Tennessee, which extended an offer to Umarov in October and has hosted him on a pair of visits since January, has impressed him with its “whole coaching staff,” he said, led by offensive line coach
Glen Elarbee.
“Coach Elarbee, he’s awesome,” Umarov said. “He’s been coming to my school every chance he’s gotten, and he’s been calling me, talking to my parents. My grandma loves him. My whole family loves him.
“And then their whole staff — like, their offensive coordinator,
Alex Golesh, and their graduate assistants on the O-line, and just in general their whole staff — is on the same page. They all know what they want, and it’s not one person wanting one thing, the national championship, and one person just trying to get to the league in coaching.
“I could definitely tell they’re a solid group, because I’ve heard the head coach, O-line coach and the graduate assistants, they’ve all been together in, like, Missouri and (Central) Florida. And just, in general, they’ve just all been together, so that definitely means a lot.”
Umarov said he has continued to hear “a lot” from the Vols, too, and they’re currently recruiting him as hard as anyone.
“They’re always on me — every other day, every day,” he said. “But it’s not an annoying part. They do it pretty good consistently, though.”
