Tennessee Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner is going to spend part of UT's bye week attempting to flip a Florida Gators commit.
VolQuest's Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Friday for his weekly visit and he pointed out that Garner will be traveling to North Carolina to visit four-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams during the bye week.
Williams, 6-foot-3/270 lbs from Clinton, NC, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 14 defensive lineman in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina. He's also rated as the No. 84 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
"Amaris Williams is a defensive lineman that Rodney Garner is going to see," said Hubbs on Friday. "He's committed to Florida, but he continues to take phone calls. And the fact that Rodney Garner is going to go see him in person and evaluate him tells me that there have been some pretty detailed phone calls. Not just a 'hey coach, thanks for calling'. I think there's some real conversations going on there as Tennessee tries to flip that one."
North Carolina obviously borders Tennessee, but Williams' hometown is in the eastern part of the state, not far from the coast. Knoxville is actually only about 30 minutes closer to Clinton than Gainesville is, so the distance is essentially equal.
That means this recruiting battle will come down to which program makes the better pitch. It's always tough to flip a commit -- especially with only two months to go until the early signing period. But Garner is one of the best defensive line coaches in the nation -- if not the best in the nation. If anyone can flip Williams, it's Garner.
And with the way Tennessee's defensive line has played this season, it wouldn't be shocking if Williams decides the pleasant mountain breezes of Rocky Top are a better fit than the humid swamps of Florida.
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