After participating in a camp in Tennessee last year, Samari Mateos He returned to Knoxville in April to attend one of the Vols’ spring practices. She now plans to make the trip to Tennessee again this summer.
The Class of 2026 four-star cornerback from Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina, posted on his X account Tuesday that he is scheduled to visit the Vols on June 23. The trip will coincide with the last camp of the year in Tennessee. Matthews, who is a top 100 prospect nationally in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, also posted that he will head to Virginia Tech on June 14.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Matthews, who has received scholarship offers from more than 35 schools, is ranked as the No. 88 overall prospect and No. 8 cornerback in the class of 2026 and the state’s seventh rising junior. Carolina, according to 247Sports Composite. He is also rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, where he is ranked as the No. 145 overall player and No. 13 cornerback in the 2026 class and North Carolina’s ninth rising junior.
Tennessee gave him his third overall offer and first from an SEC program in September 2022. His visit to one of the Vols’ camps last year was his first trip to Knoxville, and he said at the time that he was impressed with everything Tennessee had. he has to offer.
He recently visited the Vols on April 1 for one of their spring practices. After the trip, he said Tennessee was “up there” among the schools chasing him.
“It was still amazing,” Matthews said at the time. “I definitely got to see more than the first time, which I liked. I got to see more and learn more about Tennessee. I got to talk to (the defensive coordinator). Tim Banks) more face to face than just talking to him about football. And overall, I think the coach is a great guy, so I love that about Tennessee.”
In April, Matthews said he was “definitely planning to come back” to visit the Vols again in the coming months. At that time he wasn’t sure exactly when he would be able to return, but he made it clear that he wanted to continue visiting Tennessee.
“I’ll say Tennessee is up there,” he said in April. “I’ll say they’re up there in my little ranking, definitely.”
The opportunity to play in the SEC and attend a school relatively close to home are among the reasons he is considering the Vols. He said he also likes Tennessee’s head coach. jose heupelThe staff, including Banks and the defensive backs coach. Willie Martinez.
“I will definitely say, of course, the conference is big,” Matthews said after his spring visit with the Vols. “Everyone wants to play in the SEC. (Being) close to home is pretty important. That’s easy for my parents to accept. And I think just the general name of Tennessee, knowing the history of all the players that came out of here.” “Coach Banks does what he does, he’s a great coach, he puts everyone in the League, he puts them in positions to win.”
Its shares have continued to rise over the past few weeks. He picked up his most recent offer from Clemson on Friday after also adding offers from Georgia on May 20 and Ohio State on May 22.
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