Dooley convinces QB Nance to switch to Vols
UT will wait to see if star WR Rogers joins ex-Vanderbilt commitment
Nash Nance always liked Tennessee — just from afar.
Truth be told, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback from Calhoun (Ga.) High School may have committed to play for the Vols even earlier, had it not been for the way he was recruited by UT’s former staff.
Nance got a strong feeling that former UT recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron (who left UT with former coach Lane Kiffin for Southern California earlier this month) wanted Nance and his good friend, highly touted receiver Da’Rick Rogers, as a package deal.
That wasn’t the case when newly hired UT coach Derek Dooley came calling.
“In my opinion,” Nance wrote Thursday in a text message to the News Sentinel, “the Vol Nation has a new head coach with integrity, extreme drive to be successful and a common man that all young athletes will relate to and will love going to battle with every Saturday.
“… I am so relieved and blessed to have this opportunity to play football for the University of Tennessee!”
Nance, who committed to Vanderbilt last June, visited UT over the weekend and was offered by the Vols.
On Wednesday night, Nance had an in-home visit with Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson and de-committed.
In his text message, Nance said the decision to de-committ to Vandy was a tough, emotional one, but that the opportunity to play for Dooley and UT offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who built some standout offenses at Purdue, was the better fit.
The fact that UT’s coaches like Nance just for Nance was a big factor as well.
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1/29/10
