC, which set off a wild decade of events that Tennessee just now seems to be recovering from.
Bray stuck around at Tennessee and played for the Vols from 2010 to 2012 under Derek Dooley, who was hastily hired to replace Kiffin.
Earlier this year, Bray joined the "Bring the Juice" podcast and he shared several stories about his time at Tennessee, including the story of his alleged "illegal" recruitment by Kiffin.
I'm not sure if this story has been told before or not, but it's an interesting look at how things were done during the Kiffin era at Tennessee.
"I went down to the Elite 11, a big QB high school camp they do," started Bray. "Went to UNLV to try out there, got invited to the final. Went down (to the final), ended up doing good throughout the camp. Lane Kiffin called Bob Johnson, who was running it at the time, and was like, 'Hey, do you have any quarterbacks that aren't getting recruited as they should?' And the guy threw out my name. And so the next day Bob pulls me aside. He's like, 'hey, there's a coach on the phone for you, I want you to go in that van and talk to him'. So it's illegal for him to contact me during the camp. It's kind of like a hush-hush type of deal, go in the van, make sure no one hears."
"So I go in the van and he's like 'hey, this is Lane Kiffin from from Tennessee' — [It's] kind of like an oh s–t. type of moment," continued Bray. "At that point, I was committed to San Diego State. Fresno State was my only other offer. But Derek Carr was there at the time. So we all know how that turned out. So I go there and start talking to him. He's like, 'hey, I'd like to offer you a scholarship but you can't mention it until you get home'. He goes once you get home, wait a day, then you could announce it."
Bray noted that he was committed to San Diego State at the time, but he had openly told the staff there that if he got an offer he couldn't refuse that he would have to take it. And Tennessee was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Kiffin, who was only 34 at the time, skirted the rules a bit during his time at Tennessee. And it worked for him as he brought some elite players to Knoxville. Unfortunately for the Vols, many of those highly touted players, such as Bryce Brown and Nu'Keese Richardson, just didn't work out at Tennessee (Kiffin was already gone by then).
As for Bray, he put up some big numbers at Tennessee (Bray's 530 passing yards against Troy in 2012 is still the all-time single game record at UT) and spent eight seasons in the NFL.
Vols fans will love what RB Dylan Sampson told his teammates about playing Alabama in 2023
Tennessee Vols fans will love what running back Dylan Sampson told his teammates about playing Alabama in 2023
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
