Tennessee Got Better on Wednesday, Has a Chance to Get Much Better in February

The Wednesday that kicked off the Early Signing Period was on the one hand disappointing, as Tennessee swung and missed on all of its 50/50 targets.  On the other hand it was also satisfying, as the Vols inked 18 signees and didn’t lose a single commitment.  To its existing commitments the Vols also added WR Jerrod Means, a former UNC commitment who camped in Knoxville during the summer and earned an offer on the spot after running a 4.4 40-yard dash at 6’2. 

On Thursday, Memphis native RB Eric Gray signed with the Vols. Had he signed with most of the class on Wednesday, one can be assured that Vols fans would have felt very differently about how the day went, even though most knew that Gray was coming the very next day.  Gray smashed state records this season while winning his third Tennessee Mr. Football award – the first ever three-time winner.  He’s not a “big” back, but he’s not small at 5’11 and just under 200lbs, and he’s electric with the ball in his hands despite good but not great speed. Gray was a longtime Michigan commitment and had offers from elite programs across the country, and as an early enrollee, he brings the kind of playmaking ability to the Tennessee offense that is sorely lacking.  His signing will also allow the Vols to start ATH Aaron Beasley, who played both RB and S in high school, on defense where his speed and hitting ability will be put to immediate use.

We’ll do a deeper dive on the class once it’s complete in February, but the 19 signees, 10 of whom are early enrollees, without a shadow of a doubt improve the talent on the roster in every respect, from size, speed, and simply overall depth.  Tennessee beat out fellow big boys for most of their signees, further showing the overall quality of the class so far.

Once the fax machines got quiet on Wednesday, the natural question becomes: What’s next, and where do the Vols turn in order to have the kind of finish necessary to consider this the kind of class that takes the program forward?  Below we take a look at the road to early February.

All-Star Game Season

With the first week of January comes both the Under Armour and Army All American Games.  Practices for these present prospects with both a chance to test/prove themselves against the best players in their respective classes – and potentially improve their rankings in the process – all the while doing some peer recruiting.

The Under Armour game will feature two of Tennessee’s top signees and best peer recruiters in OL Wanya Morris and S Jaylen “Tank” McCullough.  In terms of unsigned top Vols targets, OL Darnell Wright and DB Travis Jay highlight the list.  Wright is, as everyone knows, considered to be a heavy Vols lean, to the point that he was cited by a handful of uncommitted prospects this past weekend as unofficially part of the Tennessee OL class.  That said, it can’t hurt to have his close buddy and potential future bookend spending time with him all week.  Jay is an FSU commitment who chose to not sign in the early period and has seen Tennessee coaches before the dead period.  It’s unclear where he sits on Tennessee’s overall board, and at the same time how real his interest in the Vols is (most think he will eventually sign with the Noles), but again just being around two Vols commitments can’t be anything but good for Tennessee.

The Army game will have two current signees, and potentially three.  Gray and WR Ramel Keyton will be there, as will OLB Quarvaris Crouch.  While it’s unclear at this very moment what Crouch’s signing plans are, all signs point to him being at worst a strong Tennessee lean and potentially someone who could have signed with the Vols by the time he arrives at practices.  Either way, he will announce on January 5^th at the game, which should give the Vols some big-time national publicity were he to announce for Tennessee.  All 2-3 Tennessee signees will most certainly be peer recruiting big-time LB target Henry To’oto’to and OLB Khris Bogle.  The battle for To’oto’to is likely down to Tennessee and Alabama, and the Tide will certainly have its share of signees in his ear as well.  Same for Bogle and Alabama and Miami, his two main contenders, but again just having a presence at the game will be helpful for Tennessee.

February signees: Tier I

With 19 signees Tennessee has anywhere from 4-8 spots depending on room under NCAA regulations that only Jeremy Pruitt is aware of.  The Vols also have three unsigned commitments – DL Ledarrius Cox, LB Lakia Henry, and S Anthony Harris – how hard the staff pursues each of them, and how receptive they each are – will also play a role in how many spots are available for “new” commitments.

That said, there is a clear hierarchy in terms of prospects that Tennessee is currently pursuing, with the seven below making up the first tier:

1. OLB Quarvaris Crouch
2. OL Darnell Wright
3. OLB Khris Bogle
4. ILB Chris Russell
5. ILB Henry To’oto’to
6. DB Jammie Robinson
7. DB Travis Jay

As mentioned above, Crouch will announce on January 5^th and could even have signed by then.  His has been a mercurial recruitment and so it’s not smart to assume he’s a Vols lock until he’s signed his LOI, but right now things look good.  Crouch is an incredibly high-ceiling athlete who could be a terror off the edge.

Wright is also a very heavy Tennessee lean who would give Tennessee five OL signees, two of whom are 5-tars and ranked among the top 20 players in the country. 

