Author Archives: Brad Shepard

Tennessee Recruiting: Vols Get Cross in Recruiting

Every year, there are a few commitments who come out of nowhere. Those guys either become big-time recruits, or they get recruited over late in the game. It’s all part of the process.

Tennessee got an out-of-the-blue pledge on Monday when Orlando cornerback Brandon Cross pledged to UT over offers from Mississippi State, Missouri, Florida Atlantic and others. The 5’10”, 185-pound defensive back is a 3-star player according to 247Sports and the nation’s No. 1,114-ranked player in the country. That may seem puzzling on its surface for UT to take a player ranked there at this point, but last year, the Vols received commitments from Cheyenne Labruzza, Shawn Shamburger and Terrell Bailey.

https://twitter.com/iambcross/status/874412647449595908

Teams like LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame and others came after those kids late in the game; they stayed true to the Vols.

With UT needing defensive backs and only Shatar McClay (who reportedly has grade issues) in the fold, Cross’s pledge was one the Vols were thrilled about. You could tell by their reaction on Twitter. Also, considering Cross is small in stature, they must love his game.

Last year, Tennessee signed tight end James Brown from the same high school — Jones HS in Orlando — so you know the Vols have seen a lot of Cross. Obviously, they liked what they saw, as evidenced by their Twitter reaction.

https://twitter.com/UTCoachG/status/874417028806971393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftennessee.247sports.com%2FContentGallery%2FTwitter-reaction-Coaches-celebrate-Tennessee-Vols-football-landi-53150061

https://twitter.com/UTWWells/status/874418042662506497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftennessee.247sports.com%2FContentGallery%2FTwitter-reaction-Coaches-celebrate-Tennessee-Vols-football-landi-53150061

As you know by now, the Vols [nor any other teams, for that matter] care what you think about star ratings. They go off their own evaluations, and while UT hasn’t been able to break through with any championships lately, they are winning nine games the past couple of years, so obviously, the evaluations aren’t bad. We’ll see if Cross winds up being a jewel or somebody who the Vols wind up recruiting over.

He’s a kid who wanted to come to UT, and he’s a kid UT wanted. It’s going to be interesting to see if he blows up and becomes a kid with a huge offer sheet. He’s going to be visiting Knoxville for Orange Carpet Day, according to VolQuest.com’s Austin Price.

“I have a vision because of James and I know he is going to lie to me. I know it’s going to feel like home. I can’t wait to vibe with players and coaches. It’s going to be my home for the next four years.”

The Cross news is at least some good news after the decision of 4-star, in-state running back Master Teague choosing Ohio State over the Vols (Georgia, Auburn and others) on Sunday after receiving an offer in Columbus over the weekend. That was a big blow to UT, who now probably turns its focus at running back onto Lyn-J Dixon, Anthony Grant and Tae Provens.

Glad to have Cross aboard!

Tennessee Recruiting: Friday Comes Early

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Not only is Tennessee’s new-look coaching staff off to a great start in the 2018 recruiting class, it’s also doing work for the future as well.

Earlier in the week, UT got a surprising commitment from Florida sophomore Leonard Manuel, who is one of the top playmakers in the 2020 class who had offers from the Big Three in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and many, many others. The Vols will have to work incredibly hard over the next three years to keep him in the fold, but he has a great relationship with Tennessee wide receivers coach Kevin Beard, so UT should have a strong chance to hang on.

Then on Thursday, the Vols went ahead and got another pledge from a top-shelf offensive star in that 2020 class. (That’s right, these kids are rising SOPHOMORES IN HIGH SCHOOL). That would be Georgia running back Miles Friday, of Peachtree Ridge High School outside of Atlanta. The 5’11”, 172-pound running back is an elite talent with great shiftiness who had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and others.

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Friday noted a great relationship with UT RBs coach Robert Gillespie, and he could wind up being the same type of player as Alvin Kamara. Of course, there’s a looooooooooong way to go between now and National Signing Day 2020. Friday could turn into the nation’s top recruit or fall off the face of the recruiting world. The Vols could be defending national champion, or Butch Jones, Gillespie and crew could be coaching elsewhere. Heck, Jesus could come.

So, while it’s hard to get giddy about kids in the ’20 class, these are two very, VERY good prospects who are big gets for the Vols.

Not all the news this week has been great. After Mississippi defensive back Jaylon Reed decommitted from this year’s class, he now appears to be looking heavily at Alabama and Ole Miss, among others. He’s keeping Tennessee on his radar, but this smells a lot like the Jashaun Corbin situation, where the running back decommitted from UT and pledged to Florida State not long afterward.

Reed may not get out of the state of Mississippi where the Rebels and Bulldogs are on him, but that Alabama offer is one he likes a lot, too. Look for UT to move on.

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Defensive Backs

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee defensive backs depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the defensive backs.

Tennessee Defensive Backs

A season ago, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez didn’t see eye to eye on scheme or philosophy. Fast-forward a year later, and Shoop is getting used to a new DBs coach in former North Carolina assistant Charlton Warren, who hopes to take all that talent the Vols have accumulated on the back end and mold it into something much better than it’s been the past couple of seasons.

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Teaching the defensive backs to turn their heads around and actually look for the ball would be a start. Outside of Cameron Sutton, finding actual, impressive development among UT’s defensive backs during the Martinez era is difficult. The Vols simply struggled at cornerback and safety despite recruiting fairly well at the position.

Now, Warren must try to help those guys regain their form they displayed as top recruits, especially with Sutton now in camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at what UT has on the third level.

Cornerbacks

The post-Sutton era may be a bit rocky, but it certainly doesn’t have to be, especially considering the Vols got a very big boost with a graduate transfer who should step right in and not only help right away but start. That would be Shaq Wiggins, who will be playing for his third program after starting his career with Georgia before leaving Athens for Louisville along with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Though Grantham and defensive backs coach Terrell Buckley tried to get Wiggins to follow them to Mississippi State, he elected to finish his career in Knoxville, where he has some friends, including former UT running back Alvin Kamara, who helped recruit Wiggins to UT. He’ll have every opportunity to win one of the starting corner jobs, and the Vols are thrilled to have a player with his talent and experience to insert into a rotation needing an alpha. In three seasons, Wiggins has 57 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss and four interceptions. The 5’10”, 172-pound senior needs a big year for Warren on Rocky Top.

