It was great. I fell in love with it, said Ignont, whos ranked the nations No. 189 overall prospect and No. 6 inside linebacker in the 247Sports Composite for the 2017 class. It was nice. I just liked the campus and the coaching staff, and Coach (Butch) Jones, hes real cool.
(I liked) just how nice the facilities were and just how cool everybody was, as far as the fans, Ignont said. Ive been to a lot of SEC schools, ACC Ive been all over the country and Tennessees campus is, like, one of the prettiest Ive seen. Theyre high on my list, for sure. My list is real small, really. I was only looking at, like, there or four schools when I visited Tennessee. And Im going to visit Ole Miss next weekend. Those two schools are kind of sneaking up there.
They were just telling me that I could come in and play, and Coach Thigpen thinks Im one of the best linebackers in the country one of the top linebackers and that I can definitely come in and play, but Im going to have to work hard. But I can definitely come in and get a starting spot, Ignont said. (Thigpen) was really just talking about how they were down to their fourth-string linebacker right now, and he told me that I would have played Saturday had I been at the University of Tennessee, I would have played Saturday in that game against Alabama. Thats just how low they are on guys.
Ignont admitted the injury-depleted Vols favorable depth chart at linebacker is why theyre high on my list, and he said the chance to earn early playing time is a huge deal to him.
I think I can go in and play somewhere, he said. I think I have the body and the size and the speed, and a lot of coaching would help. I think, if I can get with the right coaching staff and the right inside-linebackers coach kind of grooms my game, then I could just become the best player I can be, really.
