Category Archives: Recruiting

Tennessee Recruiting: Tight Ends? Check. Vols Sew Up Position with Sean Brown Commitment

The Tennessee Vols got some anticipated excellent news on Friday night when Coosa, Georgia, tight end Sean Brown decided to end the recruiting process and commit.

The 6’5″, 245-pound 3-star prospect chose UT over other finalist Auburn. He boasted 16 offers total, including LSU, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Purdue, N.C. State and others. Though the Tigers from the Plains seemed to hold an advantage for a while, Brown visited Knoxville earlier this spring, fell in love with the message Jeremy Pruitt was peddling and knew he wanted to be a Vol.

The rest was just details.

Brown wound up committing to Tennessee and joining Cartersville native Jackson Lowe as the Vols’ duo of tight ends in this year’s class. They’re the top two guys UT went after, and emerging ace recruiter Brian Niedermeyer is responsible for both of those guys. Brown’s offer sheet doesn’t match his pedestrian ranking, as he is currently the No. 957 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 37 tight end.

He’ll join Lowe for a formidable duo that can do a lot of things at the tight end position, a spot that looked problematic from a talent perspective this spring. Though depth isn’t an issue, it’s a matter of finding players who can make an impact in the SEC. Right now, it’s uncertain if anybody can do that.

This spring, walk-on Eli Wolf and redshirt freshman Austin Pope got many of the reps. Freshman Jacob Warren needs to add a lot of weight and show more physicality to be a force in the rotation. The Vols got exceptional news this week when reports surfaced that the nation’s No. 1-ranked JUCO tight end, Dominick Wood-Anderson, qualified and is set to arrive in Knoxville soon. Wood-Anderson chose UT over Alabama and a host of other schools and should vie immediately for playing time, if not starting reps.

But versatility shouldn’t be an issue at the position in the future, especially if Wood-Anderson can give the Vols two solid years and UT can wind up signing Lowe and Brown. Both players are physical prospects who are good blockers, can play in-line and also catch the ball on the perimeter. Neither are burners, but they’re exactly the kind of tight ends that offensive coordinator Tyson Helton wants in his pro-style scheme.

That scheme, a lot of times, calls for two-tight end sets, and Brown and Lowe have a good rapport and should find themselves on the field together a lot in future scenarios.

The Vols swooped into North Georgia to fortify the position, and they zeroed in on those two guys as the primary targets at a major position of need. Brown told VolQuest.com’s Jesse Simonton that running track has kept him in great shape, and UT sees him as an all-around tight end. He went in-depth with Simonton in an interview posted tonight.

 

Brown knows Pruitt’s style from watching him at Alabama, a team he’s been rooting for. He told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan that he wanted to be a part of rebuilding the Vols and knows that Pruitt and his staff are going to get it done.

Niedermeyer is flat-out getting it done on the trail. Though he may be UT’s least-known assistant, he’s proving adept at landing prospects. His name is prominently mentioned with the Vols’ two highest-profile targets as well — offensive lineman Darnell Wright and running back/outside linebacker Quavarius Crouch. If he can land one (or both) of those guys, his star will continue to rise.

Brown is his latest big coup. He’s UT’s sixth known commitment in the 2019 class, and his pledge marks the second straight time the Vols beat out Auburn for an important target. Offensive lineman Wanya Morris also had AU as a finalist, and, next week, 4-star receiver Ramel Keyton will choose between the Vols and Tigers. UT feels good about its positioning in that race, too.

The Tigers did beat out UT (and Georgia) for stud outside linebacker Owen Pappoe, but Pruitt and Co. are holding their own against the Plainsmen. Those are the types of battles you need to win to pull down big-time classes. The Vols aren’t there yet, as this class ranks 31st currently and 10th in the SEC, but it’s only beginning.

Brown isn’t going to do a ton to surge UT up the rankings, but that doesn’t matter. He’s a guy this staff believes should be one of the top two tight ends on their big board, and they went out and got both of those. That’s huge.

On film, Brown’s pass-catching abilities don’t flash, which actually isn’t a bad thing considering in all the commitment stories, his coach talks about that part of his game really coming on recently. His big hands should be an attribute on the next level. But what really looks good is his physicality and athleticism, and playing both ways (as most high school kids do) will help him, as will running track. This is really a kid that’s only now beginning to realize his potential, and once he gets into a college program, he can really take off.

Will he be able to come in and help immediately in 2019? That depends on how he develops over the course of the next year. But he has that ability because his body already is in the right shape, and he has the type of frame that can add 15-20 extra pounds with no trouble. He’s a very projectable prospect who can split out or play inside and block. Brown has a high ceiling and should only continue to rise in the rankings.

Tennessee Football: Pruitt’s Early Success Will Be Determined By Diamonds

Every first-year regime is going to experience a recruiting kick from prospects enamored with the “newness” around the program. Jeremy Pruitt nabbing 4-stars J.J. Peterson, Jerome Carvin and Jeremy Banks were prime examples of this.

Say what you want about Pruitt’s early recruiting victories — they mean very little. Every first-year head coach gets a few of those guys. Pruitt will get his fair share of elite recruits as the years roll on as long as the Vols show marked improvement on the field. The long-time assistant has long been known as a dynamic recruiter and relationship-cultivator, and that isn’t going to change.

It’s the lesser-known prospects — especially in these first couple of recruiting cycles — who will tell us a lot about Pruitt’s abilities to recruit, coach and develop.

It was the other way around for Butch Jones. He did fine recruiting and even molding many low-level recruits into serviceable SEC players. But “serviceable” doesn’t win big in an elite conference. Where Jones and his coaches struggled was taking big-time recruits and developing them into big-time SEC players. Those guys simply never got better during Jones’ tenure. The staff wasn’t good enough, the strength & conditioning program failed them, and Jones never truly had enough faith in his players to allow them to make plays with the game on the line; he was too conservative and played too much “by the book” rather than by feel.

Pruitt may wind up like that, but it would be a major change. He’s never done that as an assistant, and there are no signs (as there was on Jones’ resume) that he’ll do it in Knoxville.

