A punter with a very Tennessee name and a very appropriate name committed to the Volunteers out of the blue on Thursday, and he has a ranking worthy of excitement, no matter how unsexy a kicking commit is.
Skyler DeLong — that’s right, SKYler DeLONG, an awesome name for a kid who will earn his scholarship booming footballs — a punter from Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina, decided to become the 12th Tennessee pledge on Tuesday, and while he told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan that he was firmly committed, he is still visiting Alabama this weekend and drawing interest from instate Clemson, too.
Sounds like the Vols are going to have to work to keep him. Even so, DeLong sounds like he’s excited to be a Vol.
“Hopefully I’ll be getting (an offer from) N.C. State, but I think I’m totally done with my recruiting and just ready to be part of Tennessee football,” said DeLong, who’s also ranked the nation’s No. 3 punter in the 2018 class by Kohl’s Professional Camps and the nation’s No. 2 punter by Chris Sailer Kicking, according to the article from Callahan.
“There’s probably, like, 15 to 17 schools, but I just told them, ‘Yeah, I’m done with my recruiting. Tennessee is where I want to be, but I thank you so much for recruiting me,’ and stuff like that.”
The kid is the nation’s top-ranked punter, according to 247Sports, and he averaged 48 yards per punt a season ago. If UT hangs onto him, DeLong has the potential to be a huge pickup, especially considering star punter Trevor Daniel is a senior who is out of eligibility following the 2017 season.
That means there’s opportunity for DeLong to step right in and be UT’s punter from Day One.
The punter’s pledge was met with excitement from some Vols assistants.
BOOM 💥. Sweet Chin Music coming to Rocky Top!! GB🍊🍊 pic.twitter.com/LHj10pvT3G
— Walt Wells (@EKUWWells) June 1, 2017
Boom! We're Kicking It On Rocky Top! #GBO 🍊🍊🍊🏈🏈🏈 pic.twitter.com/ZYca0C3YnU
— Coach Mike Canales (@coachcanales) June 1, 2017
If you follow those two on Twitter, they’ve got some pretty hilarious reactions to pledges.
Also, while there hasn’t been any mention in the articles about it, the punter shares a common last name with a couple of Tennessee legends. Steve and Keith DeLong were All-American Volunteers, and those who follow UT closely knows that’s a name that is up there with Majors, Colquitts and others in the history books. So, even though Skyler isn’t likely a relative of the duo, it’s still pretty cool that he shares a common (uncommon) last name.
One of the most underrated facets of football is field position, and it cannot be overstated just how much of a weapon Daniel has been for the Vols the past couple of years and how vital it is to the health of the program to continue that by getting a strong-legged punter with which to replace him.
It seems the Vols have the guy they think is the answer in DeLong. He may not be the most exciting of UT’s commitments thus far in the 2018 class, but he very well may be one of the most important.
