UT Vols football gets commitment from Greeneville's Will Albright

Show Caption Hide Caption Knox Sports Awards: Athletes on the red carpet Athletes enter on the red carpet at the Knox News Sports Awards Thursday, May 31, 2018.

When Will Albright started long snapping in seventh grade, it was just something he did for the team. Now, it’s going to take him to his dream program. The Greeneville junior committed to Tennessee on Tuesday.

As a freshman, Albright realized long snapping could be his way in. He got involved with Rubio Long Snapping, one the premier programs in the country, and was ranked second-to-worst in the country at his first camp. Now he is ranked fourth-best.

"He’s a smart kid," Greeneville coach Caine Ballard said. "He wanted to play big-time football. He knows how hard it is to play a position in the SEC and so he found a niche and went after it."

Albright, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, attended UT’s special teams camp on Saturday. When coach Jeremy Pruitt asked him what he was doing this week, Albright responded, “What do you need me to do next week?”

The answer was come back to Knoxville on Tuesday. So Albright drove the hour and a half back to campus and Pruitt offered him a full scholarship.

“I really didn’t need any time to think about it,” Albright said.

He plays safety and receiver at Greeneville, which won the Class 4A BlueCross Bowl last fall. Ballard sees potential for Albright beyond long snapping, maybe growing into a tight end.

"I’m sure Coach Pruitt knows that," Ballard said. "I don’t think he would sign someone to be long snapper without seeing potential for more."

Blessed to say I have committed to the University of Tennessee on full scholarship! GO VOLS!🍊@CoachJPruitt pic.twitter.com/fGU4EmfMMG — Will Albright (@Albright_26) June 12, 2018

Greeneville went undefeated on the way to the state championship. The prolific offense – 711 points scored and 6,412 total yards gained – actually worked against Albright.

“They were like, you don’t have many punt snaps on (his highlight reel),” he said. “I said, ‘Coach, my team only punted seven times all season.’ ”

Albright is the third Greene Devil to commit to a Power 5 school this offseason (Dorien Goddard committed to Virginia and Cameron Hite to Wake Forest) but the first for 2020. Albright said there are more coming.

"It’s pretty impressive for a small town like us," Ballard said. "I’m just excited to see years of hard work and commitment by so many people come together."