Alontae Taylor recommits to Tennessee football, becomes first commit for Jeremy Pruitt
The on-again, off-again relationship between Alontae Taylor and Tennessee football is back on.
Taylor, a four-star recruit by 247Sports, recommitted to Tennessee on Wednesday, a month after decommitting from the SEC program.
The Coffee County athlete took to Twitter on Wednesday saying:
"Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 1000% COMMITTED #PruittEra"
Taylor, who is the No. 5 prospect in the state, committed to Tennessee on June 18, 2016 before decommitting on Nov. 12, the day Butch Jones was fired. At that time he said his top five schools were Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest with Georgia being the frontrunner.
Taylor picked the Vols over Georgia, and notified Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart of his decision.
More:Vols lose two QB commitments
New Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt and athletic director Phillip Fulmer visited Taylor on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the announcement. Pruitt and Fulmer were also in Knoxville visiting other prospects, including former Tennessee commitment Cade Mays of Knoxville Catholic and Tennessee commitment Ollie Lane.
Mays decommitted from Tennessee on Nov. 7. Mays announced on Nov. 30 that his top three choices were Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State.
Taylor plans to sign during the early signing period that runs from Dec. 20-22 and will be an early enrollee.
Coffee County coach Ryan Sulkowski said the recruiting process can be a difficult one for athletes.
More:Early signing period: What you need to know about college football's December signing window
"When they initiated the unlimited text to recruits, that changed things a lot for athletes," Sulkowski said. "A lot of times recruits will turn their phones off.
"They can handle the media. But there are so many coaches that are calling and texting that it makes it tough."
Sulkowski said Taylor wanted to decommit from Tennessee after Georgia beat the Vols 41-0 on Sept. 30.
"Because of the type of kid he is, and out of respect for coach Jones he didn't," Sulkowski said. "He didn't want to add more to what was going on at Tennessee. After (Jones) was let go that changed things completely."
Taylor has been recruited to play quarterback, wide receiver and safety. The Vols recruited him as a receiver.
This season, Taylor was 24-of-46 passing for 391 yards with three touchdowns for the Red Raiders (3-7). He also rushed for 1,409 yards on 141 carries with 21 TDs and caught 11 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. Taylor had 13 tackles and an interception on defense.
He was recently named the East Offensive MVP in the Toyota East West Football All-Star Classic held Friday at Austin Peay after catching three passes for 71 yards, throwing an 83-yard TD pass and running for 26 yards.
Taylor burst on the scene as a freshman when he combined for 2,164 total yards — 1,676 rushing yards, 433 passing yards and 55 receiving yards. That led to an offer from Vanderbilt in the offseason. He committed to Vandy in April 2015, but decommitted six months later.
He finished his career with 8,225 total yards — 6,000 rushing, 1,746 passing and 479 yards.