About two weeks ago, North Carolina defensive tackle Isaac Washington announced his decommitment from Tennessee less than a month after committing to the Vols. But Washington said at the time he was still open to UT, and he’s giving the Vols another shot this upcoming weekend.
The 6-foot-3, 268-pound lineman from Pilot Mountain, NC posted to his Twitter account on Tuesday that he will be back at UT this upcoming weekend, the first big visiting weekend since the February dead period lifted. The last time Washington visited Tennessee was when he committed to the Vols.
Back at UT this weekend #GBO⭐️ @DansleyAnsley @CoachJPruitt pic.twitter.com/6grb9iKe21
— isaac (@isaacw_74) March 3, 2020
When Washington posted to his Twitter account on February 19th that he was decommitting from the Vols, he cited a coaching change as the reason why.
“I would like to thank Tennessee for believing in me enough to offer a scholarship to play football and continue my education,” Washington wrote in a note on Twitter. “I wanna thank Coach Pruitt and Coach Ansley for all they have done for me in this recruiting process. I am still extremely interested in being a Tennessee Volunteer, but with the recent coaching changes I have decided to re-open my recruitment and visit other programs to look into my other offers, and more to come.”
Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker left Tennessee this offseason to take a similar role at South Carolina. At the time of Washington’s decommitment, UT hadn’t officially announced Rocker’s replacement, though it was reported to be Colorado defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh.
Now, Brumbaugh has been officially welcomed in by Tennessee, and it appears Washington is willing to give Brumbaugh a chance and try and build a relationship with the Vols’ new D-line coach.
Since decommitting from Tennessee, Washington has added an offer from Oklahoma and currently has offers from Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, North Carolina, and others.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, the talented lineman from East Surry High School is the No. 661 overall prospect and No. 37 defensive tackle in the 2021 class. Washington can play either defensive tackle or defensive end. He totaled 105 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, and a fumble recovery in 15 games as a junior.
Tennessee is not only making Washington a priority because of his own talent, but Washington has friendships and connections with a lot of the other prospects in the state of North Carolina the Vols are pursuing in the 2021 cycle.
The Vols currently have five commits in their 2021 cycle. Three-star Darrell Jackson is the only other defensive lineman currently committed to UT, though he likely projects as an outside linebacker in the Vols’ 3-4 defense.