Also at cornerback, the Vols have a pair of rising seniors who’ve experienced up-and-down careers at UT and need to finish on a high note. Both are talented enough to, but neither have been very dependable as of yet. I’m talking about Emmanuel Moseley and Justin Martin.

The latter of the two came in with huge fan fare as a 4-star prospect who was recruited by virtually everybody in the Southeast and seemed set to go to LSU before John Chavis left for Texas A&M. As it turned out, the former Overton High School standout came back from his Oklahoma JUCO to Tennessee, and the Vols thought they were getting a stud in Martin. Throughout his first two years, it hasn’t panned out that way. However, he admittedly has grown up a lot. He told GoVols247’s Wes Rucker this spring that the arrival of Warren really helped with a fresh start.

“In particular, I think what made everything click was, really, this is my last year, and I knew I could do it,” he said. “I knew I was talented and capable enough to do it, but just getting a fresh start with the new coaching staff, that was pretty much it. Coach Warren is a real good coach. I appreciate him.”

After a spring where he balled out and was not only one of the best defensive backs but one of the best players on the team, Martin looks poised for a big senior year. It would be big news for UT if he lived up to the athleticism that once had him as an NFL prospect.

As for Moseley, he started his career at UT in just the opposite way. He was a 2-star player committed to Charlotte when the Vols flipped him, and though he wound up a 3-star, he was largely overlooked as a skinny defender. However, Moseley added weight quickly, stepped right in and started some games as a true freshman. It looked like his career was ready to take off. But he sort of plateaued, and he’s never really gotten over the hump. In 2016, he had 57 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss but had no interceptions. He’s the poster boy for not getting his head around, and teams have picked on him because of it. If he can get his mechanics down, Moseley could end in good fashion. He’s definitely proven he has the talent to.

Those are the big three at cornerback and the guys who should get the most reps for the Vols if everything falls the way they think. But there’s talent behind them. First, I’m excited to see sophomore Baylen Buchanan develop. He was forced into action too early a season ago, but the son of Ray Buchanan has a lot of talent, and he should get better under Warren’s tutelage. Senior former JUCO transfer D.J. Henderson looks like he’s more of a special teams player, but he could possibly play in a pinch.

At nickelback, the Vols simply must stay healthy and get better play than they had a season ago. Rashaan Gaulden, a 6’1″, 185-pound redshirt junior, has immense potential and was one of UT’s best defenders a season ago with 68 tackles and six tackles for a loss. But he needs more difference-making, game-changing plays. Actually, UT needs that from everybody on the back end, but Gaulden should be a leader who steps up and provides that. Behind him, Marquill Osborne enters his sophomore year with a chance to get on the field and make a difference. He has the versatility to play cornerback or nickel, and Osborne is too talented not to be in the rotation. In a pinch, Micah Abernathy has proven he can play nickelback as well, though the Vols would love for him to stay at safety.

UT wound up with three cornerbacks in the 2017 recruiting class, and though none of the signees were higher than 3-star players, they had huge offer sheets, and the Vols had to fend off big programs to keep them in the fold. It all starts with Louisiana product Cheyenne Labruzza, who was wanted by home-state LSU as well as Florida, but he committed to UT early and stuck through the Vols even when they got rid of Martinez. He has the potential to be an immediate-impact player if some of the upperclassmen falter. Then, there’s little-recruited Shawn Shamburger, who fans gave a collective “WHO?” when he committed. Toward the end of the recruiting process, however, in-state Georgia and Kirby Smart tried to get him to visit Athens and steal him late in the process. He also stayed true to his pledge. Terrell Bailey is another Louisiana product who was coveted by Notre Dame late in the process but came to UT.

The Vols love their cornerbacks class, and those guys are going to have the opportunity to come in and fit in.

“I really am excited to watch these guys,” Shoop said at the Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga recently, according to GoVols247’s Patrick Brown. “I haven’t seen them do anything athletically, I have to say, but Labruzza makes such a positive first impression. We’re talking about a 4.0 student, high character, smart, tough, unselfish. I feel the same way about Sham and Terrell. All three of those guys, they know they’re in a position to compete.”

Safeties

At safety, the Vols should be able to go four deep with a pretty strong unit if they’d play up to their potential, and a pair of youngsters could help as well.

Senior Todd Kelly Jr. needs to have a big year. The 5’11”, 208-pound enforcer has eight interceptions in his career, but he needs to get a step quicker and make a difference on the back end more consistently than he has in the past. Kelly is a sure tackler who had 71 a season ago, and he has the potential to be an elite player on the back end. He just needs to take the next step. He’s more of a linebacker on the third level, and he needs to anticipate plays a little quicker than he has. Still, that’s nitpicking considering TK has been UT’s biggest playmaker besides Sutton throughout his career. He’s a leader and a solid contributor who you can write in ink as a starter. 

He needs to will UT’s secondary to a better season with his play and his leadership.

The guy everybody wants to see is sophomore Nigel Warrior, who took a huge leap this past spring after a freshman year where he struggled to stay on the field due to his inability to get lined up and grasp the scheme quickly. Now, with a year in the system, it appeared a light came on for Warrior during these 15 film sessions. He’s easily the most talented player in Tennessee’s secondary, and if he can click the way many expect he will, he’s a guy who could develop into an All-SEC player in a hurry. There’s a reason why Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, LSU and everybody else wanted him. But Warrior is Dale Carter’s son, and the Vols legend’s legacy seemed destined to wind up in Knoxville. Now, it’s time for him to dominate.

The duo of quality backups should be Micah Abernathy, who started a lot of games a season ago, and special teams monster Evan Berry, who spent most of 2016 injured. Abernathy is a quality player who very easily could be a starter as a junior, and he’ll probably be in the lineup in his fair share of games. The 6’0″, 195-pound junior started 10 games a season ago and finished with 69 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two interceptions. Warrior may well be too talented to keep out of the starting lineup, but don’t expect Abernathy to give it up easily. It’s excellent to have a player of his ilk back there, even if he’s a versatile guy who provides quality snaps off the bench.

Then there’s Berry, who is one of the best kick returners in the nation. In the bowl game two years ago, it looked like a light was coming on for him at safety where he was playing fast and furious. Last year, it just never came together. He played in nine games, starting three at free safety. He needs to be a lot more consistent on defense, but if he can be, his elite athleticism will help with key reps.

