Ahead of the Early Signing Period, a Tennessee running back has flipped from the Volunteers to the Virginia Tech Hokies.
On Tuesday night, Baylor School standout Elijah Howard shared two announcements on social media. He first tweeted his decommitment from Tennessee. Minutes later, he shared his commitment announcement to Virginia Tech.
“I’m forever thankful for the love and support from my home state of Tennessee. My family values faith over uncertainty. I’ll be decommitting from the University of Tennessee at this time,” he wrote.
The “faith over uncertainty” line certainly stands out, especially considering Virginia Tech had been dealing with recent uncertainty over the status of head coach Justin Fuente. This week, the school confirmed Fuente will remain the head Hokie.
Rated 3-stars, the No. 16 recruit in Tennessee and No. 42 running back on the 247Sports Composite, Howard had been committed to the Vols for over a year, originally pledging on June 25, 2019. He took visits to UT on Aug. 31, 2019, Oct. 12, 2019, Nov. 30, 2019, Jan. 25, 2020, and March 7, 2020.
UT’s class is now at 21 commitments. Ranked No. 6 in the SEC and No. 15 nationally.
Out of sight out of mind.. #hokienation @Coach_Smitty @CoachLecht pic.twitter.com/wESsEmQo6I
— Elijah Howard (@e_izzy03) December 16, 2020
