BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — Less than two months ago,
Darion Williamson received his first scholarship offer from Memphis and added an offer from Tennessee within a span of less than 24 hours. The Class of 2020 athlete/wide receiver from Brownsville’s Haywood High School then traveled to Knoxville for the first time last month for a visit that allowed him to attend one of the Vols’ camps. The idea of committing to them at least crossed his mind while he was there. “Yeah, it did,” Williamson told GoVols247 on Tuesday. “But after I left, I really thought about it, and I think I want to be a Vol.”
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Williamson, who flew under the radar for months before getting his first offer on May 22, made it clear he’s now leaning strongly toward Tennessee. His only two offers still are from the Vols and the Tigers. But he recently has continued to hear plenty from Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt’s staff, and he said he’s already planning to visit the Vols again on July 27. If everything goes according to plan for Williamson, he might be ready to commit to Tennessee during or shortly after that visit — or perhaps even sooner.
“I’m going to think about it a little while longer, but I think I’m going to commit to Tennessee,” he said. “I’m going to discuss it with my mom and dad, make sure it’s the right thing to do.” The Vols offered Williamson on May 23 after running backs coach
David Johnson traveled to West Tennessee to attend one of his practices. “They called back later to offer, after he came down to see me,” Williamson said. ”I was fast and physical. He came down to see us. We were in pads, and he just said I’m fast and physical. Big wide receiver — that’s what they need.”
His performance at Tennessee’s camp on June 8 only verified what Johnson had seen from him a few weeks earlier. Williamson said he was timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash while he was there. “They said I did great, and they want me to come back, so I think I’m going back to UT before we go back to school — the 27th,” he said. “(I was) fast, and I caught every ball at the camp — never dropped one.”
Pruitt spoke with Williamson after the camp and made it clear the Vols were impressed with him. “He wanted me to be a Vol,” Williamson said. With Tennessee set to lose four senior wide receivers after this season, the Vols have told him that he could see the field early in their offense. “They told me that I could come in and compete, and I could earn a starting spot,” Williamson said.
His first visit to Tennessee, which allowed him to spend multiple days on campus, made it easy for him to envision himself there, too. “When I went to the camp, I just felt the energy from not only the players but the coaches, and it just felt like home,” he said. “After the camp, they took care of us. We chilled for a while and I really liked it.” Since the visit, Williamson has stayed in frequent contact with Johnson. “I’ve got a good relationship with Coach Johnson, and we talk about every other day,” Williamson said. “He’s a very cool guy — cool, calm. He’s collected. He just knows that I can ball and he likes me.”
Shortly after Williamson’s trip to Knoxville last month, Johnson also got to see him work out again June 9 at Memphis’ Big Cat Mega Camp. While Williamson said he didn’t have a favorite college team growing up, he admitted “a lot of my family are Tennessee fans.” He said his offer from the Vols “was a big thing for them.” "They were very happy for me and excited,” he said. “And, of course, they wanted me to go to Tennessee.” They might get their wish before long. “I’d like to commit before the season starts,” Williamson said.