So, it’s important that we look at some of the “reaches” that Pruitt takes and how they mature and develop. Are they really reaches, or are Pruitt and his assistants just exceptional evaluators? Are they getting key-fit kids who have the developmental bodies to slide into important roles within the framework of the defensive or offensive schemes? Or are they just warm bodies to fill gaps in the class?

We can’t know the answer to that yet, but we will soon enough. If it’s the former, that’s an exciting thing for Tennessee fans that Pruitt knows what he wants — stars-be-damned — and goes out and gets them. Also, even if he isn’t getting his first or second choices at a position, it’s important for any coach to get kids who fit that role and turn them into playmakers.

That will be the difference in how long it takes Tennessee to get back under Pruitt.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how lightly recruited defensive linemen Kingston Harris and Kurott Garland fit. These guys should give us an idea of how Pruitt and his staff evaluates and develops.

Harris is a 6’3″, 285-pound defensive tackle from famed IMG Academy. That means that basically everybody in the nation saw him play when they were evaluating other prospects, yet didn’t offer. 247Sports thought there were 1,210 players better than him in the cycle. Is Harris a recruiting oversight? Or do Pruitt and Co. see something in him they believe they can shape into an SEC stud? The same, really, goes for Garland, who had offers from Tulane, Coastal Carolina and Eastern Kentucky. The Vols saw him when they were also scouting teammate and Florida State (former UT) receiver commit Jordan Young, and they wound up taking him on National Signing Day.

Young was overlooked, and it’s possible Garland was, too. It’s also possible these kids are major reaches. That’s not a knock on those guys; but the SEC is the best of the best. Maybe these guys are future stars, multi-year starters and important pieces to the rebuild.

Maybe they aren’t.

They’re worth watching if we’re going to see just how good this staff Pruitt put together is. To a lesser degree, John Mincey is a mid-level SEC recruit from Homerville, Georgia, who was recruited by Arkansas and South Carolina. The Vols were thrilled to get him on National Signing Day, but he is far from an elite recruit. Can the coaches turn him into a guy we’ll look back on and call a steal?

This is three defensive linemen — Harris, Garland and Mincey — who could be high-upside players. They have big bodies, projectable frames and attributes this staff believe translate into a 3-4 defense. Some of the guys committed to the prior regime (such as ultimate FSU commit Jamarcus Chatman) were not considered fits. Even though they had a higher ranking, they weren’t the type of players this staff believed it needed. It’s OK to be skeptical, but it’s not like Jones ever had a good idea of what it took to build an SEC winner, so I have no issues with going in a different direction.

The same can be said on the offensive side of the ball, too. Could Tennessee ultimately hang onto former quarterback commitment Adrian Martinez had Pruitt and offensive coordinator Tyson Helton put on the full-court press when Nebraska and Scott Frost came calling? The Vols fought there to keep Martinez in the fold, but how hard? Nobody seemed overly disappointed when he went to the Cornhuskers, and after a strong spring game, it looks like he could be a true freshman starter in the Big Ten. The same goes for dual-threat quarterback and former UT commitment Michael Penix, who this new staff did not want. He signed with Indiana and has a legit chance to start as a true freshman for former UT offensive coordinator Mike DeBord and the Hoosiers in ’18.

Instead, Helton and Pruitt zeroed in on California commitment JT Shrout. It didn’t take long for the pocket passer to visit Knoxville and flip from his home-state Bears to the Vols. This is a kid who threw a ridiculous number of interceptions in high school and was a 3-star prospect. On paper, he doesn’t blow anybody away. But this is what Helton wanted — a piece he believes he can mold into a legitimate dropback SEC passer. The Vols are transitioning away from a dual-threat-oriented, spread offense into a more pro-style scheme, and Shrout definitely fits that.

How will Shrout develop? Will he make us forget Martinez and Penix?

Las Vegas receiver Cedric Tillman is another player like Harris. He played at a national powerhouse in Bishop Gorman, and he had teammates with high-FBS caliber offers, but he wasn’t one of those guys. UT saw his size (6’3″, 205 pounds) and his ball-catching ability and offered him.

So that’s Harris and Garland and Mincey and Shrout and Tillman. I’m not saying these five guys will make or break Pruitt’s tenure at Tennessee — that’s just silly. But they are proverbial “diamonds in the rough” that are, at least at first blush, developmental prospects. What do you do with developmental prospects? You DEVELOP them. They either turn into stars, or they take up a scholarship spot and are urged to transfer at a later date. Maybe Pruitt will recruit over them, and maybe they’ll become cornerstones for a foundation of success.

Watch them; maybe not in 2018, but throughout their careers. They may tell us a lot about Pruitt and his staff.

Wanya Morris Commitment A Step Towards Building Championship Level OL

Tennessee picked up a big commitment on Tuesday from borderline 5-star OL Wanya Morris from Grayson, HS in Georgia.  Morris picked the Vols over fellow finalist Auburn after a back and forth recruitment.  He’s a true offensive tackle and an elite prospect with the kind of size and mobility that the Vols simply do not have at the position outside of Trey Smith, and is simply put a huge win on the recruiting trail for Coach Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee.

Morris is a foundational piece for the class of 2019, and with 4-star Jackson Lampley already in the fold, the Vols are off to a great start when it comes to having a high-level OL class, which it absolutely has to have. To that end, Tennessee is very much in the thick of it with 5-star Darnell Wright as well as other highly regarded OL like Bryce Benhart and Anthony Bradford  – both of whom have taken spring official visits to Knoxville after previously seeing the campus unofficially, showing how much interest they have in the Vols – among others.

Despite the 2018 offensive line being arguably the biggest question mark on the team, it is notable that looking ahead to the 2019 season there are no seniors at the position.  Therefore, even though the talent that exists on the team is not the kind of top-tier talent that Tennessee needs to win at a high level, there is certainly room and time for OL coach Will Friend to develop it.  Obviously, Trey Smith is a tremendous building block that Pruitt and Friend inherited and upon which to build, and K’rojhn Calbert also appears to have the kind of size and natural ability to be a bigtime SEC talent.  But in a short period of time, Pruitt and Friend added Jerome Carvin (for whom they beat out Alabama, UF, Auburn among others) and Jahmir Johnson (a JUCO All-American with 3 years to play) to the class of 2018.  And now, with Lampley and Morris – and surely more to come – one can see a path to the kind of talented and physically imposing offensive line that Tennessee simply hasn’t had since arguably the Phillip Fulmer era ended.

