Vols recruit commits to UNC

On his way out of Tennessee on Tuesday, former Volunteers football coach Lane Kiffin hoped to re-route a prized recruit to join him at Southern California.

Instead, Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes High defensive lineman Brandon Willis switched his commitment to North Carolina.

Coming off a 127-tackle, 13-sack season, Willis is the No. 8-ranked defensive tackle in his national recruiting class, according to Scout.com. He has enrolled already for the spring semester at UNC and will start classes this week.

Willis' father, Gary Willis, said that a huge key in Brandon's final decision was UNC junior defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who had become good friends with Brandon.

"Marvin talked to Brandon, and he talked to me late last night, and he said he hoped to play his senior year with Brandon," Gary Willis said. "But he said wherever Brandon went, he knew he would be a baller, and he would stay in touch with Brandon and support him."

Willis had verbally committed to Tennessee, however, and was prepared to go there until Kiffin's departure was announced Tuesday night. A few hours after Kiffin announced that he was headed to USC, Willis received a call from Ed Orgeron, a Tennessee assistant under Kiffin who was leaving with Kiffin to return to the Trojans program.

The Willises were stunned. Kiffin had been in Knoxville, Tenn., only one season.

Willis and his father had grown close to Orgeron during the recruiting process, but they did not welcome Orgeron's offer of a scholarship to Southern Cal, Gary Willis said.

"When Coach Orgeron made that offer, I told him, 'I gave you my word, and Brandon gave you his word, and you gave us your word and then you leave," Gary Willis said Wednesday as he, his son and other family members drove to Chapel Hill. "How do we know someone else won't offer you $5 million, and you'll be gone again?"

Gary Willis said many other schools called after Kiffin switched, including Alabama and Auburn.

Some were supportive when he told them the Tar Heels commitment was firm, Gary Willis said. Others were not.

"I told them, we're not going to open that [recruiting] book again," Gary Willis said. "Some coaches said some nasty things, but we respect the coaches who respected our decision."