His freshman year is still a couple months out. He hasn't yet played a down of varsity football. And yet, Tyler DeSue already holds one BCS-level offer and the attention of myriad other programs, including Tennessee.
A 5-foot-11, 170-pounder from powerhouse Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach, Va.), DeSue camped in Knoxville last weekend for the Vols' Elite quarterbacks camp.
"It was a lot different from most of the camps I went to; it was really high-tempo, and we did a lot of new stuff," said DeSue, who holds an offer from the in-state Virginia Cavaliers. "It was good to meet with all of the coaches and get to know them. I've been to UVA's one-day camp, and I've been to Rivals, Nike Camp, stuff like that.
"They were just telling me to keep working hard and keep doing what I'm doing and that maybe one day it can take me somewhere, maybe even here."
Despite his age, DeSue already is becoming a camp veteran and a prospect seen as potentially one of the best in the 2018 class. He thinks he's much better for his work on Rocky Top.
"Mostly the competition factor at the end of it. A lot of times when you go to camps it's competition the whole time, but this time you work hard, work hard and train to prepare you for the competition at the end," DeSue explained. "So it's more of a learning experience than just a competition-part."
Those experiences, coupled with the early offer from the Cavs and attention from others, is helping keep DeSue focused on making more improvements.
"It was crazy just getting [the offer]; It was really surprising to me," he said. "It motivates me a lot, because if I don't try and do anything more then I won't ever get there."
What did the Vols' coaches tell DeSue they liked?
"I'm definitely athletic and can move out of the pocket to throw the ball; plus, I have a lot of velocity on my ball," he said. "They told me my mechanics up top are a lot better and that I just need to keep working on my footwork and getting that better."
-VQ