That leaves the two freshmen, including LaVergne’s Maleik Gray, who is one of the prize recruits of this past cycle. The 4-star player chose UT over tons of offers, and the Vols came on and swept him away from Florida State and USC, his early favorites. He could grow into a linebacker, but the Vols want him to stay at safety, where they expect him to be a playmaker soon. He’ll at least help on special teams this year and has the potential to crack the rotation. Then there’s Theo Jackson, who is also from the Midstate. While he probably needs a year in the weight room and a redshirt, he’s a guy the Vols love, and he could be a steal. Jackson is a player who could start a lot of games down the road.

Conclusion

If you look across this list, you’re probably pretty excited, right? After all, the names above are a lot of guys many of us were excited about when they committed and signed. Names like Warrior, Gray, Abernathy, Kelly, etc., were huge recruiting wins.

It’s time for them to be difference-makers on Saturday.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of fans who were thrilled with Martinez’s coaching the past couple of years, and now that he’s gone, a lot is expected of Warren. He was a good hire by most accounts, and he’s got a lot of talent with which to work. If that sounds familiar, the same was said for Shoop a season ago, and we all know how that worked out.

It’s time for a lot of these kids to play like they deserve scholarships, and it’s time for the coaches to coach like they deserve their salary. Above, you see a lot of big names and some decent statistics, but the Vols need game-breaking, drive-killing plays from their secondary. Those have been missing throughout the past couple of seasons, and UT needs to get back to that. This is the unit that has the potential to carry the defense.

It needs to do it.

Prediction

CB — Shaq Wiggins, Emmanuel Moseley, Baylen Buchanan
CB — Justin Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, Cheyenne Labruzza
NB — Rashaan Gaulden, Marquill Osborne, Micah Abernathy
S — Todd Kelly Jr., Micah Abernathy, Maleik Gray
S — Nigel Warrior, Micah Abernathy, Evan Berry

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Linebackers

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee linebackers depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the linebackers.

Tennessee Linebackers

As if you didn’t have enough heartburn after reading about the defensive ends, we now turn our attention to the second level of the defense, where it’s Darrin Kirkland Jr. and a whole lot of unproven players.

All is not lost, however. There is plenty of talent, even if it’s unproven talent. And this is a position where the Vols absolutely must be leaps and bounds better than they were in 2016, which hit the ditch after Jalen Reeves-Maybin was lost for the season following a fluke special-teams injury and Kirkland failed to ever return to form after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Battle at Bristol.

While all the injuries and lack of depth on the defensive interior were a huge factor to UT’s defensive decline, the setbacks at linebacker hurt, too. Those things combined are why Tennessee wound up with the worst rush defense in school history and also ranked No. 95 in the country in total defense (449.2 ypg) and No. 78 in yards per play (5.84).

Those are numbers defensive coordinator Bob Shoop knows must turn around.

“I think I might have built some unrealistic expectations, and when we got guys injured, maybe the guy calling the shots was a little bit stubborn,” Shoop told VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton. “I think I really wanted to force a fit, that, ‘This is my style of defense.’ I probably didn’t do a great job at times of tailoring things.”

That all starts with Kirkland’s progression.

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The Veterans

As the defense’s quarterback, his hand prints are going to be all over this unit. The rising junior middle linebacker burst onto the scene with a memorable freshman year that had many UT fans thinking he would be an All-SEC player at the very least. Following the injury last year, he was mediocre at best. But he also struggled to get lined up and line up others in Shoop’s defense. After a season learning the system and a full offseason of health and weight-room training, the Indianapolis native should return to form. It’s vital that he flies all around the field making tackles, especially now that tackle gobbler JRM is out of the equation.

Kirkland’s expected mate in what generally is a nickel defense with just two ‘backers on the field at once is senior Cortez McDowell, who had an up-and-down year in ’16 but may well have wound up Tennessee’s best linebacker throughout the year, at least from a consistency standpoint. The 6’0″, 235-pound linebacker from Locust Grove, Georgia, needs to have a big year teaming with Kirkland to give UT a formidable duo.

After those two, the Vols still have a bunch of depth and talent. Thanks to the injuries, there are a few guys with experience, too. Former walk-on Colton Jumper isn’t going to thrill a lot of Vols fans with his athleticism, but he’s a steady player who is rarely out of position, even if he isn’t the best guy to have on the field in passing situations. The 6’2″, 224-pound redshirt junior led all second-level players with 61 tackles and added an interception in ’16. Whether you like him or not, he’s a good player who is going to be a great guy to have on the team for the next two years, providing depth, stability and defensive knowledge.

On the Cusp [And Others]

At outside linebacker, there are two talented Georgia boys who are returning from injury and could be depended on heavily. That would be speedy Quart’e Sapp, who suffered a knee injury a season ago that cost him the year. After showing out on special teams as a freshman, the Vols are happy to have him back for three years, and if he can return at full-speed (which he should) he has the chance to be a dynamic player who can get sideline-to-sideline and get after the quarterback from the edge, too.

The other guy is Austin Smith, a 6’3″, 236-pound versatile linebacker who can line up at strong-side in traditional 4-3 sets or even put his hand down at defensive end with the Vols short on depth there. Smith is a guy who was wanted by teams like Florida and Georgia out of high school, and he’s never truly been completely healthy. It’ll be fun to see him now that he is.

An exciting player with a lot of upside is 6’3″, 235-pound sophomore Daniel Bituli, who looked terrific this spring, is really in shape and should provide a lot of depth and talent behind Kirkland in the middle of the defense. If he emerges, he could enable Jumper to shift outside and help out there. Bituli is too talented to keep off the field for a Vols team needing difference-makers on the second level. He’s one of the players I’m most excited to see in 2017.

Though senior Elliott Berry wasn’t expected to make much of an impact in his career as the less-heralded of the two Berry twins, he helped a ton in ’16, lending an able body and playing 13 games while starting four, finishing with 34 tackles and 3.5 for a loss. He’s not an explosive player, but at 5’11”, 222 pounds and with three years under his belt, he can provide much-needed experienced depth and quality snaps.

Still, despite the experience brought by Jumper and Berry, the Vols can put more talented guys on the field. That’s not a knock on those two, but the guys who shone a season ago were on a bad unit that was often shredded by the opponent, even Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri. It also remains to be seen if UT is ever going to get anything out of former 4-star recruit, legacy and heavily recruited outside linebacker Dillon Bates. Also, redshirt freshman Ja’Quain Blakely could wind up being in the equation somewhere, but he’s yet to carve out a firm position in the depth chart.

That’s why the Vols brought in three talented linebackers, and it isn’t out of the question that one or more of them could see the field. 

