Two months ago, College of the Canyons defensive end Dorian Gerald had to 17 schools to choose from for NCAA Division 1 FBS football. One month ago, he narrowed it down to 12. Earlier this month there were five schools.
On Thursday, only one remained. That school was Tennessee.
After dropping hint after hint, teasing when he would make his decision, Gerald announced his choice on Twitter at 1:23 p.m. on Thursday.
Gerald turned down LSU, Florida, Louisville and South Carolina, his home state school, for the opportunity to play with the Vols.
He’s the fourth COC player to make a commitment this year, following Marquise Brown (University of Oklahoma), Tyler Bjorklund (Colorado State) and Sione Taufahema (University of Arizona).
Last season, Gerald had 54 tackles and 12 sacks with one fumble returned for a touchdown en route to a 5-6 record with the Cougars.
According to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings, he is the No. 11 overall junior college prospect in the country and the No. 2 strongside defensive end.
With the signing of Gerald, Tennesse now has the top recruiting class for 2018 according to 247 Sports.
The Florence, South Carolina native still has one year left at COC before beginning his first season with the Vols.
JCGridiron.com named COC as the No. 19 school in its junior college football in its “Dirty 30” list that includes the top 30 JC football teams of 2016.
Gerald and the Cougars begin their season on Sept. 2 at Antelope Valley at 6 p.m.