Jeremy Pruitt Lands Early Bell Cow of 2019 Recruiting Class in Wanya Morris

As much as I wanted to make an awful Boyz II Men reference in that headline, it would have buried the news on just how important 4-star offensive tackle Wanya Morris‘s pledge to Tennessee was on Tuesday.

After all, not only is this the nation’s No. 46 overall player, the seventh-rated offensive tackle and a 6’6″, 293-pound physical specimen at a position of need from a powerhouse program loaded with talent in this and future classes, it also helps flip the narrative on new coach Jeremy Pruitt’s recruiting.

The Vols had a rousing early signing period in the last cycle, but, let’s face it: Pruitt and Co. needed a recruiting win. Tennessee was largely shut out of landing any marquee names other than stud linebacker J.J. Peterson in the late period, mostly going silent following the flip-of-the-calendar all-star games. This recruiting cycle hasn’t started with sterling momentum, either, scarred by Memphis defensive end Bill Norton visiting Knoxville and committing to rival Georgia on the day he returned home.

All the while, though, Pruitt has kept swinging for the fences. And, as my good buddy Dylan wrote earlier this week, it’s setting up to be a marvelous May for Tennessee. It got off to a rousing start on the first day with Morris’s commitment.

The Grayson High School product out of Loganville, Georgia, had offers from virtually everybody in the nation, and it ultimately came down to Auburn. The topsy-turvy recruitment had its share of ups and downs and momentum swings, but, somehow, Tennessee turned Morris’s opinion in its favor for good with an official visit two weekends ago.

At the time, many recruiting pundits had Morris penciled in to the Tigers on the Plains’ loveliest village, despite UT holding early sway in the race to land his signature. Morris was expected to take his final official visit to Auburn this past weekend, which would have given the Tigers the final chance to convince him. But Morris must have made his mind up in Knoxville last weekend, because he chose not to make that visit.

Now, he says his recruitment is “over” and he’ll sign with Tennessee in December.

As we all know, this is recruiting. These are 17-year-old kids. There is a lot that can happen between now and then, especially considering the 2018 season doesn’t (at least on paper) look like it’s going to be a banner campaign on the field in Rocky Top. Auburn has some nice pieces on its roster and could contend with Alabama (and Mississippi State) in the West. Could that sway Morris’s decision?

It’s at least worth mentioning, but so is the fact that Morris said he’s done. Knoxville is where he wants to be, and while early playing time is obviously a massive factor on his agenda, so are relationships. Both he and his mother love Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend, who has a rich history of developing SEC linemen. The Vols have massive holes along the front and need building blocks around which to build their pro-style scheme.

Morris is one of the best early pledges they could have gotten. Now, much of the attention turns toward the nation’s top tackle in Darnell Wright, who loves Tennessee and Alabama and could make a decision before his senior season. Pairing the West Virginia lineman with Morris would be a massive coup, especially considering in-state lineman Jackson Lampley is already firmly in the fold.

Tennessee is still going to swing hard after Morris’s prep teammate and good buddy Owen Pappoe, one of the nation’s top linebackers who also made his choice today. Much like we’ve discussed with Morris, though, these are just verbal, non-binding commitments until they sign on the dotted line, and the first time that can happen is December.

Still, this is a huge early-cycle statement for Pruitt, who is still catching up on relationships in this cycle. He joins 4-star lineman Lampley, 4-star tight end Jackson Lowe, 3-star defensive tackle LeDarrius Cox and JUCO lineman Darrel Middleton as 2019 pledges.

With some players like linebacker Terrell Dawkins, cornerbacks Tyus Fields and Jaydon Hill, receiver Ramel Keyton and others feeling Tennessee right now, the Vols could wind up fleshing their class out with some big names soon. None will be bigger than Morris, who is an incredible piece to a class that’s only going to grow from here on.

This is an indication of the kind of recruiting battles Pruitt won while he was at Alabama. Hopefully, it’ll be one of many he pulls while the head coach at Tennessee.

Fore to Play One: Tennessee Basketball Gets Important Transfer in Richmond Point Guard

Any piece basketball coach Rick Barnes can add to his 2018-19 basketball team that will play critical minutes on a team that should make a deep run in the NCAA tournament is important. That’s why Monday night’s news that graduate transfer point guard Khwan Fore of Richmond was big news.

The Vols earned Fore’s pledge over Auburn and a host of others following the guard’s visit to the Plains this past weekend where coach Bruce Pearl tried to lure him to play for the Tigers.

In the end, the Vols won a rugged SEC battle of the top two regular-season teams as both look to put finishing touches on quality groups returning next season.

Fore made his decision public over Twitter.

The 6’0″, 175-pound guard is a pivotal piece who should step in nicely for the departed James Daniel, who transformed his game from a big-time scorer at Howard to a table-setter during the 2017-18 campaign for the Vols. Daniel split time with explosive point guard Jordan Bone and was an integral part of UT’s resurgent team.

Fore, though, is more of a pure point guard; something UT has been missing in recent years. The former Huntsville, Alabama, native will joint fellow North Alabamian Lamonte Turner on the Vols roster. Tennessee has enjoyed success in that area in recent years, also landing former guard Detrick Mostella from the area. Fore is an experienced player who’s appeared in nearly 100 games for the Spiders. He started 26 games this past season and averaged 11 points per game.

Though Fore isn’t known for his marksmanship, he is a quick guard who can slash to the basket and whose game thrives on penetration, much like Bone’s.

A couple of weeks ago, Fore told VolQuest.com’s Rob Lewis:

“I definitely want to go somewhere where we’re going to be able to win and make the tournament, with the kind of success they had here already they’re definitely set up to do that,” Fore said in an interview following his trip to Knoxville two weeks ago.

“The coaches told me that they need a guy like me, someone that can penetrate, finish and play tough on the ball defense. Those are my strengths.

