“It’s a really great school, beautiful campus,” Hazen said of his first trip to see Tennessee. “Coaches were great. Really fun coaches.” Toll spent part of Saturday talking with Tennessee tight ends coach
Brian Niedermeyer and head coach
Jeremy Pruitt, but the time spent with Niedermeyer wasn’t exactly a hint for where the Vols see him projecting on the field. “I really talked to the tight ends coach a lot,” Toll said, “but he said I could play outside linebacker there. He said I could be a really big part of them making it there.”
“I really want to play d-end,” Toll said, “but I’ll do whatever.” Whatever includes quarterback at the high school level. How do opposing defenses stop a quarterback of his size, exactly? “They just send everybody at my knees,” Toll said. He’s a dual-threat quarterback by default, too. “Well, we don’t make very good pockets,” Toll said, asked if he was more of a pocket passer or a runner. “So I just run around most the time.”
Saturday was Toll’s first time getting to know Niedermeyer, after building his relationship with the Vols through Joe Osovet. “My real strong relationship with Tennessee is Coach Osovet,” Toll said. “Ever since they could contact me, he’s been contacting me.” Toll has offers from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Ole Miss, TCU and Tennessee. Alabama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma have shown interest, but have not yet offered. He named Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, Kansas and TCU as schools he’s heard from the most lately, outside of the Vols.
Asked about the home-state Razorbacks, Toll said his recruitment is open to schools outside the state lines. “I grew up a college football fan,” he said. Toll will either visits Ole Miss or TCU this weekend — “Haven’t decided yet,” he said — and will “probably” be back at Tennessee this summer. “They said they’re really trying to rebuild the program and make it to the national championship level,” Toll said of the Vols. “And they really want me on the team.”