Brentwood's Walker Merrill has Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Duke in top seven schools

Brentwood wide receiver Walker Merrill is close to making his college football decision.

Merrill, the state's No. 11-ranked player for the Class of 2021, according to the 247Sports Composite, posted his top schools via Twitter on Tuesday and added that an announcement "was coming soon."

Merrill listed Duke, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt as his top choices.

A 6-foot-1,183-pound three-star prospect, he is the No. 61 receiver in the country and No. 371 player in the country for next year's recruiting class.

Merrill had 62 catches for 568 yards for Brentwood, which reached the Class 6A state quarterfinals in 2019. He also had 253 return yards, including returning a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

Both the Vols and Duke made Tennessee a recruiting priority for their 2020 classes.

Tennessee signed 10 in-state stars in December, including Ensworth's Keshawn Lawrence. However, Duke's recruitment of the state focused primarily in Middle Tennessee. The Blue Devils signed four Nashville area standouts, including Ravenwood's Graham Barton, Mt. Juliet's Malik Bowen, Cane Ridge's Michael Reese and Shelbyville's Gary Smith III.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.