“One thing that I really liked about Coach Barnes was that he didn’t just talk about the things I could do, he talked about my weaknesses and how they could help me get better.”

Though Barnes’ high school recruiting hasn’t landed many marquee names, he’s shown a propensity for evaluation, development and fit. The Vols are thriving because of it. Barnes also is proving he knows how to go out and add important missing elements to his team. Daniel was a major part of the success of the past season, and though JUCO guard Chris Darrington didn’t pan out, Darrington’s transfer led to the opportunity to sign Fore.

He’ll be a vital piece this year, and the Vols could go a long way. Getting another guy who can penetrate and dish to a group of players poised to win big is big news.

May Could be Big Month for Vols for Both Near and Short Term

After a successful recruiting weekend for the Orange & White Game that brought in a slew of high level 2019 and 2020 prospects, Tennessee heads into the month of May with a 2019 class that is relatively small on quantity but impressively high on quality.  In OL Jackson Lampley, TE Jackson Lowe, and DL LeDarrius Cox and DL Darrel Middleton, Tennessee has a group of 2019 commitments for whom they have beaten out SEC powers, and who at the same time represent both Coach Jeremy Pruitt’s commitment to fixing Tennessee in the trenches and also simply recruiting more physically imposing players – the kind of prospects that Tennessee needs to land in order to get back to contending for SEC East and conference championships as quickly as possible.

Depending on the decisions of a handful of players, May could be a month where things significantly heat up on the recruiting trail for the Vols in which the pattern of beating out bigtime programs for elite-level players would continue.  Below is a quick look at prospects who will make May decisions and where the Vols stand:

2019

May 1: OL Wanya Morris – The saga is pretty well-known at this point, with Morris seemingly going back and forth between his finalists Tennessee and Auburn on a daily basis.  As of this writing the Vols have the momentum coming out of his official visit to Knoxville last weekend and subsequently cancelling his previously scheduled trip to the Plains.  He is scheduled to announce his decision on the first day of May along with a handful of his Grayson HS teammates, and right now things look good for the Vols.  This could certainly take some more twists and turns between now and then though, and regardless of his pronouncements (publicly and, apparently, privately) that once he commits he will completely shut it down, it’s hard to believe that the “loser” on May 1 will simply roll over.  The bottom line though is that Morris would be a foundational piece of this class and with Lampley already in the fold and the Vols very much in the thick of it with 5-star Darnell Wright among highly regarded OL like Bryce Benhart, Triston Miller, and others

May 12: TE Sean Brown: Another Tennessee-Auburn battle is brewing for the physical TE prospect from Georgia, and Tennessee would love to add him to Jackson Lowe to form a highly-ranked and potentially instant impact set of TEs.  Brown has been on campus three times in the last month or so including last weekend for the O&W Game and is set to announce in a few weeks.  He could end up visiting Auburn again before then but right now all the money is on the Vols for Brown

May ?: WR Ramel Keyton – Keyton made his sixth trip to campus and his third since Pruitt and Co. came to town this past weekend and immediately after announced that he ready to decide sometime in May. Yet again the Vols are head to head with Auburn, and yet again at this point Tennessee looks to be in good position.  He’s one of the best WRs in the class, and is the kind of big physical pass-catchers that Pruitt loves.  Notably, Keyton hails from the talent-laden Marietta HS in Marietta, GA, also home to Tennessee’s #1 QB prospect in the 2020 class Harrison Bailey as well as fellow 2020 5-star 2020 TE Arik Gilbert (who recently named UT his leader) and 2020 DB Rashard Torrence (who visited for the 3rd time this spring last weekend).  Adding Keyton would further aid the Vols in their pursuit of these other studs

Grad Transfer CB Nick Harvey

A Grad Transfer, Harvey is a former four-star prospect and U.S. Army All-American.  He appeared in all but one game during his first three years at Texas A&M and then started 12 games in 2016, but sat out last season and tearing his ACL during the offseason. He’s already taken official visits to Arizona, Auburn, and South Carolina, and is deciding whether or not to take one more, to either Florida or Oklahoma State, before announcing his decision on May 11. Were the Vols to land him he would be an instant impact addition to the 2018 team, bringing talent and SEC experience to a CB room that sorely lacks both.  Adding him to the top group of CBs made up of Baylen Buchanan, Shawn Shamburger, Alontae Taylor and Marquill Osborne would increase the odds that Coach Terry Fair and Pruitt can cobble together a solid secondary.  It would also reduce the pressure on newcomers to the position (Carlin Fils-aime and Maleik Gray) and to the team (Treveon Flowers, Kenneth Gaines, and Brandon Davis

With coaches on the road and some prospects simply tiring of the process and deciding they are ready for it to be over, there could certainly be others who pop in May.  With a relatively small class – which could get smaller if Pruitt decides to take any further grad transfers in a bid to make his first season as successful as possible – it will be interesting to see how Tennessee’s staff manages the numbers.  So far it’s safe to say they’ve done a great job of taking only impact players and positioning themselves for a good number of others to fill out the remaining spots.

2018 Orange and White Game Recruiting Preview

Going into the 2018 Orange and White Game the Tennessee Volunteers currently sit with four commitments for the class of 2019 and one commitment for the class of 2020.  And while the commitments have certainly come more slowly than Vol fans are used to under the former staff, what one can rightfully say is that those commitments are from the kind of prospects that Tennessee needs to land in order to get back to contending for SEC East and conference championships as quickly as possible.  In OL Jackson Lampley, TE Jackson Lowe, and DL LeDarrius Cox and DL Darrel Middleton, Tennessee has a group of 2019 commitments for whom they have beaten out SEC powers, and who at the same time represent both Coach Jeremy Pruitt’s commitment to fixing Tennessee in the trenches and also simply recruiting more physically imposing players.

Having been on the job just a handful of months, the O&W Game is Pruitt’s first real chance to showcase two of the Tennessee Football progam’s competitive advantages: Neyland Stadium and the Volunteer fanbase.  Although the latter is still in a bit of a “prove it” mode with Pruitt after being burned to a degree by Butch Jones, there is a palpable sense that we’ve got a real football coach on our hands, and I expect that to be reflected in the attendance on Saturday.

