Category Archives: Recruiting

The Chico Factor

When Adrian Martinez committed to Tennessee on Friday afternoon, giving the Vols an elite quarterback prospect a year after they failed to sign a highly rated signal-caller in the 2017 class, the California star mentioned one name over and over and over in his interviews.

Mike Canales.

All of a sudden, one of the most puzzling assistant hires of Butch Jones’ tenure at Tennessee on the surface looked pretty good once the layers of Martinez’s recruiting story started peeling back. The words spoken by the Vols’ latest franchise quarterback to VolQuest’s Austin Price about the coach affectionately known as “Chico” made him sound like “The Man.”

[Yeah, that’s a ’70s TV reference, what of it?]

“I don’t think you have ever heard a bad word about coach Canales,” Martinez told Price. “I know I haven’t. He left such a great impression on myself and my family. He’s been nothing but positive and motivating throughout this whole thing. I’ve hit some adversity and he’s never changed. He was constantly positive and I felt like he was genuine and cared about me. I want to go to place that cares about their players.

“When I sat in the quarterback room without him in there, all the quarterbacks talked about how much he loves them as people and not just football. That’s huge.”

Say what you want about Jones, but the man has a ton of coaching contacts, and those have come in handy over his brief career with the Vols.

While Jones showed loyalty with his initial UT staff, he’s also proven he isn’t too sentimental to sever ties when things don’t go so rosy. Just ask former defensive coordinator John Jancek and offensive line coach Don Mahoney. Those deep connections to coaches all over the country also proved beneficial when it came time for Jones to replenish his staff with moves that the vast majority of folks have called upgrades.

One such offseason move — one of many assistant changes — that was met with nearly universal irritation was when Jones finally bit the bullet and decided to hire a quarterbacks coach [too late for the Joshua Dobbs era, I might add…] and chose — drumroll, please! — Mike Canales? If you read message boards around that time, you would have thought Canales’ mother made his middle name an expletive. 

Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.

The 55-year-old veteran assistant who was previously at Utah State but spent time at Arizona, South Florida and North Texas, where he also wound up as the Mean Green’s head coach, wasn’t a “splash” hire by any means. The thing is, it may wind up being a pretty darn good hire.

Jones has known Canales for a long time. As a matter of fact, back in 2015 when Tennessee played a sleepwalking homecoming against North Texas and won 24-0, the two head coaches chatted each other up like best friends and embraced afterward. Jones lauded Canales’ coaching ability leading up to the game and afterward. It was man-crushing at its finest.

That lip-service turned out to be anything but throwaway comments two years later when Jones snatched up Canales for the all-important job of tutoring quarterbacks. That position and the decision on who starts for the Vols under center in 2017 could wind up being the decision that determines Jones’ future at UT. Choose the wrong one between Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano, and the program may take a downward turn. If those guys are not ready, what will that mean for the Vols?

That shows the importance of this hire and also the faith Jones has in Canales.

The jury on Canales, of course, is still out. Upgrading from nothing isn’t hard, and that’s essentially what UT had the past few years, employing a graduate assistant [though a pretty good one in Nick Sheridan] who was responsible for working with quarterbacks. Mike DeBord was a pretty good coordinator, but he was NOT a molder of signal-callers.

Canales was universally lauded this spring for his coaching, his personality and the way his quarterbacks gravitated toward him. He’s handled the QB battle between Dormady and Guarantano well so far, and in the rain-shortened Orange & White Game, the duo combined to complete 14 of their 15 pass attempts. There didn’t appear to be any glaring mechanical issues, and Canales’ laid-back demeanor seems to fit well on Rocky Top.

Anybody having that much time to delve into every aspect of his quarterbacks’ game is going to help Tennessee’s offense. The decision not to have a quarterbacks coach during the Dobbs era is puzzling, to say the least. Failing to have a full-time, full-paid quarterbacks coach didn’t do the Vols any favors on the recruiting trail, either.

Though Jones’ pre-existing relationship with the Guarantano family helped the Vols land that elite prospect, Tennessee missed on some guys, who have referenced the Vols’ lack of a position coach as a factor.

