On the eve of Chandler Wooten’s college decision, two SEC schools have made him a top priority. He’s taken notice.
“Tennessee and Auburn definitely stand out with who recruits me the most,” the three-star linebacker from North Cobb High School (Kennesaw, Ga.) said. “I talk to Tennessee on a daily basis. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t talk to coach Butch Jones or (linebackers) coach (Tommy) Thigpen or (receivers) coach (Zach) Azzanni. Those guys are recruiting me really hard.”
So is Auburn. Many believe the Tigers may have closed the gap to land Wooten, who is the No. 30 outside linebacker in the nation and the No. 45 prospect in Georgia. Wooten was once thought to be leaning toward committing to Tennessee. He said he’s also considering South Carolina, Florida and Michigan State.
“It’s a good final group,” 6-foot-3, 227-pound prospect said.
Wooten said he waited until after spring practice to announce his decision so his recruitment would help his teammates receive more exposure via visiting coaches. Now, he’s ready to make his decision public.
“I feel like I know where I want to go so I don’t feel like I should hold off,” Wooten said.
With some unrest at Auburn, don’t expect the Vols to give up if they aren’t chosen on Friday. Tennessee has come too far to give up easily.
“I just love the family feel at Tennessee,” Wooten said. “I love the atmosphere. I like the coaching staff. There’s nothing I don’t like about Tennessee. I like everything about Tennessee.”
At one point, Wooten even named Auburn his leader, but the Vols seemed to make a push. His former teammate, Tyler Queen, is a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Tigers. That’s one of the factors helping the Tigers.
“Auburn is close to home,” Wooten said when asked what he liked about the school. “I have a teammate there. Auburn University, I know the coaching staff there as well. They (Auburn and Tennessee) have a lot of things in common.”
