"It's always been a goal of mine to come up and be better than the best," Salyer said. "In some ways you can and some ways you can't, so those ways that I'm not right now, I want to fix those."
That kind of attitude coupled with his powerful strength and athletic movement is what has helped the 6-foot-4, 308-pound Georgia native secure offers from some of the best college programs across the country, including Tennessee. The Vols extended a scholarship offer to Salyer 10 months ago and have continued to keep in touch him intermittently ever since.
"Tennessee has contacted me, but it was back in the early winter," Salyer said. "It was (offensive line) coach (Don) Mahoney. He called my position coach. I was supposed to go down there, but my head coach's brother came in town so I couldn't go."
Mahoney and the rest of the Vols staff are hoping to entice Salyer into visiting Knoxville to continue their pitch in person.
"They were just telling me how much they want me to get down there and just spend time with them," he said. "The coaches want to spend time with me and build a relationship. That's the main thing." Vying for Salyer's talents along with Tennessee are a host of other big-name programs with similar resources and historical pedigrees. The Pace Academy standout also boasts offers from Alabama, Clemson and Florida State, among others, and has seen his recruitment advance in recent weeks.