Four-star edge rusher Danny Okoye got the chance to unofficially visit Tennessee football last weekend. The visit was good enough for Okoye to want to return for an official visit during the football season.
Okoye ranks as the No. 158 prospect in the 2024 class and the No. 13 EDGE by 247Sports Composite. The Vols impressed the 6-foot-4 and 241-pounder.
“It was really a great experience, man,” Okoye said. “Just getting to hang out with everybody. The coaches were amazing. The players were really welcoming and invited and also just getting to hang out with all the other, you know, recruits that were there for the weekend as well. Boo Carter and some of the other people that were there were really nice.”
Boo Carter, a four-star athlete in the Tennessee 2024 class, was taking his official visit to Tennessee this weekend. Carter has become known for his peer recruiting, “relentlessly” trying to get Okoye to join the Vols.
“He said it’s home and it’s the right decision to make and I’m considering,” Okoye said.
Okoye expects to narrow his schools down to a top five at the beginning of his high school season. He plays for NOAH Homeschool in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Last season for NOAH Okoye recorded 43 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.
The Vols are high on Okoye’s list following his visit.
“They’re definitely close to the top,” Okoye said. “They’ve always been one of my favorites. But definitely, after this weekend, it jumped up a little bit.”
Tennessee’s campus, and particularly how close everything on campus for athletes is, caught Okoye’s eye.
“Everything’s really efficient,” he said. “The dorms are right next to the practice field, the practice field’s right next to nutrition. Everything’s really centered. You don’t really have to go too far for any one thing. That was really nice, especially just how close, how it’s like a family really. Just the way everyone is right next to each other and everybody knows everyone.”
Okoye also got to talk to head coach Josh Heupel as well as outside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler. Tennessee’s staff told the edge rusher they see him at the LEO position in Tennessee’s defense.
“Which was a really versatile position and they think it would be the best fit for me as an athlete,” Okoye said. “I’m open to it. It’s gonna be a new thing but it’s nothing too crazy and I’m sure if I learn how to do it, it definitely can become impactful.”
Okoye plans to have a decision during the middle of his senior year with his final official visits coming near the beginning of the season.