Youngsters

It starts with mid-term enrollee Shanon Reid of South Florida, who was coveted by LSU, Florida and others. He chose the Vols, and after going through a spring practice, he may be able to provide some help at least on special teams and maybe on the outside in a pinch. He’s 6’0″, 205 pounds, but while he isn’t the biggest guy, he is fast and makes plays.

Tennessee also won a battle with LSU, Auburn and others to sign New Market, Alabama, linebacker Will Ignont, who, at one time, was one of the most heavily recruited ‘backers in the country. That was during his junior year, but he put on some bad weight, left for IMG Academy in Florida and then came back home to Buckhorn High School, where he played for a mediocre team. However, after shedding the bad weight and getting back to his old self, several schools turned up the heat recruiting him again. The Vols stayed on him through all that, and he developed a great relationship with position coach Tommy Thigpen which ultimately helped UT land him. Now, the Vols think they’ve got a steal, and he projects to play in the middle with Kirkland and Bituli.

Finally, nobody heard much about Solon Page III during the recruiting process. He was one of UT’s earliest commitments, was firm the whole way and never was heavily recruited by major schools because of it. Though he was a low 3-star player who didn’t get much love from the services, all he did was go out and win Class AAAAA defensive player of the year and first-team all-state honors in Georgia. He was also a Parade All-American, despite not being ranked highly by any of the services. Though he’s just 6’2″, 205 pounds, UT thinks it got a steal out of Page. He will be able to redshirt this season unless he helps on special teams, and the future is very bright for him.

The Vols have no shortage of bodies at linebacker, and considering they normally only have two on the field at once, you’d think they should be able to find two difference-makers who can make things happen and accumulate the tackles that were missed a season ago. If not, it’s an indictment to their recruiting because on paper it sure looks like they’ve got some players with bright futures.

Prediction

MLB – Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Colton Jumper, Will Ignont
WLB – Cortez McDowell, Quart’e Sapp, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry, Shanon Reid
SLB (when needed) – Austin Smith, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Defensive Line

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee defensive line depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the defensive line

Defensive end

Life without Derek Barnett isn’t going to be easy.

Though Tennessee is beginning to recruit to the defensive line very well again with Brady Hoke replacing Steve Stripling coaching the position, there’s going to be a bit of a lull in 2017 along the defensive front as the Vols look to replace generational pass-rusher Barnett — who wound up a first-round pick by the Eagles — and Corey Vereen, who did a nice job coming off the other edge. LaTroy Lewis, who is looking to latch on with the Raiders, was an underrated loss, too.

So, while UT could be in excellent position in the interior if the defensive tackles come back strong and remain healthy, getting to the passer is going to be an issue unless some unknowns emerge and live up to their massive potential.

Staying on the outside, let’s discuss some of those names who must have impact seasons for the Vols to be strong on the defensive front. Jonathan Kongbo, a 6’6″, 270-pound lineman who was moved around and played a lot on the interior of the line a season ago, is going to move back to defensive end where he was the nation’s top-ranked JUCO player a season ago. Though he had just 11 tackles and a sack in 2016, he began to tap into some of that limitless potential at the end of the season. He intercepted a Drew Lock pass and took it back 59 yards for a touchdown to show his athleticism, and after a year in the weight room, he looked strong this spring at defensive end. The Vols need for him to make his presence felt early and often.

The other two guys who were top-shelf recruits who haven’t yet touched what they were supposed to be are junior Kyle Phillips and redshirt sophomore Darrell Taylor. Both will have every opportunity to play a lot of snaps at end if they’re healthy. Let’s start with Phillips, a former 5-star talent wanted by everybody in the country who chose UT over LSU and others. Though his first two years have been disappointing and injury-riddled, the 6’4″, 259-pound lineman has the opportunity to show everybody why he was so heavily recruited. To do that, he needs to move past the shoulder injuries and produce on the field. As for Taylor, he’s got another year of eligibility considering he redshirted a year, and the 6’4″, 240-pound edge-rusher with a strong burst should lock down a starting role right away.

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Beyond Kongbo, Phillips and Taylor, it’s anybody’s guess where the depth will come. Deandre Johnson is a mid-term freshman who originally committed to Mississippi State before the Vols flipped him. The Miami product was coveted by a bunch of high-profile teams when he committed to the Vols, and he looked like he could possibly help out this spring. With so few bodies, he almost has to. At 6’4″, 235 pounds, he needs to get into the weight room and work out as if he’s going to be in the two-deep rotation because he just might. Redshirt freshman Mykelle McDaniel is another player who may wind up in the rotation. He was a late addition to UT, and after being disciplined in December for a violation of team rules, it was unclear what his future would be with the team. If he’s back and in good stead, he may wind up being a player for the Vols.

Of all the prospects UT has coming in (Matthew Butler, Kivon Bennett, Ryan Thaxton and Marquez Bembry), Butler without question has the clearest path and the best chance at immediate playing time. At 6’4″, 280 pounds and built like a brick wall, the Garner, North Carolina, native has impressed coaches early with his in-shape arrival. He’s a guy who the Vols were thrilled to get, and Butler may wind up contributing right away. He may have to along with Johnson. Bennett — the son of former Alabama and Buffalo Bills great Cornelius “Biscuit” Bennett — is a likely redshirt candidate to do some body reshaping, and though the Vols would love for a speed-rusher like Bembry to be ready in ’17, coming off a knee injury, he may need some extra time as well. That leaves Thaxton, who looked great in street clothes at the spring game, but he wasn’t one of the two guys defensive coordinator Bob Shoop mentioned at a recent Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga.

That would be Butler and Johnson.

“Probably the guy who’s maybe the most ready for the 2017 season as a rookie is the Butler kid, Matt Butler,” Shoop said Saturday afternoon during Tennessee’s opening big Orange Caravan stop at First Tennessee Pavilion, according to GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan. “He’s kind of come in on a mission. He’s very mature, very driven, has a mindset as if he wants to — it’s not in his mindset to redshirt. That’s not part of his vocabulary.

“He’d like to compete with these guys and see what happens.”

That would mean a defensive end rotation of Kongbo, Phillips, Taylor, Butler and Johnson with the potential of the Vols going to a jumbo package and moving a guy like Quay Picou or perhaps Alexis Johnson out there. It’s also possible outside linebacker Austin Smith, who played some defensive end a season ago before getting hurt, could play with his hand down as well. The Vols could use another body or two at the position, but the youngsters need some time to develop.

