Highly Touted Defensive End Keldric Faulk Discusses 'Rocky Top Palooza' Visit

Tennessee hosted a slew of top recruits for its Memorial Day "Rocky Top Palooza" recruiting event. Volunteer Country has updates from multiple guys after exiting with Tennessee. Highly sought-after Alabama defensive lineman Keldric Faulk shares his thoughts on the weekend trip to Rocky Top. 

"Today was good," Faulk said of the visit. "Chill, laid back, had some fun today. Got to spend some time with coaches."

Coming out of the visit, Faulk was able to see what he hoped to during his time in Knoxville. 

"Just that it's a great place to be," he said of this. "It's what I came back to see. I have my one official left, and they want me to give them my last one. It was more about coming up here and seeing how I fit in, seeing how coaches coach, things like that."

Faulk has trips set to Florida, Florida State, Clemson and Auburn, so far. So does he know if Tennessee will get his fifth official visit?

"Nah, I haven't made up my mind yet," he said of this. I've got to talk about it with my family first. But, as of right now, they've got a pretty good chance of getting it."

The other schools vying for the last visit are Tennessee, Ole Miss, Michigan, and Miami.

During the weekend on Rocky Top, which started on Friday afternoon, he was able to learn more about how he would fit into the Tennessee defense.

"They want me to play defensive end," he said of this. "At other schools, they play outside linebackers. They drop down in coverage sometimes, but they see me as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end. That's something I like to play. I feel more free in that spot. Way more comfortable to me, anyway."

Faulk spent time with Nico Iamaleava and other top Tennessee commits and recruits during the weekend. The conversation was simple.

 "They asked me how it was, and I told them it was pretty good," Faulk said of this. "(They told me) it was a great place to be. They said to really take a look at it and give us a chance, and that's what I'm going to do."

"I mean the conversation, it wasn't so much football, it was more of just having fun with the coaches and seeing how they really are," Faulk said of the overall conversation with the coaching staff during the trip. 

He spent the majority of his time with Rodney Garner, and the veteran defensive line coach provided one of the highlights of the trip for Faulk.

"Oh man, I got to see Coach Garner dance," Faulk said of this. "That was funny. It was pretty funny to see him get out there and move. You don't think he would come out there and dance, but he will."

The idea of playing for a coach with a long-standing history like Garner's has a definite appeal to the coveted defensive end. 

"It makes me feel more comfortable because it makes it seem like he knows what he's talking about," When I come to these places, it's like, 'Is he gonna teach me something? Or is he going to show me stuff I already know?' And I think [Garner] would be the one to teach me something."

Faulk also enjoyed the environment at Tennessee during his multi-day visit. 

"It's a great environment," he said of this. "Everything as far as student-athletes, everything is so close by. Dorms right here, facility right here, classes not too far away, so it's really a convenience, and that plays a big part in it, too."

So what is the decision timeline like for the coveted pass rusher?

"I got the officials scheduled all in June, and I plan to make a decision probably not at the end of the summer, but more towards the middle of the season. If I can make it a midweek one, then I'll do that. But if not, then it'll probably be in the fall."

Faulk says it will come down to a comfort level on who lands his commitment.