Category Archives: Football

With the month of May coming to a close and Tennessee sitting on 6 public commitments after the recent addition of JUCO DB Art Green, the Vols have a class that significantly favors quality over quantity at this point.  With the top two JUCOs in the country (Green and DE Jordan Davis) along with a Top 5 QB in the country, a 4-star DL, a potentially elite Slot WR in Jimmy Calloway, and one of the best Longsnappers in the country, there is absolutely zero fat in this class so far.  But, after losing a handful of bigtime prospects for whom they were in deep with, including DL Justin Rogers, OL Tate Ratledge, and WR Rakim Jarrett – not to mention the commitment of RB Ebony Jackson – the month of June is expected to be, and needs to be, a profitable one for Coach Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee.  In fact, given the accelerated recruiting calendar these days, with spring/summer official visits and the December signing period, it’s almost a must that the Vols come out of June with some tangible results.  Below are some story lines to watch as Tennessee’s camps get started this coming weekend:

Vols would like to see some instate players camp

As opposed to the class of 2019, Pruitt and his staff are clearly enamored with more than a few instate players.  At the same time, there is a group of instate players with multiple Power 5 and even SEC offers that don’t yet have an offer from the Vols.  Some do have a Tennessee offer but so far the Vols aren’t pushing as hard as others, and Pruitt’s staff would love for them to come camp in Knoxville and earn it:

DL Derrell Bailey (camping this weekend), Corbet Mims (recent offer), and Michael Reese (offer).  Dallas Walker is another instate DL who Tennessee has offered but so far isn’t pursuing as hard as even the likes of Auburn and Florida.

DBs De’Arre McDonald (will definitely camp, date TBD), Devonte Nelson, Dajean Gibson, and Yukari Blanchard are all interesting DB prospects.  Tennessee would surely love to add to its DB board, and if they could do it with an instate player(s) who earned an offer via a camp performance all the better.

Offensive skill players Darrin Turner and Elijah Young both have Vol offers but right now aren’t being heavily recruited by Tennessee.  That could change if either or both of them showed out at camp.  There’s really no good reason for Young – a Knoxville-area native – not to do so.

OL Marcus Henderson has seen his recruitment slow down a bit and likely doesn’t committable offers right now from the big name on his list, including Tennessee.  Were he to make the cross-state trek from Memphis and perform well, however (ala Melvin McBride last year), that could change.  Same for fellow Memphian, White Station Spartan OL Ray Curry.

Not all of these guys will camp, but the ones that do – especially those without offers – could find themselves being heavily targeted by Tennessee and could quickly reshape UT’s overall board.

Priority instate targets could make decisions

As noted, the Vols would love to build the foundation of its class with instate players, and OL Cooper Mays and Chris Morris,S Keshawn Lawrence, and DL Tyler Baron, Jay Hardy, and Reggie Grimes are arguably Tennessee’s top targets from the Volunteer State.  Morris has already said he will be back to Knoxville to camp in June after visiting the first weekend of May, and likely will take a summer official visit as well.  The others, with the exception of Grimes, have Tennessee right at the top of their respective lists and have developed a bond among the four of them especially while jointly visiting Knoxville on multiple unofficial visits.  They’ve also each flirted with the idea of committing this summer, and were one to take the plunge and commit to Tennessee it could create a tsunami among the rest (as well as others).  Obviously the Tennessee staff would like to at least get them back to campus this summer, but ideally would Tennessee would love for them to jump onboard. 

OL Board will really take shape

After a tremendous OL haul in the class of 2019 that came after adding at least two future multiple-year starters (plus a grad transfer) in the class of 2018, Tennessee is likely being extremely picky with its OL spots and take no more than four, if that.  With Ratledge committing to UGA, Mays and Morris are easily the Top 2 OL on the board for the Vols.  As discussed above, one or both of them could do something this coming month or close to it.  Either way, along with targets like Joshua Jones (who just put the Vols in his Top 6) and Denadre Buford, the OL below will see some action in their recruitment in June:

Bigtime OL Xavier Hill will take his official visit to Knoxville the weekend of June 14^th.  He’s been to Knoxville once already and has also taken an OV to LSU.  He had once considered a May commitment – many thought Alabama was in the driver’s seat – but backed off of that.  However, he’ll be at Texas A&M this coming weekend and then at Alabama for a mid-week visit right after his trip to Tennessee, so with those visits in the can he may be ready to make a decision soon.

Tennessee has also recently added two JUCO OL to its board, both from ASA College in Brooklyn, the former home of Tennessee’s director of programming for football Joe Osovet.  Both Tariq Stewart and Antwan Reed will make unofficial visits to Knoxville the weekend of June 14^th and depending on how the trips go and how they look physically one or both could become serious targets.

