Grant Godfrey didn’t visit Tennessee’s campus for almost a year before finally returning to Knoxville on Thursday to participate in the Vols’ 7-on-7 camp with some of his teammates. But the lengthy gap between his trips to Tennessee shouldn’t be mistaken as a sign that he’s any less interested in the Vols than he was last summer.
The four-star Class of 2023 linebacker from North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Ga., said Thursday that Tennessee is one of three schools standing out to him, along with Kentucky and Wake Forest, before clarifying that the Vols are “leading right now.” After participating in Thursday’s camp, he said he’s planning to stay in Knoxville on Friday to visit the Vols, who recently have stayed in frequent contact with him.
“They’re actually in my top three right now,” Godfrey said during Thursday’s camp. “They actually talk to me the most out of probably any school besides Wake Forest right now. … I think Tennessee’s leading right now. Tennessee’s leading right now.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Godfrey, who’s the son of former NFL linebacker and Georgia standout
Randall Godfrey, said his contact with the Vols “never fell off” after they extended an offer to him a little more than a year ago and hosted him for the first time just 11 days later, on June 18. The younger Godfrey said he simply “couldn’t find time to make it back” to Tennessee last season or earlier this year.
But he said he’s still high on the Vols because of the way Tennessee coach
Josh Heupel’s staff has recruited him, led by linebackers coach
Brian Jean-Mary, along with “the chance to play in the SEC.” Godfrey said he also likes what he has seen during his two trips to Knoxville.
“I just love their campus,” said Godfrey, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 19 linebacker in the 2023 class. “The coaches are great people. Coach Heup, he texts me almost every week, too.
“I have a lot of friends that actually came up here —
Christian Harrison,
Amari McNeill.
Warren Burrell, he’s from, actually, the school. They just hit me up and tell me, ‘This is a great place, and it’s just a home.’ It just feels like everybody’s up here, so might as well come check it out. I like it, too.”
Jean-Mary and Tennessee defensive analyst
Chad Creamer have been talking with Godfrey “almost every day,” he said, making it clear to him that he’s important to the Vols.
“They want me here,” Godfrey said. “They’re very invested, and they want me here — that’s what they’re saying.
“Coach BJ says he loves the way I play, loves the way I see the ball and my instincts, for sure, are one of the top things that stand me out from many linebackers.”
Among the current Tennessee players Godfrey knows, he said he’s closest with “probably Christian Harrison,” the freshman cornerback who recently joined the Vols for the start of first-session summer classes. Godfrey said Harrison is “super excited about this season” and has told him that Tennessee’s coaches are “just cool, nice people, down-to-earth.”
“People in Knoxville are kind to the football players, also,” Godfrey added, recalling what Harrison has told him about the Vols. “It’s just, like, a positive environment.”
Godfrey said he’s planning to travel to Kentucky on Saturday after spending more time at Tennessee on Friday, and he’s scheduled to visit Wake Forest on June 18. He will be visiting the Wildcats this weekend for the first time.
“Kentucky, the coaches, they actually came to the school,” he said. “I actually met them for the first time during spring practice. They told me I can play anywhere. They just spelled out to me how much they would need me on their team, because I can play all four of the linebacker positions. I’m going to go up there, check it out, see what’s going on.
“And then at Wake Forest, (linebackers) coach (
Glenn)
Spencer, he’s a great coach. He’s been coaching for, like, 30 years, so he has all the knowledge. And he’s invested so much into me. I’m the first on his board and everything. He wants me there.”
Godfrey said he’s set to visit Georgia on June 21 for a 7-on-7 team camp. The Bulldogs currently aren’t among the nearly 30 teams that have extended offers to him, but he said they’re still showing interest in him.
“(Georgia inside linebackers) coach (Glenn) Schumann, he’ll text me, like, once every week — just checking in on me, seeing how I’m doing,” Godfrey said.
He said he doesn’t have any official visits scheduled, adding that he’s “saving those for the fall,” but he expects Tennessee to get one of them. He might wait until this fall to announce his college decision, but he didn’t rule out that he could pick a school before the start of his senior season.
“If I find a place that feels like home, I might commit on my birthday, August 1st,” Godfrey said.
Asked whether he believes he’s more likely to pick a school this summer or during the fall, he said, “I actually don’t know right now.”