"We left Friday morning and we went to Tennessee and came there off of talent because we had never practice and there were guys I had never met before," Sylvie said of his team's play this past weekend. "We just came together and bonded and had a great team." "I always liked Tennessee since I was little because I was a Peyton Manning fan and I just liked that he went to Tennessee so I liked them a little bit," Sylvie said. "Then, there's Eric Berry, and I always wanted to be like him. I had never been to Tennessee. I thought it was just a little country spot like Oklahoma or something. It wasn't and that caught me off guard. And with their stadium and facilities, I just wasn't expecting that at all."
Sylvie was with his friend and 7-on-7 teammate Corey Henderson when he decided to become a Vol this past weekend on the visit and Sylvie said he could see why Henderson fell in love with Rocky Top.
"We walked into the facility and it was just amazing and it blew our minds. He told me that he was going to commit and I was like, 'No you're not,' and he went and did it so I was surprised that he did," Sylvie said. "But, just knowing the relationship we had with the coaches while we were there, the facilities, the education part of things while we were there, and then seeing the city while we were there, because we were there for the 7-on-7 tournament, it just caught our eyes and he knew it felt like home. "When I was driving up to the facilities I was amazed at seeing the mountains and the river when you're headed to the stadium and then seeing downtown and seeing the stadium at night time and it just blew my mind seeing those mountains in the background. You don't see that in Shreveport. So, that really just caught my eyes."
"We walked in and I wasn't expecting them to have the facilities that they did. It was amazing seeing the weight room, the coaches' offices, the campus, it was crazy," Sylvie explained. "Then the campus was amazing. I mean, why not like Tennessee, it's amazing. It's more than just football. "Then, changing from Adidas to Nike, that really made me like it. Also, the program coach Butch has seems great. His program is big on academics and I love that. There's more than life to football and I love the patch that you get to put on your jersey for academic achievements. I like that he's pushing academics. I can see where Tennessee is trying to push to get back to doing great things."
"I'm starting to figure out what schools I like and I kind of want to get the process over with but I just need to talk to my parents about it and just pray about it and see what happens," Sylvie said. "I want to get it over with but I still need to take my time and make the right decision."