Also in attendance on Saturday will be a really nice collection of recruits, some of whom will be taking advantage of the new NCAA rule that allows earlier official visits than ever before.  The Vols will host three 4-star official visitors in OL Wanya Morris, WR Jalen Curry, and DE Khris Bogle, and while Curry and Bogle are certainly prospects that Tennessee would love to have, without a doubt it is Morris who will have all eyes on this weekend.

Morris is a borderline 5-star and a true offensive tackle, making him the kind of recruit around whom you can center an entire class.  And with Lampley already in the fold and the Vols very much in the thick of it with 5-star OL Darnell Wright, adding Morris, who is set to announce his decision on May 1, would set Tennessee up for a potentially monster OL class.  Morris has had Tennessee and Auburn as his finalists for a while now, and while there has been a feeling that he was leaning to the Vols going into the weekend, it seems clear at this point that no decision has been made yet. He’s been to campus multiple times and clearly sees a chance for immediate playing time in Knoxville, and at the same time has bonded really well with both Pruitt as well as OL coach Will Friend.  Unfortunately, there’s a strong likelihood that no matter how well this weekend’s visit goes Morris will still take his official visit to Auburn the following weekend, immediately before his announcement date.  Now, one could make the case that if the Vols are indeed the leaders going into this weekend then they have a chance to move so far ahead of Auburn that they cannot be caught.  At the same time, if Tennessee is going to burn its OV in April then the Vols are better off with Auburn doing the same, as long as Morris does end up committing to the Vols in May.  On the other hand, you’d certainly prefer him to simply commit this weekend and completely shut it down; unfortunately that’s unlikely to happen.  So, the Vols will need to absolutely knock Wanya’s and his parents’ socks off and lock down what would be a foundational piece of this class.

The list of unofficial visitors is equally impressive, and there are three in particular who could be on commitment watch while on The Hill:

2019

TE Sean Brown: This weekend will mark the fourth time Brown has been to Knoxville since March, and Tennessee would love to add him to fellow big-bodied Georgia Jackson Lowe to form a highly-ranked and potentially instant impact set of TEs to this class

WR Ramel Keyton: Even more so than Brown, Keyton is no stranger to Knoxville, and this weekend will make at least six visits to campus – notably this will be his third since Pruitt and Co. came to town. Keyton even named the Vols his leader last summer, but that fell off as the Butch Jones era ended.  He’s one of the best WRs in the class, as he proved recently at The Opening Atlanta, and while it may be a bit presumptuous to think he pops this weekend it’s far from beyond the realm of possibility.  Notably, Keyton hails from the talent-laden Marietta HS in Marietta, GA, also home to Tennessee’s #1 QB prospect in the 2020 class Harrison Bailey

DB Jaydon Hill: Hill has recently blown up on the recruiting trail after being named one of top performers at The Opening Atlanta.  He’s the kind of long CB that Pruitt covets, and he’s also a track athlete – running the 100 meters and relays.  South Carolina is thought to be his leader, but Austin Price from Volquest.com has been hinting that Hill could be one to watch this weekend and AP has good sources.  This will be Hill’s second visit to Tennessee since an early March Junior Day, so there is definitely high interest there.  We’ll see if anything happens this weekend or if the Vols simply entrench themselves at the top of his list

The other unofficial visitors, while likely further from making decisions, nonetheless make up a strong group of prospects:

RB Eric Gray: The four-star APB from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis is visiting on Thursday and it’s unclear how long his visit will be.  Gray is a bit on the smaller side for what Pruitt generally prefers.  That said, he’s a dynamic back with a Stanford offer who currently has a Mid-South Top 3 of Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mississippi State.  How hard Tennessee pushes while he is on campus will likely determine what kind of player the Vols end up being

RB John Emery: Emery is a larger back at 6’0, 200 that has a laundry list of suitors that includes SEC bluebloods like homestate LSU and Alabama, who Tennessee “beat out” to get the visit this weekend.  While he is the son of former Vol DE John Emery Sr. (who played for Tennessee in 1993-94), it’s unclear how important that is to him.  That said, the Vols are among his top group so getting him to campus for what should be a big weekend is a good sign

DB Shyheim Battle; Like Hill, Battle fits the mold of a Jeremy Pruitt CB, only Battle is even taller at a legit 6’2.  His multi-day visit started Thursday and will culminate with the O&W Game on Saturday.  While the Vols are in his Top 5 despite being the only school on that list he has yet to visit, Clemson currently holds the lead with Ohio State and NCSU also near the top.  Tennessee will hope to impress him and set itself up in this recruitment for the long haul

DB Tyus Fields: Yet another highly recruited CB, Fields is returning to Knoxville after just having visited in late March (along with a visit last summer).  He’s smaller than Hill and Battle but makes up for it with toughness and ball skills.  Fields has a brother at Clemson, and the Tigers have offered; however, his current Top 5 is UNC, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State and Penn State

ATH Devin Boddie: A high-academic kid (offers from UVA, Vandy, and GT) who is making his second trip to Rocky Top since March despite not holding a Vol offer, Boddie is listed as an Athlete but likely is being recruited by Tennessee as a WR.  He’s also getting interest from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and Miami, and could emerge further if he has a big camp season and follows it up with a strong senior year.  It’s good for Tennessee to get him to campus again so they can continue to evaluate him and “keep him warm”

DB Keveon Mullins: Recently committed to hometown Memphis despite multiple SEC and P5 offers, Mullins is a good looking big-bodied DB prospect.  It’s unclear if he is taking this visit just to hang out with his Memphis Whitehaven teammates or if there is genuine interest from either party.  We’ll see what he has to say after comparing his official visit to Memphis with seeing more people at a Spring Game in Neyland Stadium than he would ever see in Liberty Bowl Stadium (unless Tennessee was playing there)

OL Melvin McBride: A large OG prospect with some decent offers, it’s likely that the Tennessee staff will size McBride up while he’s on campus and go from there

2020

Tennessee has been working the 2020 class hard, and as the aforementioned Austin Price has said multiple times it should be the class where Pruitt and is staff really break through.  After hosting what was effectively a “Sophomore Day” last weekend, the Vols will entertain a smaller but no less impressive group of 2020 prospects:

