Perkins-McAllister, a four-star Class of 2022 defensive back from Stratford STEM Magnet School in Nashville, Tenn., told GoVols247 on Wednesday that he’s set to visit Tennessee next week for the first time since first-year coach
Josh Heupel’s hiring in late January. Perkins-McAllister said he expects to go there “probably Tuesday.”
He said he believes his friend and 7-on-7 teammate, four-star Class of 2022 wide receiver Barion Brown of Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School, will accompany him on the unofficial visit with the Vols.
Heupel and several of the Vols’ assistant coaches traveled to Nashville on Wednesday for Tennessee State’s Roar City Mega Camp, where Perkins-McAllister was among the hundreds of prospects in attendance. He said the trip to Tennessee “was set up today.”
While he will be visiting the Vols for the first time under Heupel, they have stayed in frequent contact with Perkins-McAllister over the past few months, led by Heupel himself.
“I talk to them every day,” said Perkins-McAllister, who’s ranked the No. 297 overall prospect and No. 20 safety in the 2022 class and the No. 11 player in his class from Tennessee, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. “It’s crazy, because I talk to Heupel more than anybody. I hit him up every day.
“They just really see a good DB in me, honestly. They just really think I’ve got potential, for real.”
Tennessee’s coaches have told Perkins-McAllister, he said, that “they’re just ready for me to see campus.” The Vols extended an offer to him on Feb. 15, and he included them in the top seven he announced on April 1.
“I’ve been down there before,” he said. “But I haven’t really seen the campus.”
His only previous trip to Tennessee’s campus came more than a year ago, when he joined his 7-on-7 teammates in stopping in Knoxville for a brief visit with the Vols after they played in the Rocky Top 7v7 Classic in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Perkins-McAllister, who has received offers from nearly 40 schools, said he’s still interested in Tennessee for multiple reasons.
“They’re close to home,” he said. “I want my family to come see me play all the time, so that’s the main thing, for sure. Tennessee, I mean, they’ve just got a good coaching staff, too. They’re real nice.”