Defensive tackle

At tackle, it has the potential to be a completely different story if Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle come back healthy. For McKenzie, that shouldn’t be an issue. It’s just a matter of playing at the form of his former 5-star recruit status. So far, he’s not come anywhere near matching the “can’t-miss” label he had when he came in to Knoxville. He lost weight before his first season, and after working on his technique last year, he’s a junior and a prime breakout candidate. The Vols certainly need him to be the big, strong run-stopper he was tabbed to be. He played in just seven games before tearing his pectoral muscle against Alabama and being lost for the season. 

Tuttle, on the other hand, has shown flashes of being one of the most dominant defensive players on the team when he’s healthy during his first two seasons. Problem is, he hasn’t been healthy much, suffering season-ending injuries both years. The 6’2″, 311-pound junior has played just 13 games in two years, and the Vols desperately want to see him healthy and on the field. Still, his status is up in the air entering the fall.

Beyond those two, the Vols have plenty of strong-looking depth on the inside. One of the most underrated players on the entire team is rising redshirt senior Kendal Vickers, who reshaped his body from a defensive end late arriver as a freshman to a quality contributor the past two years on the interior of the line. He’ll start for the Vols in 2017, and he’s got the potential to anchor a very strong unit up the middle, especially if Tuttle and McKenzie come back healthy. Vickers is not spectacular, but he’s a steady player who is a quality starter for the Vols and a third guy if McKenzie and Tuttle live up to their potential.

Alexis Johnson looked this spring like he is going to be a big help, if not a potential sleeper starter. At 6’2″, 295 pounds, he’s in shape and plays with a burst. After missing all of last year after being suspended for personal issues, Johnson will start his UT career on the field a season late, but if he can emerge as the kind of player the Vols wanted when he was offered by Alabama, Georgia and others as one of the top JUCO defensive tackles in the country, he’ll pay major dividends.

Picou’s athleticism is something that is exciting to project as well. He was forced into action as a true freshman long before he was ready, and that essentially burned a year of his eligibility. Now, the 6’1″, 277-pound lineman should be firmly in the rotation as a junior, and there’s at least a possibility he could slide outside some though he doesn’t have the speed to get to the quarterback much. He’s a player who should help the Vols a lot in his final two years. Finally, Paul Bain is a 6’5″, 290-pound redshirt junior who transferred from Tusculum and is a guy who showed flashes in orange a year ago. Though he isn’t a sexy pick, Bain is a good football player who will help the Vols in his final two years. All the guy does is make plays when he’s on the field, so expect him to be there.

Conclusion

A glance at Tennessee’s defensive line depth chart probably doesn’t give you the warm-and-fuzzies like it did a season ago. But with Hoke at the helm and some talent with which to work, the Vols could piecemeal a good group. Will they dominant? No, probably not. And there are A TON of ifs. But…

IF Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie return to form on the defensive interior and…

IF Darrell Taylor, Jonathan Kongbo and Kyle Phillips can show everybody why they were recruits everybody in the nation wanted and…

IF Matthew Butler and Deandre Johnson can step right in and play meaningful, quality snaps and…

IF Alexis Johnson and Kendal Vickers are more than just nice, steady players but impact SEC linemen, then…

The Vols could wind up with a good defensive line. There are plenty of reasons to worry on the defense, and though Hoke is bringing in some marquee recruits, those guys can’t help in 2017. Some magic needs to happen, and players need to step up.

Prediction

DE – Jonathan Kongbo, Kyle Phillips, Matthew Butler
DT – Shy Tuttle, Kahlil McKenzie, Paul Bain
DT – Kendal Vickers, Alexis Johnson, Quay Picou
DE – Darrell Taylor, Deandre Johnson, Mykelle McDaniel

The punter with the greatest punting name in the history of names commits to Tennessee

A punter with a very Tennessee name and a very appropriate name committed to the Volunteers out of the blue on Thursday, and he has a ranking worthy of excitement, no matter how unsexy a kicking commit is.

Skyler DeLong — that’s right, SKYler DeLONG, an awesome name for a kid who will earn his scholarship booming footballs — a punter from Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina, decided to become the 12th Tennessee pledge on Tuesday, and while he told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan that he was firmly committed, he is still visiting Alabama this weekend and drawing interest from instate Clemson, too.

Sounds like the Vols are going to have to work to keep him. Even so, DeLong sounds like he’s excited to be a Vol.

“Hopefully I’ll be getting (an offer from) N.C. State, but I think I’m totally done with my recruiting and just ready to be part of Tennessee football,” said DeLong, who’s also ranked the nation’s No. 3 punter in the 2018 class by Kohl’s Professional Camps and the nation’s No. 2 punter by Chris Sailer Kicking, according to the article from Callahan.

“There’s probably, like, 15 to 17 schools, but I just told them, ‘Yeah, I’m done with my recruiting. Tennessee is where I want to be, but I thank you so much for recruiting me,’ and stuff like that.”

The kid is the nation’s top-ranked punter, according to 247Sports, and he averaged 48 yards per punt a season ago. If UT hangs onto him, DeLong has the potential to be a huge pickup, especially considering star punter Trevor Daniel is a senior who is out of eligibility following the 2017 season.

That means there’s opportunity for DeLong to step right in and be UT’s punter from Day One.

The punter’s pledge was met with excitement from some Vols assistants.

https://twitter.com/UTWWells/status/870363758740332544

https://twitter.com/coachcanales/status/870364578068213760

If you follow those two on Twitter, they’ve got some pretty hilarious reactions to pledges.

Also, while there hasn’t been any mention in the articles about it, the punter shares a common last name with a couple of Tennessee legends. Steve and Keith DeLong were All-American Volunteers, and those who follow UT closely knows that’s a name that is up there with Majors, Colquitts and others in the history books. So, even though Skyler isn’t likely a relative of the duo, it’s still pretty cool that he shares a common (uncommon) last name.

One of the most underrated facets of football is field position, and it cannot be overstated just how much of a weapon Daniel has been for the Vols the past couple of years and how vital it is to the health of the program to continue that by getting a strong-legged punter with which to replace him.

It seems the Vols have the guy they think is the answer in DeLong. He may not be the most exciting of UT’s commitments thus far in the 2018 class, but he very well may be one of the most important.

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Offensive Line

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee offensive line depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the offensive line

OFFENSIVE LINE

The addition of Walt Wells inserted into the coaching equation for the Vols replacing Don Mahoney already has paid massive dividends on the recruiting trail. But just how far the offensive line can take Tennessee may wind up being the difference in how long this coaching regime lasts in Knoxville.

