The Vols will host a junior-college defensive lineman who has Tennessee on his short list of potential destinations next week. Tennessee is currently the only SEC school on Jamal Wallace’s list of top five college choices, which he revealed in a post on his X account. Wallace is a defensive lineman in the class of 2024 at Sierra College in Rocklin, California.
The front-runners for the 6-foot-4, 269-pound Wallace, who is scheduled to make an official visit to Tennessee the weekend of December 15, include Houston, Memphis, Utah State, and USF in addition to the Vols. He stated to GoVols247 in October that the Vols were the team of choice, in part because, even before the Vols began recruiting him, “Tennessee was actually my dream school.”
Before going to Tennessee the weekend before Early Signing Day, Wallace is scheduled to visit USF this weekend as part of an official visit with the Bulls. He has already visited Utah State, Houston, and North Texas on official business.
Wallace, who went to community college after attending Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Missouri, claimed that Tennessee drew his interest due to former Vols standout safety Eric Berry. It seemed only logical that Wallace, a former high school safety, would be drawn to Berry, an NFL player for the Kansas City Chiefs. After seeing former Tennessee cornerback Inky Johnson talk about Berry, Wallace developed an even greater admiration for him.
Wallace remarked, “I heard a story about (Berry) and I became a fan of him.” After Johnson related a tale about Tennessee and Eric Berry, everything else just fell into place. However, until Eric Berry joined the Chiefs, I was unaware of him and his entire history. Then I discovered.”
Wallace expressed his appreciation for the Vols’ close call to the College Football Playoffs last season—just “one game away.”
“I feel like it would be exciting for me to be able to go to the playoffs with them if I choose Tennessee,” he remarked, “because there are now 12 teams that can go to the playoffs next year.”
Wallace added that after receiving an offer from the Vols on September 23, he has been in contact with “the whole coaching staff” at Tennessee. Prior to the Vols’ October open date, Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks visited Wallace’s school in California. On September 23, Tennessee recruiting analyst Aaron Amaama notified Wallace of the Vols’ offer.
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