The day after announcing his decommitment from the University of California, Berkeley, Hart quarterback JT Shrout signed with the University of Tennessee on Wednesday morning.
“It’s a relief,” Shrout told The Signal. “You’ve been through a crazy process for about a year and a half now and its all kind of over and you just moving on to the next phase of your life.”
The senior originally committed to Cal over the summer, then visited Tennessee on Dec. 16 with the goal of seeing what the new coaching staff, including new head coach Jeremy Pruitt, had to offer.
“Just going out there and seeing Tennessee and the staff … I had a gut feeling that’s where I was supposed to be at,” he said.
“I want to turn the program around and start winning games.”
The Vols went 4-8 last season overall and were winless in the Southeastern Conference.
Shrout said that he has “nothing but respect” for the coaches at Cal and hopes to maintain a good relationship with them.
For other prep football recruits who face the difficult task of navigating the recruiting scene and faced with the decision to decommit, the field general has simple advice:
“It happens all the time now, you see kids decommiting,” Shrout said. “You just want to do it the right way. Don’t be shady with anything, do what’s best for you because the only thing for sure in life is change and put yourself in the best positions.”
In his final campaign with the Indians, the signal-caller completed 211 of 414 passes for 3,064 yards and 27 touchdowns with 25 interceptions.
Shrout said that he will major in business and is set to arrive at Rocky Top on June 1 for summer camp.
Consequently, Valencia receiver and cornerback Mykael Wright received an offer from Tennessee on Wednesday. It’s his eighth offer from a Division 1 school, but his first offer from an SEC program.
