Elite JUCO lineman, former Vol commit Emmit Gooden visits Tennessee leading up to National Signing Day
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Nearly four years after his original commitment to Tennessee could Emmit Gooden return to Rocky Top to finish his college career?
The junior college lineman may just do that, as Gooden tweeted out his location Friday afternoon — which just so happens to be Knoxville. The four-star JUCO defender committed to Butch Jones and his UT program back in February of 2014 only to decommitment months later. His recruitment has seen two other SEC programs land his commitment but Gooden never played for Mississippi State or Arkansas.
Instead, his path took him to Independence Community College for two seasons where, interestingly enough, his final JUCO season was chronicled by a documentary film crew. That’s right, Gooden will be featured in the upcoming third season of Netflix’s docuseries Last Chance U.
Now with Jeremy Pruitt leading Tennessee football, Gooden is back on the Vols’ radar as the program looks to close out the 2018 recruiting cycle on a strong note. Adding a potential defensive lineman of Gooden’s caliber could help accomplish that very goal.
Gooden recently announced Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia had made his top 3 heading into National Signing Day. Should Gooden eventual make a return to Rocky Top and sign with the Vols, it would cap one of the most long-winded recruitments in recent SEC history.
Perhaps, after all this time, the pull to play for Tennessee may prove to be too much for the in-state lineman from Brownsville.
???♂️
— TheRealEmmitG93 (@TheRealEmmitG93) February 2, 2018
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