Had Canales been entrenched during the entire recruitments of the 2018 class’s  “Big Three” — Trevor Lawrence, Emory Jones and Justin Fields, all of which had the Vols high on their lists at one point early on — they may have landed one.

As it turns out, a quarterbacks class of two high-upside prospects like Martinez and Mike Penix may wind up being the best thing for UT, anyway. The Vols need options, especially after Sheriron Jones just transferred and nobody knows how true freshman Will McBride will turn out. If you alienate Dormady or Guarantano in the race to be UT’s starter, all of a sudden, the Vols’ QB situation is dire. Martinez and Penix aren’t just two warm bodies, either. They’re potentially very good quarterbacks wanted by a lot of really good teams.

It was a necessity for the Vols to get two signal-callers in this class, and Canales accomplished that, playing a massive role in the decisions of both kids.

The duo of committed quarterbacks visited Knoxville on the same weekend for the Orange & White Game, and Penix committed while on the visit. Martinez may have initially been taken aback, but Canales was always up front about Tennessee wanting two quarterbacks, and Martinez was always hotly recruited once the Vols got on him.

The one-time California quarterback decommitted from the Bears after his UT visit. Offers from Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and others couldn’t sway Martinez, who wanted to be a Vol. He kept coming back to his visit and the relationship he’d struck up with Canales and others. When the Vols’ QBs coach traveled to California to seal the deal with Martinez a couple of weeks ago, nobody knows what was said. But it sold him.

Things like that make a quarterbacks coach invaluable. You want a guy who kids gravitate toward, who prospects want to play for, and Chico proved in the past three short weeks he can do that.

Now, if you glance at those message boards, you’d find nary a negative word about Canales. In this knee-jerk world of wanting megastar names in bold-font that make the prospects all over the country drool, recruiting still comes down to good, old-fashioned relationships.

It seems Canales has the ability to build those.

So, Canales can’t prove he was a fantastic hire without any game experience, of course, but he’s already proving to be an asset on the recruiting trail, standing out on a staff that is making Tennessee a hot name among top prospects once again.

Martinez’s commitment proves the Vols may not have gotten the biggest-name assistant out there when Jones hired Canales, but it’s one that, when coupled with the man himself, is resonating with prospects, anyway.

Tennessee Vols land commitment from another 4-star recruit in quarterback Adrian Martinez

The Tennessee Vols just landed another huge commitment for the class of 2018, this one from 4-star quarterback Adrian Martinez, who 247Sports ranks as the nation’s seventh-best dual-threat quarterback in the class. Martinez had been committed to Cal up until a couple of weeks ago, but he started leaning orange after he visited Rocky Top. The distance from his home in Fresno, California, was a hurdle to overcome, but the lure of playing in the SEC and the fact that every game is televised was enough to overcome that drawback.

Martinez is also not phased by another potential drawback, that being the pending competition for the Vols quarterback position heading into this fall between Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano. Martinez acknowledged that dual-threat redshirt freshman Guarantano winning the job would not be ideal for Martinez, but he also said he’s comfortable with his decision even if that happens.

As a junior last season, Martinez threw for 2,561 yards and 25 touchdowns and ran for 1,462 yards and another 14 touchdowns. He’s excited about the flexibility of Tennessee’s offense, that it can take advantage of his skill set and also prepare him for the NFL. He plans to shut down his recruiting process, graduate early, and enroll at Tennessee in January.

Martinez had offers from 25 schools, including Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Oregon, plus a bunch of other schools closer to home.

The quarterback joins athlete Alontae Taylor and defensive tackle Brant Lawless as the 4-star prospects in Tennessee’s class of 2018 so far. The class is headlined by 5-star offensive tackle Cade Mays from Knoxville Catholic. 

Martinez’s commitment brings Tennessee to No. 8 in 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings. They currently have one 5-star, three 4-stars, and six 4-stars in the class.

