Josh Heupel and the Vols strike gold in-state, land commitment from ……………..

There had certainly been no shortage of effort in that quest by head coach Josh Heupel and his staff. When it was time to declare where he’d be going to school (walking into the ceremony to Thunderstruck by AC/DC), the industry-generated 247Sports Composite five-star recruit announced in front of a packed gymnasium he’d be playing his college football in Knoxville, choosing Tennessee over Alabama and a slew of others. LSU, Michigan, Auburn and UCLA were some of the other programs the blue-chipper strongly considered.

In addition to the mega-talent, that magnetic presence MacIntyre has was felt by those already in the Vols locker room and should also pay dividends in attracting more talent to play in the Checkered Orange down the road.

This was a recruitment where a few different schools may have had momentum at various points, but there is no question the day the Vols became a major contender. It was less than two months after MacIntyre was offered, when he was inside Neyland Stadium for a program-defining win over Alabama, snapping a 15-game losing streak in the Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

“Craziest environment I’ve ever been in,” MacIntyre said at the time. Students tore down the goalposts and part of one of them made it outside the stadium all the way to the Tennessee River. “UT is back and as an in-state kid it’s easy to see.”