Richie Leonard will OV to Kentucky on the weekend of June 8^th and is working on setting up OVs to Tennessee (he visited in April unofficially) and likely FSU after just OV’ing to Georgia Tech this past weekend.  He’ll then decide over the 4^th of July weekend.  Miami, UCF, Louisville, West Virginia and Washington State are contenders as well.

Newly minted 4-star Marcus Dumervil plans to visit Tennessee this month, along with Ohio State and UGA.  Alabama, OU and LSU (already visited both officially) in mix as well.  Dumervil hails from St Thomas Aquias HS in Florida, the alma mater of current Vols Josh Palmer and Kivon Bennett, so Tennessee certainly has a tie there. 

Javion Cohen, who visited Knoxville back in February before committing to, and subsequently decommitting from, South Carolina, is fresh off an OV to Georgia Tech this past weekend along with Leonard.  He’s got OVs set for homestate (and presumed leader) Auburn this weekend and Florida the weekend of June 15^th, so if the Vols want to stay in that race they’ll need to get him back to campus soon.

Josh Remetich from New Orleans will camp after receiving an offer this month. He’s got some lower-end SEC, ACC and Big 10 offers so it will be great for the staff to see him in person to evaluate.

Other targets will camp and/or visit

Undoubtedly dozens of prospects from the classes of 2020 and beyond will make their way to Knoxville during the month of June, many of whom don’t yet have firm public dates.  For example, LB Kourt Williams might visit this month as the Vols look to dip into California for a stud 2^nd-level defender for the second year in a row, and fellow LB Rodney Groce also plans on coming back to Knoxville after a great visit in March. 

Below are the players who are known to be planning to visit Knoxville in June (along with the prospects discussed above), as well as some notes on Vol targets visiting elsewhere during the month:

Recently offered LB Allen Merrick and teammate (and Alabama commitment) ATH De’Rickey Wright, RB Israel Abanikanda, and DL Derrell Bailey will visit this coming weekend.  So will 2022(!) instate WR target Taylor Groves.  Notably, top RB prospect Tank Bigsby will make his official this weekend to South Carolina, absolutely one to watch as the Cocks are his presumed leader and will certainly be pushing for him to shut it down. OL Xavier Hill will be on an OV to Texas A&M (with some Vol targets). 

Additionally, Auburn is holding its Big Cat Weekend event, and Vol targets DL Zykevious Walker and Dallas Walker, OL Cohen (OV), DB Brian George (OV), LB Trenton Simpson (OV), and WR EJ Williams will be on the Plains.  Bigtime LB target Len’Neth Whitehead will make the short trip to Athens, GA to camp at UGA – likely in an attempt to earn a commitable offer.

The June 8^th weekend is already setting up to be a monster, with multiple top-of-the-board targets set to visit.  LB Trenton Simpson will take his official visit to Knoxville in between the trip to Auburn and one to Georgia, while DL Omari Thomas and high school teammate RB Jabari Small will take unofficial visits (after both visiting Texas A&M the weekend before), perhaps also bringing fellow Briarcrest High student and top 2021 hoops target Kennedy Chandler with them. QB Haynes King is planning on making a decision by late June, and he’ll also be at Texas A&M this coming weekend before heading to Knoxville the 8^th for his OV.  How that visit goes will likely determine whether the Vols end up signing a 2^nd QB in the class to go with Harrison Bailey, as King appears to be their lone remaining target at the position.

OL James Robinson will take his official visit to Tennessee the weekend of June 15th, a week after possibly visiting/camping at instate Auburn, which will be one to watch.  Bigtime WR target Zevian Capers, currently an Arkansas commit, will also take his OV to Tennessee this weekend.  With multiple visits currently planned for after his UT trip, the Vols will need to hit a homerun with Capers to land him.DL Corbet Mims will also be in town that weekend, unofficially, while stud DL Darrion Henry is tentatively set to officially visit.  The Vols sit in Henry’s top 4, with LSU (already OV’d) and Cincinnati (OV the previous weekend) all trailing instate Ohio State, who will receive an OV the following weekend. 

DE Blayne Toll, S Jaquorius Conley and LB Quandrrius Robinson all have official visits to Tennessee scheduled for the weekend of June 22^nd, so having three bigtime Defensive targets on officials will be big for the Vols.  Robinson will be at Kentucky the June 8^th weekend, Auburn (where he was once committed) the weekend after, and Alabama for a mid-week official in between those.  He’s another one who could make a late June/early July decision after having taken most of his OVs.  Meanwhile Toll is thought to be an OU lean so the Vols have ground to make up there. 

