Why Josh Heupel was smart to visit a recruit this week that likely won't be committing to Tennessee
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary traveled to Texas earlier this week to visit 2025 four-star linebacker Kelvion Riggins ahead of his commitment on Friday evening. Riggins will be choosing between Tennessee and Texas A&M on Friday evening, but the overwhelming expectation is that the Texas native will commit to […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary traveled to Texas earlier this week to visit 2025 four-star linebacker Kelvion Riggins ahead of his commitment on Friday evening.
Riggins will be choosing between Tennessee and Texas A&M on Friday evening, but the overwhelming expectation is that the Texas native will commit to the Aggies. College Station is significantly closer to Riggins' hometown than Knoxville. And, in general, it's tough to steal elite talent from the state of Texas.
But even though Heupel and Jean-Mary made the trip to Texas to visit Riggins knowing the Vols likely wouldn't be winning this battle, it was still a smart visit by the two coaches.
This new era of college football means that players don't stop getting recruited one they commit/sign with a program. Sure, the Vols will have the next 10 months to try to flip Riggins, but even if he signs with Texas A&M next December, which appears likely, it doesn't mean that he'll finish his college career with the Aggies.
As we've seen in recent years, players who don't receive early playing time often hit the transfer portal early in their careers. If Riggins decides after a year that Texas A&M isn't the right place for him, he'll already be very familiar with Tennessee's coaching staff. And at that point, I'm sure the Vols would be very much on his radar. The relationship that's developed with Riggins (or any recruit that doesn't commit to Tennessee) could still prove to be fruitful down the road.
Tennessee's coaching staff is playing the long game when it comes to recruiting. And they're going to set themselves up for future success in the portal because of the way they recruit high school players that don't end up choosing the Vols.
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