Gameday Today: Not a fan of Will Muschamp edition

Football

 
Tennessee freshman offensive tackle K’Rojhn Calbert is not a fan of the Muschamp culture at South Carolina. Sort of confirms most of what you thought a Muschamp locker room would be like, doesn’t it? Muschamp, though, does outrank Butch Jones in CBS’ list of the best coaches in college football. No. 52 doesn’t sound bad for Jones, but being ranked lower than Muschamp has to add a little salt to the sting. That’s what you get when you haven’t ever beaten the guy. Let’s fix that this fall, shall we?
 
And speaking of things to fix . . . Dave Hooker says that Vols defensive coordinator Bob Shoop needs to rebound this year. Yeah.
 
Things that don’t need fixing? Josh Dobbs, who is still winning hearts, participating in graduation activities and throwing his first pass for the Pittsburgh Steelers all within the same 24-hour span. 

Recruiting

The Twitter profile of 4-star defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells makes him look like a pretty solid commit to the Florida Gators, but that didn’t stop Tennessee from throwing their hat in the ring.
 

 

 Hoops

Little late to this party due to the magazine deadline, but . . . Vols guard Shembari Phillips is transferring. The Vols have also lost Kwe Parker, but they have signed JUCO All-American Chris Darrington and are trying to land James Daniel, a grad transfer from Howard. 

Baseball

 
Tennessee baseball . . . has a really good APR.
 
 
 
 

Tennessee Recruiting: Vols Getting Lawless in Knoxville

Tennessee has the opportunity to meet a major need in the 2018 recruiting class without leaving state borders, and the first step toward achieving that massive portion of this year’s haul happened Monday night.

Brant Lawless, a 4-star defensive tackle out of Nashville Christian School, pledged to Tennessee over offers from Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Oklahoma and others. Looking for an elite player with an elite offer sheet? Lawless provides that, giving the Vols one of their two biggest pledges of the ’18 class so far.

https://twitter.com/brant_lawless/status/859185049140436993

As the Vols continue building this class, they also remain in good shape with 4-star defensive tackle D’Andre Litaker of Murfreesboro and 4-star strong-side defensive end Greg Emerson of Jackson. The Vols are also trying hard to flip Jordan Davis of Memphis, who is committed to Alabama but listening to UT, according to VolQuest.com’s Brent Hubbs.

All three of those guys remain major targets for the Vols, but a big-time domino fell Monday with Lawless’ pledge. The 6’3″, 285-pound interior lineman is rated as the country’s No. 25 defensive tackle according to the 247Sports Composite, and that elevates to No. 18 at his position in 247Sports. He’s also one of the nation’s top 300 players overall, and many of the country’s top programs would love to have him as one of the anchors of the class.

Lawless is explosive from the center of the line, and he has the ability to be a complete tackle, stopping the run and getting after the passer from the inside. He was a teammate of UT sophomore linebacker Daniel Bituli, and his first look at Tennessee came with Bituli on a trip. Since then, the Vols have pursued Lawless, making him a priority. They’ve been considered a favorite for a while, and Lawless ended the process early.

Now, it’s time for the peer recruiting to ramp up. Lawless, Litaker and Emerson are all close, and they group chat with each other. They’ve developed a bond with one another, and they’ve discussed playing together in college. Perhaps most importantly, all have developed relationships with UT defensive line coach Brady Hoke and coordinator Bob Shoop. The Hoke hire may wind up being the ideal hire at the perfect time for the Vols. Many of the top targets on the defensive front seem enamored with him. Lawless talked about the assistant’s passion, their relationship and his spirituality.

Now, Lawless is looking toward getting his buddies in orange, according to Scout.com’s Danny Parker.

After struggling to land many of its top targets from inside state boundaries in the 2017 class, Tennessee is doing a lot to batten down the hatches this year and in the future. Already in the ’19 class, UT has commitments from four in-state targets. This year, the Vols can outfit much of their haul with Volunteer State players, and guys like Litaker, Emerson, Smith, Cam Jones and Cam Johnson could go a long way toward doing that.

Already, UT has commitments from offensive linemen Cade Mays and Ollie Lane, receiver Alontae Taylor and cornerback Shatar McClay from Tennessee in this year’s class. Quarterback Michael Penix, running back Jashaun Corbin, receiver Jatavious Harris and Mississippi cornerback Jaylon Reed round out a class that has surged to 13th nationally on 247Sports and second in the SEC.