There is simply no getting around it: June is a huge month for Tennessee.  After a more-than-solid class of 2019, Coach Pruitt and his staff absolutely have an opportunity to fast-track the rebuild with a bigtime class of 2020.  The Vols will have many of their top prospects on campus for camps, unofficial visits, and even official visits.  At the same time, many top targets will also be visiting other campuses.  Importantly, at least seven will take their official visits to Knoxville in June – after Tennessee used six of them for the Orange & White Weekend.  So the Vols – while not an outlier in this Spring/Summer Official Visit trend that has massively accelerated from last year – are absolutely shooting their shot incredibly early on many of their top targets.  Therefore, by the time the 4^th of July rolls around the direction of Tennessee’s 2020 recruiting class, which is currently short on quantity but high on quality, will be much clearer. 

Despite signing two high-level Tight Ends in the 2019 class in Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown, there is still both a lack of depth as well as the kind size that Pruitt prefers on the current roster.  Further, 2019 starter Dominick Wood-Anderson is heading into his last year of eligibility.  Only Lowe, Brown, redshirt freshman Jacob Warren, redshirt Junior Austin Pope and redshirt Sophomore James Brown are projected to the 2020 roster, and they all combine for 3 career catches, all by Pope, while only the freshman (giving Warren the benefit of the doubt due to his large frame and Strength & Conditioning Coach Craig Fitzgerald’s track record) truly have the size Tennessee wants at the position.

With Jim Chaney’s history of success using TEs as well as likely instant playing time available for a bigtime recruit(s), there’s not just a real need at the position for the Vols going forward but also a compelling sales pitch available.  However, while that is clearly the case, there only appear to be two actual targets on the board right now.  Both of them – 5-stars Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington ae obviously bigtime, and with that comes the kind of competition that will make it very difficult to land either of them.  Gilbert, while UT QB commitment Harrison Bailey’s high school teammate and a frequent visitor to Knoxville, is considered a heavy UGA lean (with Alabama and Clemson in there, too), while Washington is being targeted by the likes of Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State among others.  Washington will take his OVs during the season and attend games, with Alabama (vs. LSU), Georgia (vs Notre Dame), Miami right now guaranteed three of them and the Vols fighting Florida, Auburn and likely others for his final two visits. 

Given the small number of current targets, as well as the kind of schools Tennessee is recruiting against for them, don’t be surprised to see Tennessee widen its net at the position throughout the cycle.  The Vols will hope to add targets both during the upcoming summer evaluation and camp periods as well as during the season, likely including the Junior College ranks.  One thing the Vol staff could consider, depending on how especially Lowe, Brown, and Warren develop as well as needs and numbers at other positions, is the fact that there are two stud instate Tight Ends in the class of 2021.  Hudson Wolfe, who hails from a Tennessee family in Savannah, Tennessee (the same high school as current Vol Latrell Bumphus) has already been to campus twice this year including for the Orange & White game and projects as a bigtime player, while midstate native Jake Briningstool is already ranked as a 4-star by 247.  Should the Vols like how the current young TEs on the roster are developing and feel like they have a really strong shot at one or both of Wolfe/Briningstool they might elect to not “reach” for a TE in this class just to have one and instead focus their resources elsewhere with confidence in the future at the position.

With four senior Wide Receivers at or near the top of Tennessee’s 2019 depth chart and little in the way of proven depth behind them, recruiting at the position for the 2020 class is of the utmost urgency.  Looking out to 2020, the Vols currently project to have only seven WRs on the roster (eight if you count Deangelo Gibbs, who from this vantage point seems best suited at the STAR position on defense due to his prior experience there and the greater chance he can have a large impact).  Of those 7-8, only Josh Palmer has proven himself to be a consistent SEC producer, and three of them are redshirt or true freshmen.   Further, if Tennessee wants to take the next step towards truly contending for SEC championships than it can’t just be about quantity (which is a clear need in an of itself) but also quality – the Vols need gamebreakers, plural, at the position, and they need them now. 

The good news for Tennessee is that its new position coach, Tee Martin, is an elite recruiter with deep ties to the South, and hoping to have kind of impact we forecasted back when he was hired. Martin has been consistently mentioned with elite WR prospects since his hiring – especially in Alabama and Georgia as ten of the twelve prospects discussed below hail from one of those two states – and has the Vols in the mix with multiple high level WRs.  However, after having missed on a couple of high level targets (more below) it’s imperative that the Vols close the deal on a few of them instead of coming in second.

