Category Archives: Football

Tennessee signs 3-star defensive tackle Kurott Garland

This one sort of came out of nowhere, but 3-star defensive tackle Kurott Garland of Conyers, Georgia has signed with Tennessee.

Relying again on the 247Sports Composite rankings, Garland is the nation’s No. 60 strongside defensive end and the No. 117 player in the state of Georgia. He had offers from Tulane, Coastal Carolina, and Eastern Kentucky.

Regardless of the offer list, Jeremy Pruitt is apparently high on the guy:

 

 

4-star defensive tackle Emmit Gooden signs with Vols football

Just before Jeremy Pruitt’s National Signing Day press conference, 4-star JUCO defensive lineman Emmit Gooden signed with Tennessee to play for the Vols.

Gooden is, according to the 247Sports Composite, the nation’s No. 17 JUCO prospect overall, the No. 7 JUCO defensive tackle, and the No. 4 JUCO player in the state of Tennessee.

Gooden was highly-coveted by a number of notable schools and held offers from the following:

  • Alabama
  • Georgia
  • USC
  • Florida
  • Arkansas
  • Mississippi State
  • Missouri
  • West Virginia
  • Arizona State
  • Louisville
  • Oklahoma
  • TCU
  • UAB
  • Texas-San Antonio

It appeared to come down to Tennessee and West Virginia, and at Gooden’s announcement ceremony, everybody with him had only one hat and chose the school represented by their hat. Gooden had only a West Virginia hat on his table, but when his turn arrived, he pulled a Tennessee hat out from under the table.

 

 

Joseph Norwood signs with Vols

Just like with JJ Peterson, Tennessee hasn’t officially announced the signing, but 247Sports is reporting that 3-star wide receiver Joseph Norwood has in fact signed with the Vols.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Norwood is the nation’s No. 75 athlete, and the No. 30 player in the state of Tennessee. He has a full offer sheet, although most of them are from lower-level schools.

 

Check out the quick interview with Norwood by Stephen Hargis.

Elite linebacker JJ Peterson signs with Vols football

No official word from Tennessee at the time we’re writing this, but 247Sports and Rivals are both reporting that the Vols have signed 4-star linebacker JJ Peterson despite a late push by Alabama.

Update: It’s official:

According to the 247Sports Composite, Peterson is the nation’s No. 48 player overall, the nation’s No. 3 outside linebacker, and the No. 7 player in the state of Georgia. As you’d expect, his offer sheet is impressive:

  • Alabama
  • Georgia
  • Auburn
  • Florida State
  • Clemson
  • Florida
  • Arkansas
  • South Carolina
  • Michigan
  • North Carolina
  • Georgia Southern
  • Georgia State
  • South Alabama

 

Great job by Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee to hold on to Peterson in the midst of a wild day.

3-star safety Trevon Flowers signs with the Vols

Trevon Flowers, a 3-star safety from Tucker, Georgia, is officially a Tennessee Volunteer.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Flowers is the nation’s No. 87 safety in this year’s class. He chose Tennessee over Clemson, Kentucky, Illinois, Western Kentucky, and Appalachian State.

 

Welcome to Rocky Top, Trevon Flowers.

Under-the-radar Cedric Tillman signs with Tennessee

Cedric Tillman, a 3-star wide receiver from Las Vegas, has officially become a Tennessee Volunteer.

Tillman is one of the under-the-radar guys that Tennessee discovered late in the recruiting process, and although 247Sports has awarded him three stars, he doesn’t appear on any national, positional, or state rankings. His offer list includes Hawaii, UNLV, and Weber State.

 

According to Rivals, Tillman grew four inches and put on 25 pounds between his junior and senior seasons, and he signed with the Vols without ever having stepped foot on campus because he appreciated the coaches taking a chance on him.

Word around the Twitters is that Tennessee has now also offered wide receiver Joseph Norwood, which might mean the other receivers higher on their board are going elsewhere. We’ll see.

3-star defensive end John Mincey chooses Tennessee over South Carolina

John Mincey, a 3-star defensive end from Homerville, Georgia, has spurned the South Carolina Gamecocks to become a Tennessee Volunteer.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Mincey is the nation’s No. 38 strongside defensive end in this year’s class. He chose Tennessee over South Carolina and Arkansas and also had offers from the following schools:

  • Georgia
  • Florida State
  • Florida
  • Auburn
  • LSU
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi State
  • Ole Miss
  • Georgia Tech
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Cincinnati
  • Colorado State
  • Georgia Southern
  • Troy
  • Tulane
  • USF

 

Mincey is the 15th player in this year’s class and joins Greg Emerson, Kingston Harris, and Brant Lawless as the new guys on the defensive line.

 

Tennessee commit Anthony Grant flips to FSU on National Signing Day

Well, this isn’t the way you want to start the day, but 3-star (per 247Sports) athlete Anthony Grant, whose Twitter bio identifies him as a Tennessee commit and includes a pinned tweet from June 25 saying he is committed to the Vols, reportedly announced this morning that he has changed his mind and will go to FSU:

Grant actually committed to Butch Jones, and he has reportedly been wavering for some time, although the latest concern was that he would choose Virginia Tech over the Vols. Regardless, he’s going somewhere other than Rocky Top. Best of luck to him.

While this isn’t the way you want to start the day, it’s not a shock. The Vols are still in the mix for some great players today. There are three players scheduled to announce at 10:00 a.m.: 5-star cornerback Tyson Campbell, 3-star safety Trevon Flowers, and 3-star defensive end John Mincey.