In-State Vols WR Target Nearing College Decision
Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland High School wide receiver Isaiah Horton has been working towards a college decision for months. At one point during the spring, Horton believed he was weeks away, but then the opportunity to take visits popped up on the horizon, so the touted pass-catcher delayed his decision process. Now, after a busy month of June, including stops at his finalists; Alabama, Florida, Miami, and Tennessee, Horton has had time to reflect on each school and is ready to announce his decision later this month on July 28th.
At the first of June, Horton declared Florida was still his leader, but following the month, each school is playing on equal footing.
"I would say everybody is kind of equal now that I got to visit everybody," Horton told Sports Illustrated. "They were the leader at the time before I hadn't visited everybody, but now that I visited each school, everybody is at an equal level now."
Tennessee made up serious ground thanks to two unofficial visits to Knoxville. During those trips, Horton was able to see how Tennessee would use him while building a strong relationship with Kodi Burns and the Volunteers staff.
"Coach Heupel is a great coach, wonderful coach," Horton said. "That first impression was wonderful for me. He is very laid back. Not too much, not too little. He is another coach I had a genuine conversation with. I didn't have to feel nervous around him or anything. I didn't feel like he was sugarcoating anything with me. Also, Coach Kodi Burns and Coach (Kelsey) Pope are great receiver coaches as well. I spent most of my second visit with them in Coach Burns's office going over plays and films. He showed me where I would be on the team at X receiver and how I would be used. We spent at least two hours watching film."
The time he spent with Burns really opened his eyes to the level of priority he is for the home state program.
"Definitely," Horton said about that. "There were other kids there doing the same thing I was doing, and he sat down and took the time to explain the whole offense to me. Not just my position but the entire offense. I really appreciated that a lot."
Horton recently went in-depth with Sports Illustrated All-American to discuss each finalist.
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