Chattanooga ATH Luke Stum Talks Decision to Choose Tennessee

Tennessee has continued to work multiple connections and are leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit to add more quality athletes to their ranks. The Vols recently added in-state wide receiver Lucien Brunetti, as a preferred walk-on, as he chose Tennessee over offers from several other schools. Today, Tennessee dipped into Chattanooga's Boyd Buchanan to grab Luke Stum, a two-way star for the Buccaneers, who will come to Knoxville as a preferred walk-on to play on the defensive side of the ball.

Stum announced his decision in a Twitter post earlier today.

After a crazy turn of events and a huge thanks to @ThisIsTreyJ and @jeremybosken I’d like to officially announce my commitment to @Vol_Football #gbo🍊Truly a dream come true! pic.twitter.com/gaC6HHmmsO
— Luke “LS9” Stum (@luke_stum) March 24, 2021

"Well, I was originally committed to D3 to Centre college, and I was fully content with that because it's a great school But about two weeks after that, there were rumors of me being able to play at UTK, and then about two weeks ago, (I started) the process of getting accepted and then doing an admissions tour, and it really seems like a great fit. Saturday, I was officially offered the spot, and there was no way I was turning it down," Stum said of the quick turnaround leading to his decision.

Trey Johnson, Tennessee's new Defensive Scouting Coordinator, was tagged in Stum's commitment announcement and for good reason. The Boyd Buchanan Alumni, who is widely respected in the industry, played a huge part in Stum's process.

"Absolutely critical!" Stum said of Johnson's part. "He answered all of my and my family's questions over a zoom call and pushed my film to the other coaches in the beginning! I'm sure the Boyd connection opened the door for all of that to take place!"

Stum is excited about the opportunity Tennessee presents him with. "It's something that people all across the nation dream about and work for, and I'm just lucky enough to be able to do it," he stated. "I've only played football for two years in high school, so I'm really excited to see how I develop, and the energy of the volunteer crowd and all around campus is truly unmatched!"

Stum was an all-state player for the Bucaneers last fall, and he played both ways, but he will get his start on defense in Knoxville.

"I'm the type of person to do anything to help the team wherever they see fit, so I'm really willing to do whatever. In high school, I played a little bit of everything, but as of right now, I will be on the defensive side of the ball."

Below is a look at Stum's senior season defensive highlights.