Tennessee football commit Joakim Dodson is leaving Memphis to go to Division II-AAA powerhouse Baylor, he confirmed to The Commercial Appeal on Friday evening.
Dodson, who is a rising senior, is the No. 15 college football recruit in Tennessee according to the 247Sports Composite.
“It wasn’t an expected decision,” Dodson said. “Me and my family decided to relocate for my last year. … When it came up, Baylor School was one of the options I was looking at and I feel like it was the best fit for me to play at from academics and also they have a great (football) team.”
Dodson, who committed to the Vols recently, decided to move to Chattanooga as he feels its the best option to prepare him for SEC football and hopefully a career in the NFL. He’ll have some huge shoes to fill in replacing Amari Jefferson. Dodson said his family is moving to Chattanooga. He will not be a boarding student.
“I’m ready for it,” Dodson said of the challenge of replacing Jefferson. “A big challenge. He’s going to Alabama, had two great back-to-back seasons and I’m really ready for the challenge. I know what type of player I am, I can definitely do it and step up in a huge way; a way that they’re not losing anything at all, if anything they’re going to gain a step.”
Baylor won the 2022 TSSAA DII-AAA state championship and was runner-up in 2023 to McCallie.
This past season, Dodson was the top target for Missouri signee Aidan Glover, getting 1,012 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns during his junior season. He was also named the the Region 8-6A first team, was a Commercial Appeal All-Metro football first team selection and named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association 6A all-state team.
Dodson is listed as a 3-star prospect, per 247Sports.
As for Collierville, they lose another weapon to an offense that averaged 286 yards a game and just under 30 points points last season.
“This is definitely a big step,” Dodson said. “Coach (Erik) Kimrey actually came from South Carolina two years ago. He’s pretty fresh of what it looks like to get to the NFL and to play in the SEC, which I’ll be going to play in so I’m definitely going to be prepared. It’s a huge step in my development.”
Reach Wynston Wilcox at [email protected] and on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @wynstonw__.
2024-02-24 01:27:55
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