{"id":152595,"date":"2022-12-09T07:38:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T07:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/top247-wide-receiver-backs-off-early-commitment-to-tennessee\/"},"modified":"2022-12-09T07:38:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T07:38:02","slug":"top247-wide-receiver-backs-off-early-commitment-to-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/top247-wide-receiver-backs-off-early-commitment-to-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"Top247 wide receiver backs off early commitment to Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A highly ranked Class of 2024 prospect backed off his early commitment to Tennessee on Thursday night. Top247 wide receiver Mazeo Bennett<\/b>a junior at Greenville (SC) High School, announced in a post on his Twitter account that he has decommitted from the Vols, reopening his recruitment less than two weeks after the final game of his junior season.<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Bennett had been committed to Tennessee since Oct. 16. He chose the Vols over South Carolina and scholarship offers from more than 15 other schools at the time, but the home-state Gamecocks are among the teams that recently have continued to pursue him.<\/p>\n

Bennett referenced the recent departure of Alex Golesh<\/b>, Tennessee’s former offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, in a note announcing his decision to back off his commitment to the Vols. Golesh left last weekend to become the new head coach at USF.<\/p>\n

“Man, first I would like to say thank you to the entire staff at the University of Tennessee,” Bennett wrote. “Thank you for taking me in and believing in me. Thank you to the fan base for all the love shown to me.<\/p>\n

“With the recent changes in the coaching staff, me and my family have decided to take a step back and re-evaluate Tennessee and others. Tennessee will still be one of my top schools.<\/p>\n

“Hurts my heart to say but I will be decommitting from the University of Tennessee, and reopening my recruitment.”<\/p>\n

Bennett is ranked the No. 214 overall prospects and No. 31 wide receiver in the 2024 class and the No. 3 junior from the state of South Carolina, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He’s also rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, where he’s ranked the No. 211 overall player and No. 38 wide receiver in the 2024 class and the No. 4 junior from South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Tennessee is left with three early commitments for the 2024 class: four-star athlete Jonathan Echols<\/b> of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., a top-50 prospect nationally, along with Top247 defensive back Kaleb Beasley<\/b> of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tenn., and defensive lineman Carson Gentle<\/b> of McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn.<\/p>\n

Bennett initially informed Vols coach Josh Heupel’s staff, including first-year wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope<\/b>, of his decision to commit during his visit Sept. 24 for Tennessee’s win over Florida. But he decided to wait a few more weeks to announce his commitment on his birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was planning on committing next year,\u201d Bennett said in October. \u201cI (saw) what I needed to. No need to wait. I told Coach Pope that same night. It was a done deal for me. He was more than excited. He talked to the rest of the staff and Coach Heup the next Monday. \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Early Signing Day was still more than a year away, Bennett said in October that he was \u201cpretty confident in this decision.\u201d He said he didn’t expect to change his mind about playing at Tennessee, even if other teams \u2014 including nearby Clemson \u2014 extended offers to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like, if they haven’t already offered, then they don’t really want me,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cIf they offer after I commit, then that means they didn’t really want me to begin with, so that wouldn’t be a big factor in my commitment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n