DL Tyler Baron (Midstate)

LB Bryson Eason (Memphis Whitehaven)

LB Martavius French (Memphis Whitehaven)

OL Bryn Tucker (Knoxville)

DB Rashad Torence (Georgia)

Major Vol Hoops Roster Developments Make the Future Look Even Brighter

From Thursday to Sunday there were some relatively significant developments for the Tennessee Basketball program, all of which were positive: 1) News broke that end of the rotation guard Chris Darrington would be transferring, thereby opening another scholarship for Coach Rick Barnes to work with, 2) The esteemed Rob Lewis from Volquest broke the news that 4-star 2018 PG James Akinjo will be taking an official visit to Knoxville the weekend of April 13-14, and 3) 2019 PF DJ Burns took his official visit to Tennessee this weekend.  Below we’ll take a more in depth look at each development and how they intertwine with each other

Darrington Leaves the Program, Tennessee Has Opportunity to Improve

On Friday it was announced that guard Chris Darrington would be given his release to transfer from the program.  While I’ve been more bullish on Drrington that many due to his performance in last summer’s European trip and even in the non-conference portion of last season’s schedule, it was clear that he faced an uphill battle to have a real impact on next season’s team.  He’s a great kid who was dealt a tough hand off the court during the season due to the death of his childhood friend and just never seemed to recover his confidence when his play slipped and his playing time therefore dropped.  He was a popular member of the team and I’m sure his teammates will wish him well.

All that said, this does present an opportunity for Barnes that he simply did not have before.  Tennessee can use its two scholarship openings to add some combination of a high school player, a grad transfer who’s immediately eligible, and even a transfer who has to sit out a year.  They also have positional flexibility that they simply didn’t have with only one opening.

PG James Akinjo (more on him below) is the clear #1 option on the high school front, and what happens with him will likely impact the direction the Vols go with the other spot (or with the remaining two if they don’t land him).  However, with the spring AAU circuit starting and the skaeout from coaching changes still happening, there will likely be a handful of new targets that Tennessee takes a look at.  An immediate example is Carlos Curry, an MTSU signee who asked out of his LOI last week and was immediately offered by Florida State.  Along the Seminoles (where he took an unofficial visit this past fall), Ole Miss (where former MTSU coach Kermit Davis is now the head man), Georgia, Witichia State, and Cincinnati have all been in contact.  And so has Tennessee.  Why?  Because he’s nearly 7’0 and 245 lbs and this weekend at The Opening tournament in Atlanta he was showing range out to 18 feet (projecting to be able to hit 3s as he continues to develop) while using his length to protect the rim.  When he signed with MTSU he did so over offers from Oklahoma and WKU and interest from FSU and Clemson among other ACC schools.  So while he’s not a no-doubt blue-chipper he’s also not exactly under the radar, and he looks like a legit SEC propsect.  We’ll see if anything comes of Tennessee’s interest, but it’s clear that with another scholarship to play with the Vols are going to explore every option out there.

Given the aforementioned hype that the program has and its status as an SEC and National title contender, should the Vols look to go the grad transfer route they are going to be a very attractive option for the best players on the market who are looking to be a part of something special.  At the same time, a grad transfer would mean that Tennessee still has four total scholarships for a 2019 class that is already looking good and has a chance to be special. Finally, the Vols could also look to land a transfer who would have to sit out a year but would have multiple years left to play.  The most prominent of those so far to be mentioned with Tennessee is Utah State SG McEwen, who Lewis has mentioned as someone to definitely keep an eye on.  McEwen, who would be a sit one/play two player, averaged 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.3 minutes per game as a sophomore at Utah State and is being courted by Iowa State and Creighton among others. The tie here might be that McEwen is originally from Canada and Barnes as well both assistant coaches Rob Lanier and Desmond Oliver have deep connections in Canada basketball having signed three Canadians while at Texas (NBA players Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph as well as Myck Kabongo) and have at UT signed two in Ray Kasongo (who since transferred) and Kyle Alexander.

The bottom line is that as good as Tennessee was last year, and as much development as this roster still has in front of it, Barnes has a real opportunity to increase the overall talent and depth of the 2018-2019 roster while also adding pieces for the future.  And he can do so in a variety of ways.

 

Akinjo Scheduled Official Visit to Knoxville

While Barnes has emphatically stated that his preference for what was then the lone open scholarship for 2018 was another Guard, it has been hard to find a high level high school prospect that the Vols had a shot with.  That changed when 4-star California PG James Akinjo scheduled his official visit to Tennessee for this coming weekend.

Akinjo is a 6’0, 170 lb player who burst onto the recruiting scene last summer when he earned MVP honors at the 2017 Peach Jam, averaging 18.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds and leading his team to the tournament championship. After taking an official visit to UCONN he signed with the Huskies in the early signing period over offers from Indiana and Virginia among others, but after Coach Nate Ollie was let go he received his release and went back on the open market.

When you watch his tape you see a very hard-nosed kid who is fearless going to the rim and a strong finisher; can get there basically whenever he wants due to his quickness and strong handle; can shoot from the outside and has a quick release; and knows how to get his teammates involved.  He also appears to be a willing defender, which is key if he were to sign with the Vols and play for Barnes.  He’s also young enough to classify for 2019, which means he’s got plenty of upside physically and mentally with the game. Without a doubt Akinjo would be a huge addition to the team both immediately in 2018 as a 3rd primary ball handler behind Jordan Bone and Lamonte Turner and also moving forward as Bone and Turner eventually move on.

Akinjo has received intense interest from the likes of Arizona, Georgetown, Cal, and Wichita State, and was at Georgetown this past weekend on the first of four available official visits.  Interestingly, Arizona, who many thought would be a prime contender, picked up a commitment from a different 4-star California PG over the weekend which could very much impact Akinjo’s decision.  Tennessee will certainly have a chance to move into the front of this recruitment this weekend.

Vols Brings in 4-Star 2019 PF DJ Burns for Official Visit, Look to Keep 2019 Momentum Going

After having been on campus multiple times over the last 1-2 years, 2019 stud DJ Burns took his official visit over the weekend, bringing his parents with him on the trip.  Bringing a 2019 prospect in almost seven months before he can sign is a strong sign that Barnes and Co. feel very strongly about their position and the hope is that while he did not commit while on campus he will do so in the coming days and will shut down his recruitment.

