For a while, Q’Mari Hudson thought he was headed to Virginia Tech.
The Chesapeake (Va.) Western Branch standout had spent months building relationships with the new staff in Blacksburg. The Hokies sat in a strong position entering official visit season and appeared to have momentum heading into the summer.
Then Tennessee got the final visit.
A few days later, everything changed.
Hudson committed to Josh Heupel and the Volunteers, giving Tennessee a major recruiting win over Virginia Tech for the No. 281 prospect in the Rivals300.
The decision wasn’t immediate.
“Honestly, it happened after talking to my mom and God overnight after I was back home from Tennessee,” Hudson told Rivals. “I was set on Tech one day, but after looking at every last detail, Tech is a great school, but Tennessee checks all my boxes.”
The Volunteers won him over for multiple reasons, but a big one was offensive line coach Glen Elarbee.
“The coaches were the main part, especially Coach Elarbee. I know I’m going to be around him a whole lot, and every time I talk to him, it’s always a genuine conversation.
“Coach Ellerbe is a great guy from every standpoint. Since he offered me, we’ve built a genuine relationship. I trust that guy and he trusts me. Sometimes he doesn’t even recruit me. He just talks to me as a man, and I like that.
“Playing for him was something that really helped Tennessee. I know he is going to be a great coach to play for.”
Head coach Josh Heupel also made a strong impression.
“He’s a coach with a lot of energy. He’s a great guy and a really nice dude. My parents loved him. There was no way I couldn’t go there.”
Beyond the coaching staff, Hudson fell in love with the atmosphere surrounding Tennessee football.
“Every time I hear about Tennessee football, it’s always something electric,” he said. “When I went there, everybody was nice. I didn’t meet one rude person. Outside of the staff, just the people in general were really nice.
“When I first went to Tennessee, I fell in love with it and fell in love with everything. Then my official visit was good as well. The coaches wanted me, the staff was great and everybody was great. The people there make it so much fun. They are guys I want to be around.”
The SEC factor mattered too.
“Just SEC ball, man. You can’t beat that,” Hudson said. “It is the best. Playing in the SEC was something that definitely weighed heavily on me.”
As he worked through the decision, conversations with his mother helped bring clarity.
Hudson said the final choice came after hours of discussion and reflection.
“I was sitting in my room with my mom,” he said. “We talked for hours. I was crying and everything, just confused and stressed. She told me to sleep on it and pray about it. The next day we sat down again for about three hours talking, and I knew from then and there I was going to Tennessee.”
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