It’s that big of a deal.

Everybody wants to talk about the quarterback battle — and rightfully so — but the bottom line is UT must have MUCH better offensive line play than it has experienced in the Butch Jones era in order to be successful offensively in the post-Joshua Dobbs era. After all, the former UT dual-threat quarterback oftentimes made up for mistakes up front. That won’t be the case if Quinten Dormady wins the job because he’s more of a traditional drop-back passer, and it may not happen if Jarrett Guarantano and his inexperience win the job, either.

That’s why the Tennessee offensive line, which jokes about spending life in the shadows on social media, needs to step onto center stage in 2017.

This spring showed glimpses of reasons to be excited as UT blends a ton of talent with a wealth of experience. It may not even be out of the realm of possibility to see an upperclassman redshirt to provide depth down the road. Tennessee’s potential up front is that strong. But potential and production, as 2016 proved in every area of the Vols, are two different things. UT has a stable of versatile linemen, so where they wind up is anybody’s guess. But where’s the fun in that? Let’s take a guess at where they’ll fall when everything sorts itself out.

Left tackle

Starting at the all-important left tackle position, the job is redshirt sophomore Drew Richmond’s to lose. The former highly touted recruit suffered an up-and-down season in ’16, but he did show some signs of being the player everybody expected coming out of high school in Memphis. With an offseason in Rock Gullickson’s strength & conditioning program, Richmond could take the next step forward. Richmond has a bright future, and he seems poised to take a big step forward after a strong spring. Look for him to beat out redshirt senior Brett Kendrick for the starting job, but Kendrick is a Swiss Army knife type of player who can (and will) help at a variety of positions. If Richmond falters for any reason, Kendrick should step right in, and it would be unwise to count out the fifth-year senior. Again, he’s a guy the Vols would love to have for another season, so his last year on Rocky Top could be spent helping out everywhere. Still, this looks like Richmond’s job to lose after this spring. Don’t sleep on Marcus Tatum getting a shot at this job if Richmond falters and Kendrick is entrenched at the other tackle spot. But it would be great to get Tatum a redshirt season.

Left guard

At left guard, Kendrick could definitely find a home there, and it would be a viable option for Tennessee if the Vols viewed him as one of the five best linemen, which he certainly was during the spring. This is a position that is as up-in-the-air as any on the team, and that’s not a bad thing. With Jashon Robertson working mostly at center this spring (and looking great doing it) Kendrick may be the guy who slots in here. But I’m going with a bit of a surprise and going with the spring stud, true freshman Trey Smith. The former 5-star prospect and ESPN.com’s top-ranked overall player in the country is almost certainly going to start somewhere. He’s that good. While he’ll get all kinds of looks at right tackle, it may be best for him to start out on the interior where mistakes may not be quite so glaring. Smith is going to be a monster and a Vol great — it’s evident he has the chops to do it — and while his long-term projection is at tackle, he may work his way into the rotation right away at guard.

Center

For the past two years, UT has played Coleman Thomas most of the time at center, but after a rough junior season and an emergency appendectomy this spring, it left the door open for somebody to take over. In a bit of a surprise, veteran Jashon Robertson was that guy, stepping in and looking like a natural. It may be the position where Robertson plays on the next level, and if the Vols and Wells are truly going to go with the five best players, it’s going to be impossible to keep him off the field. The senior from Montgomery Bell Academy will be a starter either at one of the guard spots or at center. The guess here is he slots inside snapping the ball, and UT either plays Thomas behind him or tries to get a redshirt year out of the senior so he can be the man at the position next year once Robertson leaves. That’s a pie-in-the-sky situation that probably won’t come to fruition. But Thomas would easily be the sixth offensive lineman in this scenario, and he’d play a lot regardless. 

Right guard

At right guard, this looks like a two-man battle between junior Jack Jones and redshirt sophomore Venzell Boulware. Both of those guys are going to start for the Vols in the future, and one of them will win the battle this year. Boulware may be the most talented interior lineman UT has (with the exception of Smith, who is best-suited for tackle). But Jones is a technician with a mean streak and tons of strength. Rather than go home for mini-term, he stuck in Knoxville to get some extra reps with Gullickson, sensing this may be his year to make a major move. Look for it to pay major dividends for the Vols and for himself as he beats Boulware out for the gig. But Venzell is uber-talented, and he’ll start at least a couple of games somewhere this year. That’s the good thing about UT’s offensive line: there are a lot of players who can play a lot of spots and play them well.

Right tackle

Finally, at right tackle, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll step in. But if we’re going to play Smith on the inside, that means Kendrick will fit in here as the starter. Why? Because Kendrick has played the position before, and he’s a veteran with a ton of experience. So, you put him there where he’s comfortable and play Smith on the inside right away. Of course, the Vols may decide Smith has to play tackle, in which case, Kendrick could play at guard where he’s worked in practice during his career but never in a game. In case you haven’t noticed by now, the options UT has are limitless.

The depth

So, that leaves the other guys, and there is no shortage of talent. First, there’s Chance Hall, who simply hasn’t been able to stay fully healthy since a promising freshman season. If Hall regains the talent, strength and consistency that made him a young force, he’s a guy who could bust the starting lineup wide-open. There’s no reason to give up on a talent like him yet, and Hall has a lot of football left to be played in Knoxville. Surely, some of that is going to be in the starting rotation. Another viable option who could really benefit from a redshirt year after playing as a true freshman a season ago is Marcus Tatum. The Florida product in no way looked out-of-place as a fill-in tackle a season ago despite being woefully undersized. If the Vols can get away with redshirting him this season, he may wind up being a multi-year starter in the future. He’s a guy a lot of top-notch teams wanted in the recruiting process, and he’s a high-upside player who essentially wasted a season a year ago that he needs to get back.

Others who can work their way into the rotation but are currently on the outside looking in for playing time are redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson from Brentwood who is 6’6″, 275 pounds and looks like a prototypical tackle prospect in the future. Of course, that means he probably will play guard. Tennessee doesn’t always play guys where they’re expected to go, and with so many tackle bodies on the exterior of the line, Johnson may have a quicker path to playing time inside. Nathan Niehaus filled out his thin frame nicely during his redshirt year, putting on some 40 pounds, and he’s now 6’6″, 295 pounds. The great thing about the Cincinnati tackle prospect is the Vols can bring him along slowly because they don’t need him right now. He’s somebody who could get some seasoning, strength and work his way into the rotation this year or next. Devante Brooks moved over from tight end after two bad knee injuries kept him from having the athleticism necessary to catch balls in the SEC, and though he’s currently just 255 pounds, he’s an intriguing prospect who may wind up being a worthwhile project as a tackle. Finally, freshman Riley Locklear was the staff’s top-rated center prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, and the Vols are thrilled to have the West Virginia product in the fray. He’s a guy who could take over snapping the ball once Robertson and Thomas are gone.

