Dingle (6-foot-2, 235 pounds), from Bowling Green, Ky., was one of many Vol targets at Sunday’s loaded NPA showcase event in Nashville and talked about his interest in Tennessee.
“I like Tennessee a lot right now, there one of the schools that I talk to the most,” Dingle said. “I like coach Thigpen a lot. That’s a good relationship. We probably talk every other day. He really does a good job of staying in touch with me. We talk about a lot of different things, not just football. “I’m trying to get back to Tennessee soon, I haven’t been back there since junior day.”
“Being from Tennessee I still consider myself an in-state guy even though I moved away, I definitely say I’m from Tennessee,” Dingle said. Dingle also observed that he sees more than a little similarity between himself and current Vol middle linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr.
“I think I have a pretty similar game to Darrin Kirkland, we’re close to the same size. I think we’re similar players,” he shared. “Coach Thigpen has told me that they like me at the MIKE position. He thinks that I’d be a good fit in their scheme. “I’ve watched them a lot and I think that scheme, the way they use the MIKE, that it would be a good fit for me.”
Dingle said he expects to return to Tennessee for a visit most likely in June. Getting him back on campus in the summer will be key because as of now he hopes to end his recruitment at the close of summer. “I’d like to decide by the end of the summer. I don’t want to be thinking about recruiting during my football season,” he said of his timeline. “I think I’ll take advantage of that early signing period in December.”