Lawless loved the family atmosphere in Knoxville. “The main factor, it was just something about it just gave me that good feeling all the coaches made you feel at home,” he told 247Sports’ Barton Simmons.

Tennessee’s renewed focus instate has been a group effort. New assistants Walt Wells and Hoke are helping, and Tommy Thigpen had a hand in Lawless’ recruitment, too. With all the talent in the state, UT can line its class with stud prospects from close by if it continues to excel at home. Getting Lawless is a huge domino, and the peer recruiting could really get this year rolling.

The Vols now need to continue the momentum into the summer months. With Litaker possibly expected to do something soon, the good news may continue to flow. Lawless was a massive piece of the puzzle.

It’s Raining Defensive Backs

Tennessee continued its recent hot streak on the recruiting trail Thursday with verbal pledges from a pair of cornerbacks.

First, 6’0″, 175-pound cornerback Adonis Otey of Blackman High School in Murfreesboro decided to get the recruiting process over with in a hurry, committing to the Vols over a slew of early offers. The 2019 class member gives UT its fourth pledge from two classes down the road already. All of them are rated 4-star prospects on either 247Sports or Rivals, and all four are from the state of Tennessee.

Though Otey isn’t rated yet by 247, he’s an early 4-star on Rivals and had early offers from Florida, LSU, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Louisville and others. He joins Independence High School receivers TJ Sheffield and Kendrell Scurry as well as Chattanooga (Notre Dame HS) athlete Cameron Wynn as ’19 pledges.

Then, the Vols received some more good news later in the day when Olive Branch, Mississippi, cornerback Jaylon Reed decided to end the recruiting process. He’s a member of the 2018 class and continues UT’s recent surge following Saturday’s Orange & White Game. In the past week, the Vols have commitments from running back Jashaun Corbin, receiver Jatavious Harris and quarterback Michael Penix.

Also, fifth-year graduate transfer cornerback Shaq Wiggins gave the Vols some massive news when he elected to play his final year in Knoxville after transferring from Louisville. He’s buddies with departed running back Alvin Kamara who helped recruit him at this past weekend’s spring game. Wiggins also considered South Carolina and Mississippi State, and he should provide UT some much-needed help at a position of need in 2017. He has a great chance to step right in and start.

Though the Vols have a lot of talent on the back end of the defense, this spring showed the secondary again as one of the team’s biggest worries. With Cameron Sutton headed to the NFL, the Vols need a rotation to step up among cornerbacks Justin Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, Marquill Osborne, D.J. Henderson, Baylen Buchanan and others. UT also has a trio of freshmen coming in with Shawn Shamburger, Cheyenne Labruzza and Terrell Bailey ready to step onto campus.

On top of the commits UT has enjoyed this past week, the Vols also received intriguing news that top quarterback target Adrian Martinez decommitted from California following his weekend visit to Knoxville. Though Martinez hasn’t pledged to UT yet, the Vols have to be seen as a frontrunner for his services.

As for Reed, the 6’1″, 170-pound defensive back had offers from Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and others. He’s blessed with good length and athleticism, and he appears to be a nice prospect. The Vols and new defensive backs coach Charlton Warren identified him as a top target and were excited for him to end the process.

It’s been a big week on the recruiting trail for the Vols, and it may not be finished with quarterbacks coach Mike Canales expected to visit Martinez in his California home this weekend.

Vols to get instant help at cornerback from graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins

The Tennessee Vols just got great news in the form of former Louisville cornerback Shaq Wiggins announcing that he is coming to Tennessee as a graduate transfer and will be available to play immediately this fall. Wiggins earned an All-ACC honorable mention in 2015, a season in which he started all 13 games and returned two interceptions for 52 yards. He also had 13 passes defended and 11 pass breakups.

Last season, Wiggins played in only eight games and started one due to injuries, and he sat out the 2014 season after transferring to Louisville from Georgia when former Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left for the Cardinals. Wiggins started eight games as a freshman in Athens.

A former Under Armour All-American in high school, Wiggins looks to mix things up in the secondary for the Vols this fall camp. He’ll compete with Emmanuel Moseley, Justin Martin, and the other cornerbacks on the roster for a starting spot.