Prediction

LT – Drew Richmond, Brett Kendrick, Marcus Tatum, Nathan Niehaus
LG – Trey Smith, Jashon Robertson, Ryan Johnson
C – Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Riley Locklear
RG – Jack Jones, Venzell Boulware, Ryan Johnson
RT – Brett Kendrick, Chance Hall, Trey Smith, Devante Brooks

** NOTE: Coleman Thomas can play guard or tackle, too.

Tennessee Continues to Churn Out Tight Ends in Recruiting

Though none of them have made a single play for the Tennessee Volunteers yet, head coach Butch Jones has found a tight end from within state borders for the third year in a row.

On Wednesday, the Vols got a much-needed and long-expected pledge from Farragut tight end Jacob Warren, a legacy whose father, James, was an offensive lineman for UT not that long ago. The athletic pass-catching weapon will need to put on 30-35 pounds and will probably benefit from a redshirt season, but he is an ideal, big-bodied athlete who has the frame to develop into a mismatch nightmare.

Now, it’s just a matter of whether Warren or either of the other two Volunteer State tight end prospects on the roster can emerge into the much-needed weapon at the position that UT needs. With former tight ends coach Larry Scott now calling the shots as the offensive coordinator, that is an exciting potential twist in the offense that could start with the emergence of senior Ethan Wolf in 2017.

If he follows through with his commitment and signs with Tennessee, Warren will join incoming freshman LaTrell Bumphus (Hardin County) and redshirt sophomore Austin Pope (Christian Academy of Knoxville) on the roster. All three were highly recruited, though none of them were 4-star prospects.

Bumphus will get his first shot on offense though teams such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida and others wanted him as a defensive end. If he flames out on that side of the ball, Bumphus could really provide a boost to the Vols off the edge on defense at a major position of need. Pope looks the part from an athleticism standpoint but needs to live in Rock Gullickson’s weight room and get stronger.

Then there’s Warren, who is 6’6″, 211 pounds and built like a receiver. However, with that massive frame, there’s nothing not to like about a prospect who could dazzle with his speed and upside at 250 pounds and has plenty of time and players in front of him to develop at his own pace. Teams such as Auburn, Oregon, Duke, Louisville, Oklahoma State and others wanted Warren; especially the Ducks where he took a visit.

In the end, he elected to stay home and follow in his father’s footsteps. Everywhere he went, he told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan he compared it to home.

“When I went to Oregon or Duke or whatever, it was kind of like, ‘Is this place going to be able to take me away from my home and away from Tennessee and everything?’” Warren said. “When I got to all my visits, none of those schools really drew me away from Tennessee. I guess Tennessee was always in the back of my mind when I went there. I was always kind of comparing them to Tennessee, so I guess none of those schools really stood out more to me than Tennessee did.”

That’s the kind of words you want to hear from a legacy, and Jones has thrived at signing those guys in his Tennessee tenure.

In a year where it looks like Jones is going to clean up instate, the Vols have added a bunch of East Tennessee flavor they hope will help the program take the big leap into the SEC Championship Game. The other two locals are 5-star offensive tackle Cade Mays and 3-star center Ollie Lane. Toss in 4-star Chattanooga [Baylor] safety Brendon Harris and ease on over into the eastern half of Middle Tennessee where stud receiver Alontae Taylor resides, and you’ve got a pretty good cadre of local boys prepared to play for the orange and white.

Warren isn’t a guy who’s going to wow you in the rankings, but he’s a player who is going to look like a great pickup a couple of years and 40 pounds from now. The Vols desperately need one or two of these instate tight ends to hit and become weapons for the future quarterbacks.

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Tight Ends

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee tight ends depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the Tight Ends.

TIGHT ENDS

Back when Butch Jones took over at Tennessee, one thing that we all expected from the jump was that the tight end would be a huge part of the offense. In my mind, I saw an NFL-style scheme with players catching the football, blocking the edge and the offense centering around dynamic mismatches like Jones had with Travis Kelce at Cincinnati.

His tenure thus far at Tennessee has been anything but.

That’s why this group enters 2017 with so much untapped potential — and that includes senior Ethan Wolf, who looks like the ultimate player at the position but has yet to live up to the expectations many heaped on him four years ago when he stepped in at UT and got starting reps immediately. The tight end position was under-utilized with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback and Mike DeBord calling plays. Hopefully, all that changes with Larry Scott.

You’d think it would. After all, Scott was UT’s tight ends coach, and he understands the value in using the big man on the edge as a target for your quarterback. Either Quinten Dormady or Jarrett Guarantano would benefit from Wolf [or somebody else] emerging at the position.

It all starts with Wolf, a 6’6″ senior from Minster, Ohio, who was a huge coup for Jones four years ago, choosing the Vols over a bunch of impressive offers. After UT got him to commit, Alabama and others came calling, but Wolf stayed strong. While he’s enjoyed a stellar career, there haven’t been any glimpses of his idol, Jason Witten, in his play, and that’s what a lot of us hoped for when we saw him get immediate playing time.

In three years, he’s totaled 67 catches for 752 yards and just four touchdowns. That’s not even averaging two catches per game. It’s hard to say that’s disappointing, but it isn’t up to Wolf’s capability. For UT’s offense to be better, he must be better. The promotion of Scott gave Wolf visions of what his role potentially could be in his final season on Rocky Top.

“I shot him a text to say congrats on the promotion and made a little joke about (getting) 10 targets a game or something like that,” Wolf told then-Chattanooga Times-Free Press and current GoVols247 reporter Patrick Brown during spring practice. “I was extremely happy for him, because he’s a guy that wants to succeed in everything that he does. He wants to get to the absolute pinnacle he can of his job

“He turned down the head coaching job at Miami to come here, and for him to be able to take that step up to the offensive coordinator, I think he’s going to succeed tremendously at it. We’re going to have a very explosive year this year offensively.”

