Fast-Rising DE Okunlola Discusses Tennessee Offer

Defensive End from Thayer Academy, Samuel Okunlola, is a name to get familiar with. The 6-foot-4 and 225-pound prospect is picking up steam and a lot of attention on the recruiting scene.

Holding over 40 scholarship offers, it really seems as if the process is going very smoothly for Okunlola.

"The recruitment process Is going well. My name is starting to get out there," says the 2022 prospect. Okunlola is currently hearing from quite a few schools at the moment as well. The Thayer Academy student-athlete says, "Some to name are Penn St, Clemson, Georgia, Colorado, ASU, Oregon, Nebraska, Arizona, Ole Miss and Maryland, etc. My recruitment is starting to heat up. Clemson, Georgia, Florida ST, and Tennessee offered recently."

As mentioned above, the Massachusetts native holds over 40 offers. Okunlola explains to VR2 on SI what that experience is like. "It's a blessing to have over 40 offers. I'm grateful for each opportunity every program has offered me." All schools will pass their own message to the prospect, so it is safe to say Okunlola will have a tall task when it comes time to narrow down some schools to make some possible decisions.

On March 30th, Tennessee threw its name on the long list of offered schools. Okunlola recaps the initial moment, "It felt good to receive an offer from the University of Tennessee. I was offered by Coach Levorn Harbin."

"They believe I am a very talented player that can help their program. I am very versatile. They like my ability to pass rush, run stop, and play in space," Okunlola about the message from Tennessee.

The relationship is pretty new, and the prospect from the Northeast says, "I am looking forward to learning more about the school. I have a virtual visit scheduled next week."

The rising senior is about in the time frame that most begin setting official visits and much more. "I haven't scheduled any official visits yet. At some point, I will go on visits officially and unofficially. I'm still in the process of trying to figure everything out."

Okunlola would also add to finish, "I don't have a specific timeline on when I will commit. At some point, later on, I will trim down my list and go from there."

This will be an interesting one to watch as it unfolds. The big-framed prospect is a true student-athlete and that is validated by the offer list. Amongst the 40-plus offers, a handful of those are from Ivy League schools such as; Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. Okunlola definitely has the grades to qualify with those schools in the mix.