Gameday Today: Vols in the NFL Draft, Orange and White Game debriefings, and recruiting offers

NFL Draft

Will at Rocky Top Talk is celebrating Derek Barnett by reliving some of his best moments at Tennessee. Barnett didn’t just rack up the sack totals; he picked it up at the right time.
 
The Josh Dobbs bandwagon is getting quite cozy with another ESPN analyst suddenly realizing that Dobbs is better than everybody thinks. What’s fueling the bandwagon? Work ethic, attitude, and intelligence, says Mel Kiper. I don’t know, maybe he’s just now seeing that NCAA Student Athlete PSA.
 
And don’t forget Josh Malone, who Kiper says could go in the third round, which would be good news to his grandma, who told me in the Ingles parking lot the other day that she’d wanted him to stay in school. Oh, but the brain lasts longer than the body. 
 
Can you remember the last Vol who was taken in the NFL Draft? Me, neither. Answer at the bottom of the post.

Football

The Orange and White Game debriefing is nearly complete. So what have we learned?
 
The running back depth is a serious issue that I will not joke about until the new recruits arrive on campus this summer.
 
Defensive back Justin Martin is a new man.
 
And a whole bunch of guys got a whole bunch of reps due to a whole bunch of injuries, including receiver Marquez Callaway, who apparently had more reps than anyone else on the team during spring.

Recruiting

Tennessee’s made a bunch of offers to 2019 prospects in the wake of the Orange and White Game, including one each to top-50 wide receivers Arjei Henderson and Trejan Bridges and one to defensive tackle DeWayne Carter.
 

By my count, that’s 21 offers already by Tennessee, all spent on two guys. I don’t know who the recruiting coordinator over there is, but he sounds like a spendthrift. 
 

Answer to the NFL Draft question

Yeah, I couldn’t remember the last Vol drafted, either. It was apparently Daniel McCullers.

Tennessee Stays Hot on Recruiting Trail With Three More Commits

Tennessee met one of its biggest needs in the 2018 recruiting class with Friday’s pledge of Florida running back Jashaun Corbin. It wound up just the beginning to an Orange & White Game weekend.

A lot of rain couldn’t dampen how hot the Volunteers were on the recruiting trail as UT added three more commitments the past two days, and there are even a few more who could pop soon. Though there were no huge-name pledges out of the bunch, all three are vital to the Vols’ class and have high upsides.

Corbin remains the highlight, but the other three pledges keep UT moving along in this year’s class and getting off to a great start in the 2019 haul, too. The most high-profile of the pledges came from 3-star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. of Tampa Bay Tech. The 6’3″, 182-pound southpaw signal-caller has liked the Vols for a long time, but he committed on Saturday, choosing UT over offers from Oregon, Arizona, Rutgers, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and others.

Though Penix doesn’t have the greatest offer sheet in the world, the Vols identified him early in the process and wanted him for a long time. In a year where they want to take two signal-callers, it was important to get one early, and Penix looks like he has the ability and the upside to come in and compete. He immediately left Knoxville and participated in a camp in Washington D.C., where 247Sports writer Steve Wiltfong said he was a “steady” performer during Elite 11 drills.

Tennessee also hosted top QB target Adrian Martinez, who told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan he had a “really good visit” this weekend and had a decision to make between UT and the Cal Bears, where he’s been committed for the past five months. The Vols would love for Martinez to be their second QB commit in this class to go along with Penix.

The biggest surprise pledge of the weekend came from fast, dynamic receiver Jatavious Harris of Milledgeville, Georgia, who had South Carolina as his leader prior to his weekend visit to Knoxville. The 6’2″, 182-pound pass-catcher vibed well with UT receivers coach Kevin Beard and pledged on Sunday, giving Tennessee its second commitment from a receiver in this class. Harris joins Manchester, Tennessee, receiver Alontae Taylor, and the two already have quite a rapport on social media. Harris has great size and is quick in the open field, as his HUDL video shows.

Harris had offers from the Gamecocks, Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and others.

