• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

Higgins, who had committed to UT, re-opens recruitment in football, basketball

Posted at 12:41 pm February 5, 2016
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch at Ooltewah Nov. 13, 2015

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, that he is re-opening his recruitment for basketball and football. Above, Higgins (5) makes a catch during a 26-17 loss at Ooltewah in a second-round Class 5A playoff game on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:06 p.m.

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Thursday that he is re-opening his recruitment for basketball and football.

Higgins, who received a Mr. Football award in November, had announced in August that he had officially committed to play football at the University of Tennessee.

In his Twitter post on Thursday, Higgins said he has spent a lot of time thinking and talking to his mother and coaches about the decision.

“I’ve been thinking for a long time about this, and I’ve finally decided that I will be re-opening my recruitment for basketball and football,” the 6-foot-5 junior said. “Tennessee is not out of the conclusion, and I consider them a priority. But for me to make the best decision and eliminate questions later, I have to look at other opportunities.”

Higgins said he is not commenting anymore for now, and he asked for no interviews.

Advertisement

Higgins has been a star player in both football and basketball for the past few years. He played as a freshman in the 2014 state basketball tournament, when the Oak Ridge Wildcats finished as state runner-up.

Higgins has been heavily recruited. UT Volunteers Football Coach Butch Jones and Wide Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni visited Wildcat Arena during a basketball game on Friday, January 29. Several Oak Ridge coaches pointed out that the Friday night visit to Oak Ridge High School occurred while official visits were happening on the UT campus in Knoxville. That showed that UT has a strong interest in having Higgins play for the Volunteers, the fans said.

Jones and Azzanni also attended a football game in the fall.

In August, Oak Ridge Today reported that Higgins chose the Volunteers over scholarship offers from more than a dozen other teams, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss. He has been highly ranked in the Class of 2017 by both 247Sports and Scout.com.

Other coaches who have visited Oak Ridge High School recently include Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney, UT basketball coach Rick Barnes, and LSU Wide Receivers Coach Tony Ball.

Higgins had 46 catches for 841 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2015 football season. He was named the most valuable player at the 17th Annual Tabernacle Baptist Christian Academy Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament in November.

See Higgins’ Thursday announcement below. You can also view it on his Twitter account.

It was a tough decision… pic.twitter.com/mCwiBJdevk

— Tee Higgins® (@teehiggins5) February 5, 2016

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Oak Ridge Wildcats Tee Higgins Clinton Dragons

Oak Ridge junior wide receiver Tee Higgins announced on Twitter on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, that he is re-opening his recruitment for basketball and football. Above, Higgins (5) celebrates his first touchdown catch for the Oak Ridge Wildcats in the 2015 season against the Clinton Dragons on Friday, Aug. 21. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

This photo is property of Allen Greene. Unauthorized use of this photo is not permitted without consent.

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5) scored 25 points for the Wildcats in a double-overtime 87-85 quarterfinal loss to David Crockett in the 2015 Arby’s Classic basketball tournament in Bristol on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. (Photo by Allen Greene / TriCitiesSports.com)

 

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, High School, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: 247Sports, Alabama, basketball, Butch Jones, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, Florida State, football, Georgia, LSU, Mr. Football, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Wildcats, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, recruitment, Rick Barnes, Scout.com, Tee Higgins, Tony Ball, UT Volunteers, Wildcat Arena, Zach Azzanni

Advertisements

 


Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Comments

  1. Sam Hopwood says

    February 5, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    A wise decision, coming on the heels of a weekend visit to Clemson. I hope he has some good advisers who have his well being at heart and not a particular college. He has a year to make a final choice. Good luck!!

    Reply
    • johnhuotari says

      February 7, 2016 at 4:42 pm

      I agree, and the sports fans I’ve talked to do as well. I’m not an expert on sports recruiting, but it seems it’s better to investigate the options now than to possibly regret a decision later.

      Reply
  2. Peter Scheffler says

    February 9, 2016 at 11:39 pm

    It would be great to have him at UT, but he should do what is best for his future and not feel that he has to please all this area’s UT fans. I do some volunteer college admissions work for my alma mater, and I think it’s a good idea for the student at least to consider going out of state to college.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Outdoor pool to re-open Friday
  • Children’s Museum to celebrate 50 years with free admission
  • Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival returning to Oak Ridge
  • City brush pickup continues
  • ORAU employees donate more than 300 pounds of toys and household items to Holiday Bureau
  • Oak Ridge hosting three regattas this month
  • Learn about alternatives to death penalty
  • Guided paddle trip on Melton Hill Lake on Sunday
  • Guided wildflower hike at Haw Ridge on Saturday
  • Ernie’s Creek cleanup is Saturday

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today