Inside 4-star CB Jordan Matthews' shocking commitment to Tennessee

Baton Rouge (La.) Woodlawn cornerback Jordan Matthews surprised everyone on Monday, announcing his commitment to Tennessee over Texas and Michigan.

The Longhorns were considered the heavy favorites to land the No. 129 prospect in the On3 Consensus, but Matthews, who took an official visit to Tennessee in June, ultimately chose the Vols.

“As you all know, we were at Texas about five times now,” he said after the announcement. “But everybody guessed it was Texas or whatever, but I had a change of heart. When I went to Tennessee, it was my best visit. I felt like, in my heart, that was the best school for me with my priorities for picking a school.”

Matthews gave away no hints leading into the decision, and both the staffs at Texas and Tennessee felt good about their chances with him. At the announcement inside Woodlawn’s gymnasium, the expectation was that he would dawn the Longhorns’ burnt orange.

But after short introductions by his pastor and head coach, Matthews had a briefcase delivered to him by a police officer who walked through the crowd and set it on the table. Matthews and his family all stood up around the briefcase as he opened it, then each donned Vols’ gear when he made the announcement.

“We practiced it for the first time last night, and I’m a fast learner,” he said of the idea. “So I caught on pretty quick, and we just felt like it was a different, unique idea that nobody had done before.”

Jordan Matthews had Tennessee in mind for some time

Matthews announced his final three schools on August 4, and he also locked in his commitment date then. While others weren’t aware of it, he says he knew it was Tennessee at that point.

“I knew when he posted his top schools. When I put out that date, I kind of knew this was the school for me. … To be honest, the reason why I picked Tennessee was because I felt it was the best situation for me at heart. I trusted the process, and it led me to the school. Coach Heupel, Coach Banks, they’ve all been great to me. And this is a school I feel like I could thrive at for the next three to four years.”

One of the biggest selling points for the Volunteers was the opportunity at early playing time, which Matthews said really set them apart from other schools. That, along with the momentum around the program heading into this season, pushed them to the top.

“As a freshman, even if it’s not starting but just major playing time, I feel like that’s the school I can do that best at,” he said. “My development for the NFL with Coach Martinez, he’s developed many players in the past. And then the branding and the network around the school after football, I just felt like Tennessee has gotten way better with that. With Coach Huepel coming in, going on that winning streak last year, he’s just going to build on that even more.”