Bogle is an edge rusher like Crouch, but he’s someone who, despite having taken multiple visits to Knoxville, is going to be a very tough pull for the Vols.  Hometown Miami is the likely favorite and Alabama is also heavily in the mix, but he definitely likes the Vols so they aren’t totally out of it.  His current plan is to announce at the Army game on January 5^th, so we’ll know one way or the other very soon.

Russell is an absolutely imperative add in the late signing period.  An in-state player at a position of immediate need, Russell will get as much attention from Tennessee as the rules allow.  He plans on taking an OV to Tennessee for sure, and Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Auburn are schools we know that will be recruiting him hard until February. 

To’oto’to as mentioned above will be an Alabama-Tennessee battle despite being from California.  Although there are going to be some numbers issues for both schools, it seems that he has a spot at either.  He’s an instant impact player at least for Tennessee given the dire need at the position, so expect him to get a ton of attention from the Vols over the next six weeks.

Robinson is a dynamic playmaker and would add a ton of speed and athleticism to a Tennessee secondary that needs it in spades despite a strong group of DB signees. UT’s tie here is his former high school coach Shelton Felton who is on Tennessee’s staff.  Robinson took a summer OV to South Carolina and one to Kentucky this past weekend, so he’s got three more.  Tennessee will likely get one, and depending on how things go with other top targets he could be someone the Vols push hard for in an effort to simply add another super-talented player regardless of position

Jay is an FSU commitment whose plan all along was to take other OVs in January, and after some of the Vols staff visited him in December he stated that at least both Tennessee and UF would get visits. FSU isn’t giving up here though, so this will be a battle for the Vols should they continue to try and remain players here.

February signees: Tier II

Tennessee made an effort to add to its board over the course of December, offering a handful of other players that might be second or even third options at their respective positions:

1. LB Octavius Brothers
2. WR Arjei Henderson
3. WR George Pickens
4. WR Xavier Legette
5. WR Dywan Griffin
6. WR Javonta Payton
7. RB A’Montae Spivey

Brothers, a former UCF commitment, is a good-looking prospect and plans to OV to Tennessee the weekend of 1/19.  His spot will depend on the status of Lakia Henry’s commitment as well as what’s going on with Russell and To’oto’to.

The fact that there are four WRs on this list shouldn’t be a surprise, as Tennessee only signed two WRs and likely would prefer to add one more if the right one wants to jump in the boat.  Pickens is an Auburn commit who is easily the top prospect of the four, and even though he says he is solid to AU, he also says will take OVs in January, with Tennessee strongly in the mix to get one. Of the four, Payton seems the least likely given that it sounds like he was set to sign with the Vols but due to concerns about his academics – unclear if it’s his inability to be a January enrollee or to actually graduate in May – Tennessee elected not to sign him. 

Spivey is an Arkansas commitment from Alabama who had an outstanding senior season and has gotten additional SEC attention, including at least a little from Tennessee, in December.  It’s unclear how serious the Vols might be about him, but we know that they were trying to add a second RB to go with Gray but just couldn’t get traction with DJ Williams (AU signee) and were too late to the party with Noah Cain (PSU).  

It should also be expected that Tennessee tries to get involved with some prospects who didn’t sign anywhere, whether they are technically committed elsewhere or not.  The Vols staff visited 5-star FSU CB commit Akeem Dent during the open period.  DL Byron Young (from MS) and LB Christian Williams (from AL) are unsigned Alabama commitments who the staff could at least make a call on.  Mark Anthony-Richards and Jamious Griffin are two 4-star RBs who are unsigned, in Griffin’s case despite his commitment to NCSU.  Finally, Tennessee could look further into the JUCO ranks, specifically for DL. Chester Graves is the #2 overall JUCO in the country, and while the Kansas City native is considered a Missouri lean he obviously didn’t sign with the Tigers on Wednesday.  Tony Fair is a former Nebraska DT commit who wasn’t able to sign because of grade concerns, but should he get those in order (sounds like NU couldn’t take the chance that he didn’t pass a ton of hours in one semester) he could be another to look at.  All of the above except Dent – who is likely a longshot – are 100% speculative, but one can be sure that Pruitt and the staff won’t leave any stone unturned.

One other interesting note is that of the four available official visit weekends in January/February, Tennessee will have two afternoon home basketball games, against Alabama on January 19^th and against West Virginia on January 26^th.  Tennessee will certainly take advantage of what will likely be near sold-out crowds in Thompson Boiling Arena by bringing official visitors to see what kind of fan support Vol Nation brings.  Those kinds of things aren’t going to swing a recruit’s decision one way or the other on their own, but they definitely contribute to a prospect’s enjoyment of his visit.

Much will be cleared up between now and January 5^th when Crouch and Bogle, among others, commit.  From there it will be a sprint to the finish for Tennessee to use its remaining spots in this class to take it from good to great and really jumpstart the rebuild for Jeremy Pruitt.