The sudden departure of Lane Kiffin from Tennessee to head up the USC football program has already made a direct impact on UNC's recruiting. The 8th ranked DT in the country Brandon Willis changed his commitment from Tennessee to UNC in the wake of Kiffin's hasty departure from Knoxville. Willis was set to enroll at UT, had his bags packed and would have been stuck had he actually shown up for class on Wednesday. Willis initially chose Tennessee but following the revelation that UT was using "hostesses" to aid in recruiting Willis backed off. Willis and Byrnes High School teammate Corey Miller were seen in a photo alongside UT hostesses who had visited their school. Last weekend Willis decided to re-commit to Tennessee while spurning UNC which surprised recruiting analysts.
Willis is a big catch for a 2010 class that had been fairly ordinary to this point. This winter's celebration for the returnees on the defense will be next winter's bare cupboard when graduation plus the likely departure of Robert Quinn early will leave the Tar Heel defense depleted. Willis, if his potential pans out, should be able to step into the void with a season of learning under his belt as a backup.