Nashville defensive tackle Brant Lawless commits to Tennessee Vols
Brant Lawless on Monday became the latest player from Tennessee to commit to coach Butch Jones and the Vols.
Lawless, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive tackle from Nashville Christian, picked Tennessee over 11 other offers from Power 5 schools, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Lawless announced his decision via Twitter.
"Every time I always went down there I always felt like I was at home and that's where I was supposed to be," Lawless told 247Sports. "I decided to hurry up and make my decision. Hopefully it will be a great place for me and a great move."
Commitments are nonbinding for the athlete and the school. He cannot sign until Feb. 7, 2018.
“Now he knows he can put it to rest," Nashville Christian coach Jeff Brothers told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. "He can now finish up at Nashville Christian. That’s a credit to his character.
"He’s not going to just drag (the recruiting process) out.”
Lawless has 110 total tackles, including 32 from behind the line of scrimmage, and four sacks over the past three seasons.
Lawless is a four-star recruit and rated the No. 8 prospect in the state according to the 247Sports composite list.
He's one of five Tennessee high school football players for the Class of 2018 who have committed to Tennessee.
Offensive linemen Cade Mays of Knoxville Catholic and Ollie Lane of Gibbs, and athletes Alontae Taylor of Coffee County and Shatar McClay of Clarksville Northwest also have committed to the Vols for next year's recruiting class.
Lawless told 247Sports that he is going to work on adding to those in-state numbers.
"I'm gonna try to get DT D'andre (Litaker) and DT Greg (Emerson) on board," he said. "I think it's pretty high (likelihood). That'd be pretty solid."
Litaker is a junior at Riverdale. Emerson is a junior at Jackson North Side. The three defensive tackles are among the top three college prospects in the state according to the 247Sports composite list.
Litaker hinted on Twitter on Monday that he may be close to making a college decision.
Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com or 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @Kreager.