Any hopes USC had of pulling WR Braylon Staley of Strom Thurmond away from his commitment to Tennessee seem to be fading at this point based on what his father, Brian, had to say on Tuesday night. Staley committed to the Vols in late June without offers from the Gamecocks or Clemson. USC receivers coach Justin Stepp did make an offer to Staley in early October.
“We haven’t had anything here lately (from Stepp), just probably a few texts wishing him good luck the rest of the season,” Brian Staley said. “He did express a couple of times that they have about four games left in the season. We haven’t discussed anything as far as going to a game yet. Braylon has really been adamant about Tennessee as far as the relationship and everything they’ve got coming on so far.”
Staley visited Tennessee a couple of weeks ago for the Texas A&M game, and his father said the Vols continue to show the love to his son.
“They are just ready to get him there,” Staley said. “They’ve been talking about scheme-wise where they can use him. They really feel good about Braylon coming in to be able to help with Mike Matthews coming in. They really feel good about him.”
After the Gamecocks made the offer, the excitement level for Braylon Staley was pretty high. The chance to stay in the state and play for an SEC team was always appealing. But his father said that’s kind of worn off now and the commitment to Tennessee remains firm enough to where he does not expect his son to flip.
“Right now, at the moment, that’s hard to even see. It’s hard to see him turning away at this moment,” Staley said. “I think he feels really, really good about them as far as what they are doing with the offense. I think he feels real good about them. Tennessee kind of pulled out all the stops. They came at him full tilt. They didn’t waste no time. From the jump, they were there.”
In last Friday’s game, Staley caught six passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, Staley has 55 catches for 957 yards and 13 touchdowns per the High School Sports Report.
As a gamecock fan I sure wish you would reconsider.I think you could be a star here as we will lose some talent this year plus lots of work available if the NFL did not work out.If you believe Tennessee is the place for you I wish you nothing but the best and I will be pulling for you in all but one game.hope you stay healthy and good luck in the future
He gonna be a special part of a great offense at UT, we can’t wait to watch him in Neyland!