Tee Higgins to Tennessee: Volunteers Land 4-Star WR Prospect

The Tennessee Volunteers added an explosive playmaker to their already promising 2017 recruiting class Monday in the form of wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Ryan Callahan of 247Sports noted Higgins committed to the Volunteers despite scholarship offers from more than 12 other teams, including powerhouses such as Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma.

It is no wonder so many blue-chip teams recruited the 6’4”, 185-pound Higgins. He is a 4-star prospect, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and the No. 43 overall prospect, No. 8 wide receiver and No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2017. 

Here is a look at Higgins explaining his rationale behind his college choice, per his Twitter account:

"

#GBO pic.twitter.com/jw28EVBnGY

— Tee Higgins (@teehiggins5) August 25, 2015"

Ultimately, the lure of playing near home as a Tennessee native certainly helped the Volunteers in their pursuit of Higgins. Paul Fortenberry of Rivals passed along a quote from the receiver underscoring the importance of staying in-state:

The local CBS affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee, pointed out the importance of this acquisition for the Volunteers:

Tennessee finished its 2014 campaign with a decisive victory over Iowa in the Gator Bowl and open the 2015 season at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll Top 25. There is plenty of momentum within the program under coach Butch Jones, as his success on the recruiting trail highlights.

Higgins joins pro-style quarterback Hunter Johnson in the Volunteers’ 2017 class. Johnson is a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and the No. 1 pro-style quarterback for 2017. It is not difficult to envision Higgins and Johnson connecting for a number of touchdowns for years to come in the SEC, particularly if Tennessee continues to add talented pieces around them.

Things are moving in the right direction for the Volunteers, especially after they added Higgins Monday.