3 or 4* Lineman Chance Hall commits

#1

tennesseeduke

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#1
Great Pick Up! Left Tackle for the future.

ROANOKE, Va. — One of the nation’s quietest football prospects, at least when it comes to dealing with media, made his college decision in the most appropriate manner Thursday night.

Tennessee lineman commit Chance Hall, a three-star 2015 prospect from Northside High School in Roanoke, Va. (govols247 photo)

Rather than put on a show, three-star lineman Chance Hall stayed true to his quiet nature by simply putting a Tennessee hat on his head to announce his commitment to the Vols.

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound, two-day lineman from Roanoke Northside High School eventually had to speak, though. And when that happened, he said he was “so happy” to be the 19th known commitment in Tennessee’s 2015 class — a class that’s now rated No. 8 nationally in the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings.

“I’ve been to Tennessee three or four times, and after each time, I just felt more and more comfortable, and I’ve had a lot of good communication with the coaches and some of the players there,” said Hall, who chose the Vols over more than 20 other offers, including Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and in-state powers Virginia Tech and Virginia. “And I love the fan support there and the atmosphere. And I want to play big-time football, and the SEC is the best conference.”

Hall’s desire to play in the SEC ultimately brought his decision down to Tennessee and in-state rival Vanderbilt, and Hall called choosing the Vols a “tough” but ultimately correct decision.

“Probably the ones it came down to were Tennessee and Vanderbilt,” Hall said. “Vanderbilt (was a finalist) because of the education. It’s just top-notch. But I ruled that out with Tennessee, just because I loved the atmosphere there — and, you know, it’s big-time football.”

Hall cited his “very good” relationship with Vols head coach Butch Jones, defensive line coach Steve Stripling and offensive line coach Don Mahoney a “very big” factor in his decision. He also cited a close relationship with 2014 Tennessee signee Coleman Thomas, a good friend of Hall’s who’s from just down the highway in Max Meadows and is currently on track to start as a true freshman for the Vols.

“The coaches had a big part to do with my decision,” Hall said. “I talked to them probably once a week. Just talking on the phone and visiting with them, I’ve gotten really close with them.

“And Coleman Thomas, I’ve known him for a while. We met at a (local all-star team) photo shoot this past year, before he went down there, so we’ve been texting a lot, talking about it and everything. He played a big role in my decision.

Hall decided to commit to Tennessee on Wednesday night and went public with the news Thursday night at his high school.

“I’m very firm in my decision. It’s been tough. I’m not gonna lie, it’s been very tough. But I’m happy with my decision. Tennessee is the place for me.”
Hall is a versatile lineman who has played both sides of the ball in high school, and he’s currently ranked by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 31 defensive tackle prospect. But some schools — including Tennessee — seem to prefer him as an offensive tackle prospect, and Hall said he had a slight preference toward offense.

“They want me for both, but I kind of want to play offensive line,” Hall said when asked where Tennessee’s coaches want him to play. “But last year was my first year playing offensive line, so I need to work on my techniques and stuff like that a lot so I can get in there and play early.

“I just want to play. Whatever’s gonna me on the field is fine, but I guess I would enjoy playing offensive line a little better.”

Hall smiled when asked why he preferred offensive line.

“I just like pancakes, I guess,” he said.

Hall said he’s 100 percent committed to the Vols, and Northside coach Burt Torrence confirmed that, saying he doesn’t allow his players to decommit from any college program unless that college pulls the player’s scholarship offer.

Torrence said that won’t be an issue with Hall, though.

“Not with him. No, no, no,” Torrence said. “Chance’s parents did a great job raising him. He knows how important it is to stand by your word.”

Hall said he told himself that any commitment he made would be “it,” and that once he chose Tennessee on Wednesday night, he essentially ended his recruiting process.

“I was always going to decide sometime over the summer,” Hall said. “I knew I wanted to narrow it down and decide over the summer. I just felt like ... I had the urge, you know? I knew what my top schools were. I knew I was ready.

“Tennessee felt like home. It felt like I could be a part of a family there.”

BOOM!

:dance2:

Tennesseeduke
 
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#7
#7
Great Pick up IMO ! One begins to build a program by getting players to play now, then the next step is depth, then you recruit "Red-shirt" players. I don't know where TN is on that timetable but this is a good sign. With limited numbers we are building either depth or for the future. Either/Both mean our staff feels good with where we are currently with talent.
 
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#9
#9
He plays both in HS! He is being projected to play OL according to the article and other things I've read on him!

20 plus offers from Top Schools!

:loco:

Tennesseeduke

Was not cutting you down man, but get FFFFFFFFFFFFFF:the_finger:
 
#10
#10
He is a big boy coming in to fill a position of need (regardless of which side he lines up on). And he must be awesome, because Butch wanted him. So that makes this a very exciting commit and I am happy to have him. Welcome to Big Orange Country, young man. Prepare to have your life changed forever.
 
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#12
#12
Welcome , can't wait to see you play and a happy 4th to you and your family and he is 4 *
 
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#15
#15
Some will always be unhappy with anything less than 7 stars. I think we have good reason to trust Butch and his staff. They look for character, which includes work ethic and they look for teachability. That last one can have a greater impact for line play than most other positions. He appears to have the size and general athletic prowess, so my guess is the staff sees him having a major upside.
 
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#16
#16
“Probably the ones it came down to were Tennessee and Vanderbilt,” Hall said. “Vanderbilt (was a finalist) because of the education. It’s just top-notch. But I ruled that out with Tennessee, just because I loved the atmosphere there — and, you know, it’s big-time football.”

Loved this quote from him.
 
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#17
#17
Rockytoptalk dissed this commit as a negative due to lack of OL mmissed.

I'd like to read that if you or anyone else has a link. At any rate, this is the kind of OL Mahoney has said time and again he wants and anyone stargazing on OTs needs to understand that lineman are notoriously hard to project, especially for services.

IOW, trust the coaches. They've proven time and time again they can recruit and recognize talent.
 
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#18
#18
Aggressive big guy with the frame and athleticism to move in this fast paced offense.. I think it's why our OL last year didn't quite live up to our expectations-They were recruited for a diff type O.
 
#20
#20
Rockytoptalk dissed this commit as a negative due to lack of OL mmissed.

I just read the Rocky Top Talk article on Chance. While it does point out that we missed on a couple guys and Drew Richmond is currently uncommitted, saying it "dissed" the commitment is a bit of hyperbole.

I think the guy could really thrive in a college strength program. Might end up redshirting. (JMO)
 
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#23
#23
Looks like another under-evaluated player this guy can ball out.

? He's a 3-4 star #31 DT in the Nation recruited by ND, VT, UT, and several other top schools... not sure he's "under-evaluated.

If anything, he may not have been our first choice. However, he is potentially one of our highest rated Olinemen in this class.
 
#24
#24
Hope he keeps eating his pancakes...he may make it to 320...that's a lot of beef up front! :)
 
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