If that’s going to happen, UT needs Wolf to be an all-around force at tight end, catching and blocking. Beyond him, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll fill the role for the Vols. Teams need more than one tight end, and if the Vols are to be multiple with different sets, they need able bodies. Last year, Jason Croom moved from wide receiver and did OK, but he’s gone to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills on a free agent contract. Now, the Vols have a handful of unproven commodities.

Starting with the other senior on the list, Jakob Johnson bounced around from linebacker to defensive end to tight end in his career, and the latter position seems to suit him OK. Though Johnson is never going to be a dynamic target, he is a good, physical blocker on the edge and could carve himself a role, especially in short-yardage situations.

After Devante Brooks moved over from tight end to offensive tackle, the Vols still have talent at receiving tight ends. Redshirt sophomore Eli Wolf is a walk-on brother of Ethan who could have a good year for UT, and redshirt freshman Austin Pope is a local product who had a lot of good offers out of Christian Academy of Knoxville. If he gets more physical this year, he could be the breakout player of the position. This spring, the younger Wolf got a lot of reps, and he will be a guy who gets on the field and makes some plays for the Vols in 2017. 

The biggest upside guys, though, are the youngsters. Pope is 6’4″, 230 pounds and extremely athletic, but he isn’t as physical as he needs to be yet to play the position. With an offseason in Rock Gullickson’s strength & conditioning program, he could really see his career take off. Though he won’t start the year as the second tight end, he’s a strong bet to seize that role as the season progresses.

UT also went out and signed two tight ends in the 2017 recruiting class that flew a bit under-the-radar. That starts with instate talent LaTrell Bumphus, a 6’4″, 240-pound athlete from Hardin County who was offered by schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia as a weak-side defensive end. Though he may wind up playing on that side of the ball for the Vols, UT told him it would give him his first crack at tight end. If Bumphus could stick there, he’ll be an extremely impressive weapon for Scott to mold. The other player in the ’17 class taken by the Vols is James Brown, a 6’3″, 221-pound tight end from Jones High School in Orlando who had very few offers when UT pulled the trigger. His only other decent offers came from South Florida and Marshall, so if he hits, he’ll definitely be a diamond find for Robert Gillespie. The former high school quarterback is only now transitioning to the position and dealt with offseason labrum surgery.

According to VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton, Brown’s position switch led to a flurry of interest, however.

“[Brown] switched from quarterback to tight end midway through his senior season. He played just a handful of games at the position, recording 10 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns. Following the release of a mini-highlight tape, Brown immediately heard from several SEC schools, including Tennessee, which ultimately offered him a scholarship late one Sunday night. About half an hour later, Brown called Scott back and committed on the spot.”

Also in that Brown article by Simonton, the player stressed Scott told him the Vols were going to use the tight end in the passing game, and he saw evidence of that in the spring game with a scoring strike to Wolf. “Before we got there, (Scott) kept on stressing to me, ‘We throw it to them. We throw it to the tight ends,’” Brown said. “Then when we got to the spring game, the tight ends caught touchdowns, so I was like, ‘Let’s go.’ I know how to catch. They’re not blocking. They’re receivers. They’re catching the football.”

The Vols need a lot of that when the season starts.

Prediction

First team: Ethan Wolf, Second Team: Eli Wolf, Third Team: Austin Pope. Jakob Johnson, LaTrell Bumphus, James Brown

What Brendon Harris’s Commitment Means for the Vols

A year after Tennessee head coach Butch Jones struggled to keep instate players at home, he’s racking up on the trail in the Volunteer State in the 2018 cycle.

That trend continued Friday with the pledge of 4-star Chattanooga [Baylor School] safety Brendon Harris, who is an elite defensive back coveted by top teams in the country such as Clemson, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State. In the end, he cited “loyalty” as a reason for committing to the Vols.

https://twitter.com/harrisbrendon2/status/865600481913053185

Harris is 6’1″, 205 pounds and hits like a linebacker. He’s super-intelligent and is also fast and very good in coverage. On 247Sports, he’s the 151st-rated overall player in the country and in the top 70 on Rivals. Though he’s not quite a can’t-miss star, he’s close, and he comes from a program in Chattanooga that has been very good to the Vols in the past. His defensive coordinator with the Red Raiders is former UT great Eric Westmoreland.

Harris is the sixth pledge for the Vols from Tennessee in an ’18 class that is loaded within state borders, joining 5-star lineman Cade Mays, 4-star receiver Alontae Taylor, 4-star defensive tackle Brant Lawless, 3-star offensive lineman Ollie Lane and 3-star safety Shatar McClay. Major targets such as 4-star defensive end Greg Emerson, 4-star running back Master Teague, 4-star offensive lineman Jerome Carvin, 3-star tight end Jacob Warren and 3-star linebacker Cam Jones, among others, remain on the board. It could be a year where the Vols wind up with 12-14 Tennessee boys to fill out a class.

This is huge news for Jones, who obviously has pushed the right buttons repairing any rocky relationships with prospects with these new assistant coaching hires. Tommy Thigpen still has a presence instate, but the additions of Walt Wells and Charlton Warren are paying dividends. Harris developed a relationship with Warren that was big for the Vols. Though Clemson and Ohio State were pushing Harris hard, he is a Tennessee boy who wanted to play for his home state.

That’s the message Jones is selling, and kids are listening. Last year, that wasn’t the case. Thus far, the only Volunteer State prospects that Tennessee desperately wanted and haven’t landed are offensive lineman Max Wray (Ohio State) and 4-star defensive end Jordan Davis of Memphis. The Vols are still trying hard to flip Davis, and he’s visited Knoxville recently, despite being firm to the Crimson Tide. Though getting Teague over Georgia and Auburn may be a battle, UT is heavy favorites for its other top instate targets.

On the field, this is a major win for Warren, who needs to revamp the secondary. The Vols should be able to find some playmakers among rookies Shawn Shamburger, Cheyenne Labruzza and Terrell Bailey at cornerback from the ’17 class. Then, Maleik Gray is an elite safety prospect, and Theo Jackson looks like a safety all the way, too. Add Harris into the fray along with Gray, Jackson and rising sophomore Nigel Warrior, and Tennessee looks extremely athletic on the back end.

Maybe with Willie Martinez gone, those guys may actually develop. The Vols paid Warren big money to get him away from North Carolina, and are banking on that.

As for today’s pledge, Harris is massive on many different levels. Right now, Tennessee remains extremely hot in recruiting, even though it lost Jashaun Corbin earlier this week. The Vols have a lot of momentum, and they should keep it going.