Thirty Days Later, Tennessee Yet to Release SI99 DE Dylan Brooks of Letter of Intent

Top senior prospect 'ready to get' release over with following coaching change at Tennessee

When Dylan Brooks picked Tennessee in April of 2020, it sent shockwaves throughout the college football recruiting world. 

Under then-coach Jeremy Pruitt, the Vols were coming off of six straight wins, producing lofty expectations heading into the 2020 season and tangible recruiting momentum despite the pandemic-related restrictions every program and prospect was adjusting to. Brooks was a coveted pass rusher and lifelong Auburn fan out of Roanoke (Ala.) Handley High School, some 50 miles down the road from campus, and UT had him hooked. 

At one point, Tennessee had the most commitments in America and looked like a shoe-in for a top-10 class nationally. Gradually, the numbers and perception changed during a woeful season, and a run of 13 decommitments, including SI99 prospects Terrence Lewis (Maryland) and Hudson Wolfe (Ole Miss), wound up elsewhere.

Toward the end of the year, though, recruiting hope was restored in the only remaining SI99 member on the commitment list -- Brooks -- revealing he had silently signed a Letter of Intent to play for Pruitt during the Early Signing Period. 

Awkward chatter surrounding the coach's future would continue for three more weeks until the head coach and several under him were out on January 18, with cause, due to a recruiting investigation. 

The next day, Brooks tells SI All-American, he wanted out of the official commitment to play at Tennessee.

"I’m trying to get out of my NLI," he said 10 days later on January 29.

That NLI is a binding document between the prospect and a university, technically not connected to any coach or coaching staff working for the school. The signature is an agreement for the following year, even if the athlete doesn't even enroll with said institution. 

Requests for a release from the signature, especially regarding high-profile athletes, are relatively common. So are the releases. Administrations typically make the move due to a change of circumstance, like what has happened in Knoxville over the last month. Otherwise, and this is especially common for prospects who enroll in January, the transfer portal remains in play. 

Tennessee did appear to release another 2021 signee, running back Cody Brown, from his NLI earlier this week. The Georgia native said he was going into the portal in searching for his next stop.

To clear things up... I was released from my NLI yesterday

— Cody Brown (@_codywbrown) February 17, 2021

Brooks continues to report minimal communication with the new staff, led by Jan. 27 hire Josh Heupel, in town. 

"They still haven’t let me out," he said February 3. "I haven’t heard anything. I haven't talked to anyone.

"I'm just ready to get this over with."

One of the assistants under Heupel is quite familiar with Brooks in Rodney Garner, who was helping lead the charge to keep him in-state at Auburn before coaching changes there. Matt Ray, of VR2, says the two have been back in touch of late with hopes of getting Brooks to play for UT after all. 

"Brooks has communicated with Tennessee throughout this process, including talking to new defensive line coach Rodney Garner recently," Ray said. "It makes sense for Tennessee to want to attempt to make a run at keeping Brooks with new defensive staff members in place, but he is not budging on his position. 

"There are several questions left about the inner workings of this bizarre situation. Primarily, when will Tennessee grant Brooks his request and put an end to a messy chapter of the Jeremy Pruitt saga?"

Thursday, February 18, is the 30-day mark since the Alabama native asked for his release from the NLI. He previously told SIAA he thought after this point, a move would have to be made. 

Though completely legal according to NLI and NCAA rules, holding a recruit through a coaching transition for more than four weeks in the modern era reads atypical, especially in such a public forum like college football. 

Brooks has tweeted, and deleted, many expressions of frustration surrounding his situation, including a #FreeDylan hashtag on more than one occasion. 

As far as where he may land if he is able to get out of the NLI, most of the speculation surrounds the program he is most familiar with: Auburn. But until he is released, communication between the Tiger program or any other potentially interested in Brooks is prohibited. 

If perception is important in college football (hint: it is), pairing Brooks' situation with precedent on Brown makes Tennessee's stance more suspect.

"Brown, one of Brooks' fellow signees, announced he was released from his letter of intent by Tennessee on Tuesday," Ray said. "The news from Brown makes the optics around Brooks even more interesting." 

SIAA heard from Brooks again on Wednesday, on the eve of the 30th day since asking to reset his recruitment. 

"They won't let me out," he said.

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