D.J. Swearinger is off Tennessee’s football commitment list in the wake of coach Phillip Fulmer’s departure after the season.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound safety from Greenwood (S.C.) High School said he’ll make an announcement this week to open his recruitment.

UT lost offensive lineman Antonio Foster from Valdosta, Ga., last week. The former UT commitment said he’ll attend Georgia Tech next season.

The Vols have 18 commitments from high school prospects for the 2009 class.

As for prospects on the fence, there is reason to be concerned about tailback Jarvis Giles from Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla., and running back Dominique Allen from Henry County High School in Paris, Tenn.

Giles has said he’ll likely follow UT recruiter Stan Drayton to his next job. Allen has been reconsidering his UT commitment for weeks and is taking a strong look at LSU.

Swearinger took an official visit to South Carolina this weekend, but the trip to Columbia didn’t seem to be a game-changer.

“It was all right,” said Swearinger, who added that he has opened up his recruitment to include South Carolina, along with UT.

Swearinger said he’s been to Columbia six or seven times in the past two years.

“Fans love you down there,” Swearinger said.

As for South Carolina recruiters, they’re taking the high road about the Vols.

“They really haven’t been talking about Tennessee,” Swearinger said. “They’re just recruiting me as a player.”

Swearinger knew what he wanted to see before reconsidering UT.

“I would want to see them win a game and I’d want to know who the next coach is going to be,” Swearinger said.

The losing is tough to handle. The coaching transition is even tougher.

Ask Swearinger who should be UT’s next football coach and you’ll get a quick answer: North Carolina’s Butch Davis.

“It would interest me a lot,” Swearinger said. “That’s who I really like. If they hired a coach like Butch Davis, I’d definitely want to come (to Knoxville).

“I’d love to play under a coach like Butch Davis.”

The News Sentinel has reported that Davis is UT’s leading candidate.

Swearinger is considering calling athletic director Mike Hamilton to discuss UT’s future.

Swearinger’s only correspondence with the Vols came shortly after Fulmer’s ouster when assistant coach Dan Brooks told Swearinger to “do whatever I need to do”.

That — and the past week in Knoxville — has Swearinger looking.

“I’m still open,” he said.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.