Burns is a rugged, 6’9 260 lb forward whose calling card is his combination of brute strength and an advanced post-up game that comes from great footwork, hands, and soft touch around the rim.  His high school coach has incredibly high praise for him, saying, “I think with him he always is developing and always is a great passer. His foot work and feel for the game is unreal. I see this kid as being a pro someday.”  From here it looks like his floor would be freshman year Derrick Walker in that he’s physical and incredibly skilled and that his ceiling is very high and will depend on further growing/body shaping/conditioning, etc.  He is a great student and also appears to be a high character kid (see him quoting Rudyard Kipling in this tweet) who, like his host over the weekend, Grant Williams, is also an accomplished musician who plays four instruments.

Depending on what they do with Darrington’s scholarship, Tennessee should have at least three to four scholarships to give in the 2019 class, and pairing Burns with longtime commitment Davonte Gaines, who will head to Hargrave for a 5th year, would be an outstanding start for the Vols.  This is especially true given that the AAU season is just kicking off and the staff would be able to really narrow in on its targets for the remaining spots.  At the same time, the program is about to get a serious uptick in national exposure, as the offseason hype for next season’s team has already begun with the Vols being ranked anywhere from 5th to 8th in a number of preseason rankings.  Additionally, Tennessee will participate in next season’s NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, NY along with Kansas, Louisville, and Marquette, and one can assume that Tennessee will get a marquee matchup in the annual SEC-Big 12 Challenge as well.  These will complement what is annually a strong non-conference slate (which this year will at least feature home games against ACC school Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) under Coach Barnes, giving the Vols a myriad of opportunities to showcase the program.

The staff has also already laid the groundwork to fill the class with very highly recruited players.  Tennessee hosted 5-star PG Jalen Lecque for the Kentucky game this past season (to go with two coaches’ visits – in November and again in March), and was the first major conference offer for 5-star Wing Josiah James.  Additionally, the Vols hosted Guards Marcus Watson (#88), Trey McGowens (#89) and Kira Lewis (#119) along with C Jason Jitobah (#191) for last season’s UNC game.  Barnes started the offseason recruiting by by visiting Kira Lewis today (Tennessee’s 3rd visit, this time with the whole staff), and he doubled up with Top 100 guards by visiting Watson as well.  This was the second time UT coaches have visited Watson, the first being back in January, and not only was he in Thompson-Boiling Arena for the UNC game but he also visited campus last June  Per Lewis, Barnes will be visiting James the following weekend, and it’s safe to say that likely won’t be his only visit.  So while more targets will pop up, the Vols have definitely started to hone in on a handful of top level prospects with whom they have already established firm relationships and who have been to campus already.  It’s a great spot to be in as Tennessee looks to have an outstanding opportunity to bring in its highest rated class in a long, long time, which is incredibly exciting for Vol fans

Tennessee Recruiting Efforts Show Commitment to More Beef

This past week might be more indicative of what we should expect from the Jeremy Pruitt regime, as the relationships he’s taken time to build manifested itself in a flurry of commitments.

One common theme throughout most of these new pledges is that they’re bigger than the players currently on campus. That’s no surprise. Pruitt mentioned several times over the course of his first few months that he wanted to see the Vols get bigger — both in the weight room and on the recruiting trail with the type of athlete they were recruiting.

Not only have we noticed in drills that a lot of the players are bigger (guys like quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and linebacker Quart’e Sapp) but also, the guys Pruitt is bringing in are elevating the average size of the roster.

The week started with an expected pledge from Cartersville, Georgia, tight end Jackson Lowe, who Tennessee loved and had high atop their list at the tight end position — a major need for the team in this recruiting cycle. At 6’5″, 242 pounds, Lowe is athletic for his size, can catch passes and looks to be a strong inline blocker. He’s used to catching passes and pass-blocking, as his quarterback a season ago was top-ranked signal-caller Trevor Lawrence, a player who grew up high on the Vols but ultimately chose Clemson because of failures by the previous regime.

Lowe was coveted by many of the top teams in the country, including Clemson, but fell in love with the Vols, Pruitt, tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer and commitment Jackson Lampley.

Tennessee continued the trend with a defensive tackle pledge from LeDarrius Cox, a 6’4″, 305-pound defensive tackle from McGill Toolen High School in Mobile, Alabama. He had offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and others, and he will be a high-rising recruit. Though he’s just a 3-star prospect, he’ll see his interest surge. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Alabama or Auburn pulls the trigger because everybody knows how hard it is to pull players out of the Yellowhammer State, especially with the way both those instate teams are currently surging.

Earlier in the week, Tennessee pulled 2020 athlete Kristian Story from Alabama, a 6’2″, 207-pound athlete who is one of the nation’s top 200 players in that class. He’s expected to be one of the top overall players from the state in that group, which could be Pruitt’s best class with all the time to build relationships.

Tennessee followed up Cox’s recruitment with a commitment from an old name. JUCO defensive end Darel Middlelton, who chose UT while he was an underclassman at Powell High School. He transferred to Oak Ridge, had some off-the-field issues and wound up at East Mississippi Community College. He was once a 240-pound tight end prospect, but now he’s a 6’7″, 290-pound defensive end. It’s unclear whether he’d be part of the 2018 or ’19 class for the Vols, who are trying to get him in, but he’s an elite athlete if he can make the grades.

Sure, he’ll be rough around the edges, but a player of that size is somebody Tennessee can’t afford to turn away. Pruitt liked him when he was at Alabama, and teams like LSU and Georgia showed a lot of interest in him, too. If Tennessee can start getting big bruisers like him and 300-pound JUCO commitment Emmit Gooden in school, that’s a positive development for a program that looks like it finally wants to start competing to play SEC football.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Tennessee is going after all these big-name prospects who are bigger in stature, too. Pruitt immediately noticed the size discrepancy when he got to Rocky Top. Simply put: There were times a year ago when UT didn’t look like an SEC team, and that goes for the team throughout the roster.

