"Felt like home to me": Colorado QB Kaidon Salter recalls his first-ever Tennessee visit as a recruit

Deion Sanders' QB1 prospect Kaidon Salter has been through a lot before landing at Boulder to play in his final year of NCAA eligibility. He will attempt to improve his draft stock before declaring for the pro league in 2026.

This weekend, he had a sit-down interview on the "Reach the People" podcast, where he reflected on his journey as a young kid who loved playing football and realizing his dream in college. He spoke about his high school career and recruitment trips to various schools before ending up at Tennessee in 2020.

It was a hard time with the pandemic and people were in quarantine. It made it difficult for high school athletes to make frequent visits to different schools and Salter had shortlisted his choices. One of the top programs on his list was Jeremy Pruitt's Volunteers, where he took an in-person visit.

"So I got recruited by coach Pruitt and just that was my last visit," Salter said on Sunday (09:30). "When I went on, like, we couldn't really go on official visits because of COVID, so, like, I went on me and my family went on like a tour, like, rented a rental and we drove to so many different schools, like, we drove to Arbor and Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia Tech and South Carolina. “We just went on tour for I think it was my spring break or something and Tennessee was the last school that I visited and while I was at their spring practice.

"They got the call, like, we got to shut practice down because of the quarantine. Just being there for that little time. Everything they were showing us the facilities from the coaching staff to the people to me sitting down, watching film with the coaches and just the way they was talking. So that was one big thing. My family loved it. I loved it. So it was just it just all went into that and that it just happened like that. That's what felt like home to me at the at the time.”

Kaidon Salter finally made Liberty Flames his home

Kaidon Salter's Tennessee stint was short-lived since he was released in the offseason. He didn't make the roster due to off-field issues and legal charges pressed against him for misdemeanor and traffic violations. Salter made his way to Liberty to restart his football career. He didn't play in his first season but got frequent opportunities the following year.

During his four years with the program, he made a significant impact by winning the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and several other honors. Last season, he racked up 1,886 yards and scored 15 touchdowns while throwing six interceptions. It's a big task to fill Shedeur Sanders' shoes if Deion Sanders picks him to start for the Colorado Buffaloes in 2025.