Jack VanDorselaer, nation's No. 7 tight end, says Tennessee visit 'exceeded' expectations

Southlake Carroll 4-star attended Texas-Oklahoma Saturday in Dallas, released Top 9 in July

Last weekend Jack VanDorselaer and his family traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee during a Southlake Carroll bye week.

The uncommitted 4-star tight end/wide receiver got to catch the Volunteers pick up a 41-20 win over South Carolina.

“It was a very, very, very cool experience,” said the junior. “That was my second SEC game and definitely exceeded my excellent expectations."

He has family in Tennessee and this was his second visit to the Volunteers. They were one of the nine teams he posted on X, formerly Twitter, when he released his top nine in July.

Other teams on the list: TCU, Miami, Texas, Michigan, USC, Oregon, Baylor and Alabama.

VanDorselaer, the No. 7 tight end in the nation and no. 20 overall prospect per 247 Sports, was one of the many Texas high school football standouts on the sidelines in Dallas to see No. 12 Oklahoma upset No. 4 Texas 34-30 in a memorable Red River Showdown on Saturday.

TOP WHAT?

VanDorselaer, as mentioned, released his list on July 25. The four-star recruit has 26 offers currently and thought he had a pretty good idea who he liked when he made that post.

Then, things changed.

“I was kind of dropping hints that I was going to post my top nine and if anyone was wanting to say anything, I thought they would,” he said. “Then I dropped and and then things changed a little bit after that. Some came in the mix a little bit more than others.”

In the days and weeks that followed, he picked up offers from Georgia, LSU, Florida and Missouri.

The 6-foot-5 target has offers from 9 of the 14 SEC schools and add in OU and Texas, it is 11 of the future 16.

He picked up his first Division I offer in March 2022 when in-state school Incarnate Word reached out. Since then, he’s also taken in games or events at Baylor, Texas, Notre Dame and the Texas A&M vs. Arkansas game in Arlington.

“It's definitely a blessing to be able to be in that situation,” he said of all the offers.

FINDING THE ENDZONE

VanDorselaer picked up a score for the Dragons with a 91-yard score on a wheel route for his second touchdown of the season.

Prior to the game, VanDorselaer had 5 catches for 51 yards, playing more of a role as a blocking tight end for the Dragons.

“It was really really cool,” he said of the score. “You know we drew it up this week. I was trying to kind of act like I was gonna block and then just leave the outside (linebacker) then just go up for the wheel. Graham (Knowles) gave me an excellent pass. I mean if that wasn't thrown perfectly in stride that guy probably would have caught me.”

He said he felt a Keller defender hit his leg but he kept on going and perhaps even glanced up at the video board.

“I saw they were a little bit behind me,” he said with a smile. 

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-- Cody Thorn | codythorn1981@gmail.com | @sblivetx