'Tennessee is not recruiting him like that' - Vols insider explains how UT is approaching the recruitment of Jason Witten's son

2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten is one of the most coveted football recruits in the nation. 

He's also the son of Tennessee Vols legend Jason Witten. 

Tennessee is obviously recruiting Cooper, but the Vols aren't a sure bet to win the battle for the five-star defender just because his dad is a former Vol. 

Cooper is his own player and he's exploring all of his options as he goes through the recruiting process. 

Tennessee meanwhile, is making sure they recruit Cooper, who visited UT this past weekend, as if he's not a Vol legacy. 

VolQuest's Austin Price joined 104.5 The Zone on Tuesday morning and he explained the unique approach that Tennessee is taking in their pursuit of Cooper. Price also detailed how Cooper's visit to UT this past weekend was a big success in large part because Jason wasn't in town for the visit. 

"Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top," said Price when asked about Cooper's recruitment. "I think he's very conscious to really push the, 'Don't just assume I'm going to Tennessee because my dad went there'. Now, I hear that a lot from legacy kids, and rightfully so. They're their own person. They have to be treated as such. Just because dad went there doesn't mean they're automatically going to go there.

"But Tennessee is not recruiting him like that. Tennessee's recruiting him as if his name is Cooper Smith or Cooper Johnson -- just a very generic name, not Witten."

Cooper made the visit to Tennessee this past weekend without his mom or dad by his side due to a wedding that his parents had to attend. 

"I think not having dad and mom here this weekend, they had a wedding to go to, and he was by himself [was big for Tennessee]," explained Price. "He hung out with the Peaces -- (former Vols linebacker) Robert Peace and (2027 linebacker) JP, who obviously just picked up an offer from Tennessee a couple weeks ago. I think that helped a lot because he got to come see Tennessee through his lens, and not through his dad's lens."

"I think Tennessee exits the weekend having really knocked it out of the park with Cooper," added Price. "Cooper will be back for a game this fall, in my opinion, and then they'll go from there, I think Tennessee's in a good spot (for Cooper). But again, I don't think you can just assume, because he's Jason's kid, that he's definitely coming to Tennessee. But mom loves the Vols. Jason obviously played here. He loves the Vols. So ultimately, I think Cooper knows deep down where his mom and dad would love for him to go, but he's got to come to that decision. Recruiting him as if his last name's not Witten helps get to that point. Tennessee has done a really nice job to this point of recruiting him, and others are not going to go away....the only way I see him not coming here is if he just says, I've lived in Texas my whole life, I want to stay in the state of Texas. If he leaves the state, I'd be stunned if it's not Tennessee. I think that's the only way that it doesn't end up being Tennessee, in the end, is if he chooses to stay home in the state of Texas."