Tennessee does already has a commitment from 3-star Jimmy Calloway who picked the Vols over Oregon and others – he’s most recently been offered by South Carolina in mid-May.  Calloway is an explosive athlete and track star who can play on either side of the ball and is very comfortable with the ball in his hands.  He’s shined at a couple of spring 7-on-7 events showing off great route running and dynamic playmaking ability and seems destined for more high-level offers.  He’s also got some high-end CB attributes and could end up getting a look there in college as well.  The bet here is that Tennessee will look smart having snagged Calloway’s early commitment but will end up having to fight off numerous other power programs.

4-star Zevian Capers, who is technically committed to Arkansas but taking visits, visited Tennessee in early April and has the Vols high on his list.  The large-framed but speedy pass-catcher took an official visit to South Carolina in late April and Tennessee hopes to get him back on campus again soon.  Capers showed out at the Atlanta Opening event, measuring in at 6’4 and close to 200 lbs while showing off great route running, speed, change of direction and sure hands.  Along with the Razorbacks and Gamecocks, he also has offers from Florida and actually received a Clemson offer last March as well.  While the Vols need at least 4 WRs in this class, Capers would make a great pairing with Calloway in terms of size and positional combinations. 

After two visits in a month, Tennessee is the stated leader for 4-star Kris Abrams-Draine, a 4-star former LSU commitment.  From South Alabama like Martin , he’s a smaller WR at 6’0 and around 170 pounds, but with offers from Oregon, Florida, and LSU among others, has the perfect size/quickness combination for the slot.  Having already been committed before it wouldn’t be a surprise to see “KAD” take his time before committing again, but as of now the Vols have placed themselves in a very strong position.

4-star EJ Williams took his official visit to Knoxville for the Orange & White Game after visiting previously in March and has the Vols in an unofficial top 6 along with Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, and Clemson.  Things have been relatively quiet for the Alabama native, which might not be a great sign for Tennessee considering he’s used that official visit already.  His only other OV is set for instate Auburn in late June, and took an unofficial visit to Gainesville last weekend.  Hailing from the same high school as Clemson freshman sensation Justyn Ross, Williams has the Tigers and Alabama on top at the moment.  Clearly this is going to be a tough battle for Tee Martin and the Vols but if the recruitment extends further into the season Tennessee certainly has enough traction to stay in the mix for his planned August 24^th announcement.

Former LSU commitment and Memphis native Darrin Turner is another target on the radar, although despite his 4-star ranking he seems like a player the Vols would like to see in camp. His physical profile compares to 2019 Arkansas signee Trey Knox, a similarly big-bodied instate player who the Vols ultimately passed on. If Turner a) gets to campus and b) shows not just overall ability but high-end speed, the Vols could absolutely turn up the heat on him.

The Vols are also very much in the mix for 4-stars Mushin Muhammad (who visited in early April but has since visited Texas A&M twice) and are still working on 4-star Alabama commitment Dazalin Worsham who’s been on campus three times himself, including as recently as March.  4-star Auburn commitment Kobe Hudson decided to visit Knoxville for Tennessee’s spring game over the Tigers, suggesting that the door is at least cracked for the Vols.  Tennessee also offered 4-star Joshua Downs, a UNC commitment who is 7-on-7 teammates with Harrison Bailey and hails from the same Atlanta-area high school as 2019 Vol signee Warren Burrell.  Then there is Memphis native and former Oklahoma signee Kundarrius Taylor, Junior College teammate of Vol commit Jordan Davis who Tennessee has offered.  4-star do-it-all athlete Demarcus Beckwith (cousin of Lamonte Turner) also has the Vols high on his list after visiting in March.  Finally, Georgia natives Robert Lewis and Kobe Hudson (teammate of Harrison Bailey) have Vol offers and have both been to campus.

The Vols appeared to be in very strong shape with 5-star DC-native Rakim Jarrett, who took two unofficial visits to campus in March.  However, he committed to LSU while on an OV in Baton Rouge in late April.  Jarrett profiles as an instant 2020 starter in the mold of recent Alabama and Clemson WRs and would be one of the jewels of this class, so expect the Vol staff to continue to work to get him back for an official visit at some point before signing day.  Similarly, the Vols were right there for Thaiu Jones-Bell (who visited for the Orange & White Game) but he recently committed to Alabama.

The board will shake itself out as the above targets will (hopefully) make their way back to Knoxville and additional offers could emerge from camp performances.  Tennessee has done a nice job getting involved with multiple WRs the caliber of which it needs to take the next step offensively – and frankly most if not all of the existing WRs on the board have better recruiting pedigrees than all of the signees in the last two classes except Ramel Keyton – but as stated above the next and most important step is landing them.