KNOXVILLE -- The ink hits the paper and the fax machine comes alive for college football's national signing day on Wednesday.
Tennessee can expect one less signature from a longtime commitment.
Linebacker Dalton Santos officially flipped on the Volunteers, switching his verbal pledge to Texas on Sunday, according to multiple reports. A chance to play for the home-state Longhorns was too much to pass up for the 6-foot-3, 250-pound prospect from Van, Texas. Santos originally committed to Tennessee in August.
"He committed to Texas this morning and he's fired up to be a Longhorn," Albert Santos, Dalton's father, told Orangebloods.com, Texas' site in the Rivals.com network.
Texas offered the Under Armour All-American a scholarship last week, and Santos took an official visit to Austin this weekend. Santos is a four-star prospect according to 247sports, and ESPN rated him as the nation's top inside linebacker. He had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, TCU and Michigan, among others.
Santos' departure from the Vols' 2012 class leaves Otha Peters (Covington, La.) and Justin King (Dunwoody, Ga.) as the class' only committed linebackers.
Patrick Brown has been the University of Tennessee beat writer since January 2011. A native of Memphis, Brown graduated from UT in May of 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Electronic Media and worked at the Knoxville News Sentinel for two years on the sports editorial staff and as a freelance contributor. If it’s the NBA, the NFL or SEC football and basketball, he’s probably reading about it or watching it on TV. Contact him ...
