Three-star in-state OL William Griffin talks recent trip to Tennessee

3-Star OL William Griffin recaps a recent Tennessee visit

Coach Pruitt and staff signed 10 players from the state of Tennessee in the 2020 class. While I wouldn’t expect them to sign that many from the state every year because the talent differentiates, there’s still a few names that they’ll push hard to land. One of those is a big body offensive lineman at Pearl Cohn HS in Nashville; 3-Star William Griffin. Our very own Matt Ray recently caught up with Griffin for an interview regarding a visit to Knoxville he had before the dead period.

Griffin said the visit was more “relaxed and chilled out” and he got to “hang out with everybody and talk football”. Pretty similar answer to what most kids say when asked about Junior days as they’re more of a big hangout day with the coaches than they are a business trip. When asked about the relationship with offensive line coach Will Friend, Griffin said “Coach is a really good man. He gives off a vibe like I have with my head coach.. like a second dad. We talk more about life than football.” That’s a huge statement coming from Griffin and should give Vol fans a big boost in confidence on their chances of landing the Nashville native.

Another big selling point is that Tennessee will be looking to revamp the tackle position for the 2021 season, as Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright will both be entering their junior season with a likely opportunity to declare early for the draft. Griffin said regarding playing time “after this year the spot is wide open. The coaches said they can see me coming in and getting on the field early, and to just keep working in the weight room.”

Perhaps the biggest selling point Griffin is looking for in a school is proximity to home. When asked about the appeal to play in state, Griffin said “it’s not important to play in state. But, I don’t want to go any further than 8 hours away so my grandfather can see me play.” And you can tell by the other schools he lists that are recruiting him the hardest as to why it’s important because most of them are around an 8 hour radius from Nashville. “Kentucky, Louisville, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama” are some of the teams he lists as to who besides Tennessee is recruiting him the hardest.

As of right now, Griffin has no timetable set on a decision. However, with the proximity to home being the closest in Knoxville and the relationship with Coach Friend, you have to like Tennessee’s chances here. It sounds like Tennessee is in a really good spot here and the sooner he makes a decision, the better the chances for the Vols.