[Note by Joel, 02/03/10 9:02 AM EST ] Again, via Josh Ward, twitterin' fool.

The highly-regarded safety out of Irving, Texas committed to the Vols shortly after his official visit during the weekend of Dooley's hire.  He was at one time an Oklahoma commit, but has decided to leave Big 12 country for the SEC.

Loften, in a word, is a pitbull.  He is short for a football player at 5'-11" (which is the primary knock on him), but he extremely aggressive.  It's like somebody took a Nick Reveiz body type and armed it with a Janzen Jackson sense of reckless abandon.  He loves to lay hits, and may actually need to learn to lay off the lumber just a little bit.  He'll have to work on his pass protection skills and be prepared to cover slot receivers and pick up coverages in the zone, but he'll also create highlights in his career and discourage receivers from catching their second pass over the middle.

So long as his temperament does not become a liability, Loften will provide a lot of spark to the emotions of the defense.  He'll hit hard and he'll hit often.

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