Prized running back Bryce Brown finally made his college decision after 40 extra days, seven college visits and weeks of prayer and fasting.The Scout.com No. 1 recruit committed to Tennessee in front of family and friends at the Kansas Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon. Brown picked up a Miami hat, handed it to his brother Arthur Brown Jr., and proudly put on a Tennessee hat, capping off a long and dramatic recruitment process.”They have a lot of coaches with NFL experience, and I felt that they could help me best get prepared for the next level,” Brown said at the press conference. “I wanted to go to a place where I knew the coaches would push me and make me work the hardest every day.”The recruit said Kansas State was the runner up to Tennessee.Even though Brown verbally committed to Miami before his senior season at Witchita East High School, the running back’s relationship with the Hurricanes has been rough since National Signing Day on Feb. 4.Brown began to have interest in other schools and went on seven college visits.The running back also mulled LSU, Kansas State and Oregon in the days before his commitment. The Tigers were the final school to get an official visit from Brown. He visited LSU on Feb. 27 and showed interest in joining the Tigers’ top 2009 recruiting class, but ultimately decided to be a Voluteer.Rather than running the ball for LSU in Death Valley, Brown will be running against the Tigers as a Southeastern Conference foe.”I wouldn’t take it as a loss because [LSU] never had him,” said Rene Nadeau, college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision. “It’s not like you had something you were counting on and you lost it.”Brown is not the first recuit LSU has lost to Tennessee this year. Defensive back Janzen Jackson was a verbal commit to LSU before signing to Tennessee on Feb. 5.Some have criticized Brown’s character and how his decision has been handled by Brian Butler, Brown’s mentor.But Nadeau said the running back’s talent cannot be overlooked. The five-star running back rushed for 1,872 yards and 30 touchdowns his senior season.”Anyone would have been glad to have him,” Nadeau said.Brown may have been swayed by a last-minute visit to Tennessee.The 6-foot, 215-pound running back visited Rocky Top on Saturday to watch Tennessee’s first scrimmage. Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin played a role in Brown’s decision.”I love coach Kiffin,” Brown said at the press conference. “A lot of people think coach Kiffin is not going to be able to turn the program around. Coach Kiffin thinks he’s going to turn the program around tomorrow.”Kiffin has made a lot of headlines only a few months into his tenure at Tennessee. He accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of violating NCAA rules, but Kiffin been accused of violating NCAA rules by mentioning Brown’s name on a local radio show. The recruit will join running back David Oku at Tennessee. The Scout.com four-star recruit signed with the Volunteers in February. Nadeau said Brown and Oku could be a “thunder and lightning kind of deal” at Tennessee.—-
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