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Vols have all Thigpen is searching
Athlete commits to UT with need to participate in football, track
Tennessee had everything Damien Thigpen was looking to find.
The 5-foot-9, 171-pound athlete from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., committed to play football for UT on Sunday.
Thigpen visited UT on April 13 to see the Vols' facilities and watch them scrimmage.
Thigpen said he was impressed by the way UT's offense allows its running backs to make plays.
"They don't just line them up in the I-formation," he said. "They put them out wide and move them around. I like that."
That's because it fits Thigpen's style of play, which is based off speed.
Thigpen, who also plans to run track at UT, said he believes the Vols' offensive coaches will create ways to get him the ball in open space.
"That's my running back style," he said, "more speed and elusiveness than power because of my size. I'm only going to get faster with my age and more training."
Thigpen chose UT over Auburn, West Virginia, Stanford, Boston College and Connecticut.
Thigpen toured West Virginia, Stanford, and Connecticut this spring, but he couldn't find a comparison to UT.
"The caliber of players is much higher at Tennessee," he said. "Nobody else I wanted to look at had what I needed."
Two schools that hardly looked at Thigpen were Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Thigpen said he wasn't upset by the lack of interest from the two in-state schools, but he plans to show them they made a mistake by not offering him a scholarship.
"I do that for anybody who hasn't offered me," he said. "Whoever hasn't offered me is going to pay when I'm on the field."
That time will be split because of Thigpen's plans to run track at UT.
Thigpen won the Group AAA state championship in the 300-meter hurdles (37.44 seconds) last year, and plans to run the 110-meter hurdles and 100- and 200-meter dash this spring.
Thigpen said he recognizes the challenge of competing in two sports in college.
"It's going to be difficult," he said, "but many athletes do both. I'm going to work to be successful."
Thigpen is UT's third commitment for the 2009 class.
Thigpen joins wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes from Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pa., and fullback Dominique Allen from Henry County High School in Paris, Tenn.
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