Stephen Griffin lived in Knoxville, Tenn., as a young child, and he returned to his former home last month to visit Tennessee for the first time as a recruit.

Three-star junior defensive back Stephen Griffin of South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, N.C., committed to Tennessee on Thursday.

On Thursday, he decided to make it his home again.

The three-star junior defensive back from South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, N.C., whoÊ¼s the son of former Clemson running back Steve Griffin, said he committed to Tennessee on Thursday, giving the Vols their ninth commitment for the 2015 class and their first from a defensive back.

Griffin chose Tennessee over scholarship offers from Clemson, Michigan, North Carolina, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Duke, Wake Forest, Charlotte and Old Dominion.

“ItÊ¼s just where my heart was at. My heart was at Tennessee,” he said. “I really like the coaches. The coaches really like me. IÊ¼ve got some relationships with some of the players. Me and (Tennessee signee) Todd Kelly used to go to preschool together, so weÊ¼ve always been pretty good friends.

“It just seems like the right place for me.”

The 6-foot-3, 188-pound Griffin visited the Vols to attend their junior day Feb. 15, and he said they have continued to make him a high priority since then.

“Tennessee is the one thatÊ¼s been showing the most love and communicating with me the most, and they really want me down there,” said Griffin, whoÊ¼s ranked the No. 29 overall player from the state of North Carolina in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite for the 2015 class.

“I just really like their plan and everything theyÊ¼ve got going on. I like all the coaches and how theyÊ¼re kind of rebuilding the program a little bit, but it just seems like everythingÊ¼s going in the right direction and theyÊ¼re really looking to compete for championships.”

Griffin said the timing of his decision “was actually unexpected,” but he simply decided there was no need for him to wait any longer.

“I had really planned on making it sometime in the summertime or at the end of spring, but it was just one of those things where it was like, why wait?” he said. “My heartÊ¼s there, and I really didnÊ¼t feel like looking at any place else because my heart was set on Tennessee.”

Griffin said he called Tennessee assistant coach Mark Elder late Thursday morning to inform the Vols of his decision, and he later talked with head coach Butch Jones and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez.

“They were very excited. They said I made their day and everything. They seemed pretty fired up,” Griffin said.

“Coach Martinez said I have a shot to start at, like, three different positions — nickelback, free safety and strong safety, IÊ¼m assuming. He just said he likes my athletic ability, and he likes the thought of bringing me down to play man coverage and all that type of stuff.”

Griffin, who said heÊ¼s “on track” to be an early enrollee, admitted heÊ¼s “not really sure yet” whether he will take any additional visits to other schools and continue exploring his options.

“But as of now,” he added, “I feel like Tennessee is where I want to be.”