He and Taylor have been chirping all weekend about other possible commitments, and some names that are being thrown around as possibilities are Alabama linebacker Jacquez Jones and maybe a 2019 commit or two.

One player in next year’s class who made his verbal pledge is Chattanooga athlete Cameron Wynn, who may well be the fastest player in the state, regardless of class. He plays both offense and defense for Notre Dame High School, and though he played quarterback last year, the Vols are recruiting him to play receiver. He joins soft commitments Kendrell Scurry and TJ Sheffield as UT pledges in that class. All are in-state receivers. All are also early 4-star recruits on 247Sports.

Tennessee has made a habit in recent years of loading up on prospects early and then over-recruiting them if necessary. None of these players on the surface look like candidates for that; they’re all quality players who a lot of teams wanted.

Jashaun Corbin Gives Tennessee a Potential Star Running Back Commit

Tennessee already sits in prime shape with a lot of its top prospects for the 2018 recruiting class, but there are few bigger needs than impact running backs.

The Vols certainly grabbed one of those on Friday afternoon on Orange & White Game eve, when Melbourne, Florida, running back Jashaun Corbin announced via Twitter that he was committing to UT.

https://twitter.com/Jashaun06/status/855552179284955140

The 6’0″, 191-pound runner from Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy is a 4-star prospect on Rivals and a 3-star prospect on 247Sports, but his ceiling is very high, as evidenced by his offer sheet. The teams that have given him offers number more than 25 and include the likes of Southern Cal, Clemson, Florida State, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, LSU, Oregon, South Carolina, etc. It’s basically a who’s-who of Football Bowl Subdivision powers.

Corbin just visited Knoxville this past week and raved to recruiting sites about his relationship with UT running backs coach Robert Gillespie. Also, he has developed a rapport with new offensive coordinator Larry Scott, who recruits Florida for the Vols. After totally nearly 2,000 yards as a prep junior last year, UT sold Corbin on sliding into the Alvin Kamara role.

He’s proven he can do everything, with more than 1,100 rushing yards, more than 600 receiving yards, 19 total touchdowns and the ability to produce in the return game. He has 4.43 speed, and if you don’t think he’s a legit back, check out his high school junior HUDL.

Without question, this is a player UT will have to fight to hang onto, but he’s an incredible early pickup to go along with instate offensive linemen Cade Mays and Ollie Lane, Volunteer State athlete Alontae Taylor and cornerback Shatar McClay. Corbin is the fifth overall pledge and the first for UT from out of state.

Tennessee is in need of elite runners in this year’s class. After Jalen Hurd quit the team and Alvin Kamara headed to the NFL, the Vols are left with John Kelly as the starter, and he’s entering a junior year that could be a breakout campaign. While nobody is betting on him leaping to the NFL after this year, it can’t be ruled out. The Vols have only Carlin Fils-aime behind him as a scholarship runner currently on the roster.

Though UT did well in the 2017 class recruiting running backs, it missed out on elite prospect Cam Akers, who wound up at Florida State and showed out in spring drills. Who the Vols did get is former Montgomery Bell Academy standout Ty Chandler, who should step right in and play immediately. Chandler was the nation’s No. 5 running back and had a huge offer sheet.

They also added power runner Trey Coleman and all-purpose back Timothy Jordan, and hopefully one [or both] of those guys can become quality players with some time to develop. Neither of those players will wow you with their ranking, but they’ve both got some upside as niche backs.

As for Corbin, he’s a potential game-changer, and though some services don’t have him as highly ranked as others right now, he’ll skyrocket sooner or later. That’s not lip service; he’s that good. You don’t have that kind of offer list if you’re not dynamic, and his highlight reel proves it.

Now, the Vols will turn their attention to other running back targets as they should take at least one more. The board right now is thick and talented, highlighted by guys such as instate runner Master Teague, Alabama back Tae Provens (who calls UT his leader), Lyn-J Dixon, Jamal Currie-Elliott and many more. Those are the guys you hear about the most right now, and the Vols find themselves right in the mix for all of their commitments.

It’s great having Corbin in the bag this early, too. With a big prospect list expected to head to rainy Knoxville this weekend, the Vols may not be done adding commitments. But this one started with a bang.

