“The atmosphere was crazy,” said Vandagriff. “The whole ride home (Sunday) morning, I was singing ‘Rocky Top.’ “That song, it’s rocking when everyone’s singing that. My dad has family that lives up there, so Tennessee’s always been one of the schools that’s near things and I’ve always kind of been interested in,” said Vandagriff, who also holds early offers from Auburn, Georgia, Miami, Michigan and North Carolina. “So I told my dad at the start of the season, ‘Let’s try to go to a Tennessee game,’ and this was the one that worked out for our schedule well. We went up to the game and then visited family after, so it worked out great.”
“I liked being able to see how the coaches handled themselves and handled the players on site,” Vandagriff said. “I liked to see the type of offense that they ran. It was pretty uptempo. I liked what I saw from the offense, mostly. It was an all-around good game. “I liked just kind of how their quarterback (
Jarrett Guarantano), he was pretty decisive, which was good. Whenever I went to throw (at Tennessee in June), they spoke highly upon accuracy and all that, so it was nice being able to see someone put it into action. Whenever I went and threw this summer, JG was actually throwing with us, so it was pretty nice seeing them coach with him, too, with us being there.”
"I would say it’s nice knowing that, if I went to Tennessee, I would have so many people around there that I’m familiar with and that I know,” he said. “And I’m kind of familiar with the area. “But, overall, it’s where I need to feel comfortable — in the college, as well — so that’s all going to be factored in.”
Vandagriff attended Auburn’s season-opening win over Washington on Sept. 1 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and he said he plans to visit Auburn on Saturday to attend its home game against LSU. He said he also expects to go to games at North Carolina and nearby Georgia, adding that he’s “pretty sure” he will see Georgia play host to Tennessee on Sept. 29 and Auburn on Nov. 10. “They’re, like, 10 minutes away,” Vandagriff said of the Bulldogs.