That’s why the Vols vowed to get bigger, and they did at places like running back where they recruited 6’2″, 220-pound Jeremy Banks and received a graduate transfer from Michigan State power runner Madre London, who is 6’1″, 220. Heck, even Keller Chryst, the graduate transfer quarterback, is 240 pounds.

It just so happens the nation’s top-ranked player is a running back/outside linebacker from North Carolina named Quavaris Crouch, who is a monstrous 6’2″, 224 pounds and who has already visited Tennessee for a multi-day visit. Of course, the Vols will have plenty of competition for him, but they’re going to be in the race for the long haul.

For those looking for a quick fix in Knoxville, you’re probably going to be disappointed. The roster deficiencies Butch Jones left are prevalent. The argument can be made that the roster — at least in places — is worse than the one he took over when Derek Dooley was fired, which is crazy considering the good recruiting Jones did at times. That speaks to his failures in player development, and it’s why UT fans hold out hope that the new staff can get the most out of players who were expected to play better than their careers have proved thus far.

But you simply can’t play SEC football with a finesse scheme on either side of the ball. That was evidenced by all the injuries the Vols suffered the past few years and also by the fact that Tennessee had few players on its team that made any game-breaking plays on either side of the ball. They were kind of just … there.

When you see Alabama and Georgia step onto the field, you see physical freaks flying around all over the field, making tackles or breaking tackles, making plays and forcing turnovers or scoring touchdowns. Tennessee isn’t there, and the ’18 version of the Vols probably won’t be, either.

But Pruitt has seen it up close and personal while with the Tide and Dawgs. Heck, he recruited a lot of those players making those plays. So, he knows what it takes.

The Tennessee transformation has begun.

The 2018 Hoops Recruiting Landscape: While we Wait

After a thrilling SEC Tournament run that ended in a fun to watch but hard to take 77-72 loss to Kentucky, the Vols will kick off what could potentially be a magical NCAA Tournament run on Thursday against Wright State.  And while Rick Barnes and the entire Tennessee basketball program are no doubt focused on the task at hand, one eye is always on the future and recruiting.  As we went over in depth here, the immediate future is incredibly bright as not only are twelve of the thirteen scholarship players on this conference champion roster scheduled to return and nine of those thirteen sophomores and freshmen but the level of talent Barnes and Co. are recruiting is already clearly at a higher level than since he’s been in Knoxville.  So while we wait for Thursday’s tipoff, let’s take a quick look at some interesting developments on the recruiting scene

Mark Fox Fired from UGA

As rumblings started that Mark Fox was likely to be fired at Georgia, 5-star PG prospect Ashton Hagans from the Atlanta area decommitted from the Dawgs.  Currently a 2019 prospect, there has been much discussion about whether he might reclassify to the 2018 class.  Either way, his recruitment has become much more crowded as the likes of Georgetown, NC State and others have thrown their hat into the ring.  Depending on who Georgia hires, and whether or not the new coach keeps assistant Jonas Hayes on, the Dawgs could still be a factor as well.

The Vols were in the mix before Hagans committed to UGA and one would assume they will try and get more involved now with the dynamic lead guard.  If Hagans does indeed reclassify to 2018, one would think that the opportunity to come in and immediately play for a title contending team will be attractive.  If he stays in the 2019 class the Vols will have that much more time to recruit him, and will likely be that much more of a power program, so either way Hagans will be one to watch

Tubby Smith Fired from Memphis

Although this isn’t official as of this writing, Tubby Smith will not be coaching at Memphis next season and it’s just as likely that Penny Hardaway will be.  That could have multiple implications for Tennessee recruiting in 2018:

Tyler Harris: The diminutive local high school star is thought to *currently* be a Baylor lean with the Vols trying to get him on campus.  However, though he was never signing with Memphis with Smith as coach it seems very likely that Hardaway will land him

Anfernee Simons: Simons is the Vols #1 target and is an elite player who would make the Vols a preseason darling and maybe even Top 5 type team.  Simons is eligible for the NBA Draft and very likely could go that route. With Hardaway’s hiring it is rumored that Simons, who is named for and whose family has some sort of relationship with Penny, the Tigers could become a factor here.  All that of course is dependent on Simons passing on the opportunity to declare for the NBA Draft, which seems less and less likely.  His next chance to impress NBA scouts will be the Jordan Brand Class on April 8th in Brooklyn and he will have to make a final decision one way or the other soon after

Myreon Jones: An interesting prospect who had limited offers (Colorado State and Wofford) before committing to the Tigers despite being ranked by 247 Sports as the #91 ranked player in 201 class.  He’s considered more of a combo guard who at 6’3, 170 can handle and distribute the ball but is known for his shooting/scoring ability.  He’s also an outstanding student which would likely fit the kind of character mold that Barnes looks for. Where his commitment stands once Smith is forced out is still to be determined, and there has been no interest from Tennessee to-date.  However, the Vols might take another look once the season is over if Jones opens his recruitment back up

Gaines Continues State Title Run

The lone Tennessee high school commitment is 2019 Davonte Gaines, who has had an outstanding senior year leading his Buffalo-area team this season.  That continues as he is now making a run in the NY State tournament before leaving to take a 5th year at Hargrave Academy.  Gaines is an exciting prospect who can do a bit of everything and will spend the year at Hargrave bulking up his wiry frame and improving his overall game against competition that is miles above what he’s faced in Buffalo

More Coaching Changes to Come, More Options Likely to Emerge

While Fox and Smith are two of a handful of firings that have taken place so far, there is likely to be more shakeup in the coaching ranks once the season officially ends.  This will likely cause more players in the 2018 class who are currently committed/signed elsewhere to become available, and at the same time make more players who have the option to take a 5th-year graduate transfer jump at that chance.  Tennessee is going to look like a really good option for someone, especially considering how much publicity the program is getting in March and what kind of team the Vols project to return in 2018-19, not to mention the positive experience James Daniel III had as a 5th year transfer on this team.  So while the pickings look relatively slim right now (after Simons) for that one spot in the 2018 class, expect Barnes and Co. to have a lot of options to add a meaningful piece when it’s all said and done