Vols coaches rip off shirts

09:01 AM ET 03.02 | Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin and his staff made an unforgettable impression on some of the Southeast's top college prospects on Saturday. More than 100 high school players attended Tennessee's Junior Day. Things started off rather routine. The prospects were led to the film room, where Kiffin thanked the recruits for making the trip and considering the Volunteers. "Then this other coach [assistant] got up there and said that Tennessee takes special teams very seriously, that it's a big key to winning," recalled Northview defensive lineman Denzel McCoy, who has 31 early scholarship offers. "That coach said they get real fired up on special teams and yelled for everybody to 'Get up, get on your feet, and get fired up about special teams.' Then this other coach ripped off his shirt Superman style. It was crazy." Many in the crowd weren't sure how to react. "The coaches told us to stand up, but nobody really knew what to do. We started clapping, sort of like one of those 'Ah, this feels awkward' kind of things," another recruit said. "The coaches yelled 'OK, we're going to give you another shot. We've leaving the room. When we come back in here, we want it really to get crazy.'" Douglass defensive lineman Garrison Smith said the lights in the room dimmed. "This one coach stayed behind and walked to the side of the room. Then he kept slamming the [side] doors, as if the other assistant coaches were trying to break it down. It was like an angry dog or some wild animals were on the other side." After a few moments, Smith said the doors swung open and the Tennessee assistants ran into the room. "By now, three or four coaches had their shirts ripped off." Smith said around 10 Tennessee players, including All-America defensive back Eric Berry of Atlanta and quarterback Jonathan Crompton, ran down from behind the recruits to meet the coaches on the floor. "Eric and the rest of the players were chanting 'U-T, wild boys -- U-T, wild boys -- U-T wild boys.'" This time, prospects left their seats and joined the celebration. "We were all jumping up and down together, it was cool," McCoy said.

Atlanta Journal Constitution