2021 Tennessee football recruit decommits after position coach's departure

Isaac Washington's commitment to Tennessee lasted less than a month. The three-star defensive tackle in the 2021 class announced his decommitment on Wednesday after offering his pledge on Jan. 25.

Since he committed, Tennessee defensive line coach Tracy Rocker left for the same job at South Carolina.

The 6-foot-3, 268-pound Washington is a junior at East Surry High School in North Carolina. After his decommitment, the Vols have five players committed to their 2021 class.

"I would like to thank Tennessee for believing in me enough to offer a scholarship to play football and continue my education," Washington wrote in a note he posted to Twitter. "I wanna thank Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt and Coach (Derrick) Ansley for all they have done for me in this recruiting process.

"I am still extremely interested in being a Tennessee Volunteer, but with the recent coaching changes I have decided to re-open my recruitment and visit other programs to look into my other offers, and more to come."

Ansley, Tennessee's defensive coordinator, is the only member of the defensive staff who returned from the 2019 season.

Along with Rocker's departure, assistants Chris Rumph and Kevin Sherrer left for jobs in the NFL.

Blake Toppmeyer covers University of Tennessee football. Email him at blake.toppmeyer@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Current subscribers can click here to join Blake's FREE text group offering updates and analysis on Vols football.