Tennessee Focusing on the Future of its Quarterbacks Along with Present

Much of the talk around spring practice has centered on Tennessee’s quarterbacks battle as Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano vie to replace Joshua Dobbs as the Volunteers’ signal-caller of the future.

But just as intriguing of a storyline as camp comes to a close is who the Vols will tab as the quarterback in their 2018 recruiting class.

After swinging and missing on Hunter Johnson and other high-profile targets a season ago, UT settled on Will McBride, who chose the Vols following a late offer after he was all set to enroll mid-term with Memphis.

There hasn’t been that much talk about McBride this spring, as expected, because he’s probably swimming in learning all the vernacular and nuances that come from studying playbooks and making calls for a college team. No matter how good you are in high school, that learning curve is sharp for the vast majority of players. McBride may wind up being a star, but his thin offer sheet and limited experience make that a huge question mark.

So, with UT coach Butch Jones wanting to take a quarterback each year and considering there was a gamble taken at recruiting the position in the ’17 class, that makes this year’s quarterback prospect an important undertaking. With the Orange & White Game set to commence tomorrow, Tennessee is expected to host a few of its targets at the position.

With new quarterbacks coach Mike Canales now calling the shots, the “big board” at the position has changed. Would UT love to get back in on former top targets and Georgia prospects Emory Jones (Ohio State commit) and Justin Fields (Penn State commit) and become major players for those two? Most likely. They’ve got elite ceilings as dual-threat quarterbacks with big arms and fast feet. But as far as uncommitted prospects go, this week has been big for Tennessee’s future recruiting the offensive leader.

After hosting 4-star California signal-caller Brevin White earlier this week—a visit that put the Vols “high on the list” for the pledge of the player, according to 247Sports’ Ryan Callahan—UT will host several other prospects at the position this weekend.

Perhaps the most lauded of the bunch is 4-star California Bears commitment Adrian Martinez, who may just be at the top of UT’s current board that includes uncommitted players. Martinez is blessed with great arm strength, and he isn’t a statue in the pocket, either. He has seemed to be feeling the Vols since they extended an offer, and though other teams such as Alabama have swooped in with offers since then, Martinez is making the cross-country trip from Cali to visit Knoxville this weekend. Most importantly for UT, he isn’t going anywhere else. That means he’s coming to SEC Country and only taking in the Neyland Stadium atmosphere.

Considering all the turnover the Bears coaching staff has experienced over the past year, that can’t be a bad development for UT.

Martinez isn’t the only gunslinger coming to Knoxville from the West, either. Fresh off getting an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs, 3-star quarterback Cammon Cooper (of Utah) is also going to be in Knoxville. He’s more of a traditional dropback passer, but that may not be such a unique development. Ever since Larry Scott took over as offensive coordinator and Canales joined the fray as UT’s quarterbacks coach, the Vols seem more interested in pro-style passers than they were with the previous regime.

The Vols reportedly practiced more under center this spring after running out of the shotgun the vast majority of the time during Dobbs’ tenure under former offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. Does that signify a regime change? Not necessarily, especially if redshirt freshman Guarantano wins the job. But it also could prove that UT is going to be more diverse from a schematic standpoint under Scott, especially in short-yardage situations.

Still, if you want a dual-threat quarterback prospect to whet your appetite, Tennessee hosted several of them this spring, and the Vols are getting another visit this weekend from Michael Penix of Tampa Bay (Florida) Tech, who fits that mold. The 6’2″, 182-pounder is a player who 247Sports’ Crystal Ball believes will wind up in Knoxville. With Tennessee potentially taking two quarterbacks in this year’s class, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he could pull the trigger for the Vols this weekend if he indeed is a take. He likes UT that much.

So, there hasn’t been that much movement on the recruiting front just yet, and everybody wants a quarterback around which to build your class. With so many prospects coming this weekend and with players at the position traditionally deciding to choose their schools early, could this be the weekend the Vols land a signal-caller for the 2018 class?

That remains to be seen. But it’s definitely something else to watch along with tomorrow’s Orange & White spring finale.