With spots filling up quickly and some big-name targets remaining on the board, Tennessee can afford to be selective with the last few players it takes in this year’s recruiting class.
That alone should tell you what the coaching staff thinks of Melvin McBride, a 6’4″, 315-pound projected offensive guard from Whitehaven HS in Memphis who pledged to UT over Arkansas, Memphis, Louisville and others on Wednesday.
I am 100% Committed to the University of Tennessee❗️❗️#RockyTop 🍊 pic.twitter.com/Gs5NJEcRS9
— Melvin McBride📌 (@mjmballin) August 22, 2018
The Vols already have commitments from 5-star offensive tackle Wanya Morris, 4-star offensive guard/tackle Jackson Lampley and 3-star guard Chris Akporoghene — and they’re right at the top of the list for 5-star tackle Darnell Wright with Alabama. But Pruitt has been upgraded Tennessee’s size in the trenches since he got here.
And, unlike some of the coaches before him, he knows you never turn down a big body who wants to come to your school, especially one who has crazy upside. McBride’s high school coach told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong that McBride is “scary athletic.” The uber-athletic big man can play along the front on either side of the ball, and he is a basketball standout, too.
In other words, he possesses the kind of size and athleticism that you can’t teach, and it’s exactly what you want along the offensive front.
If you’re Pruitt, you take him now and figure out the numbers later. But McBride is definitely a guy you want in this class, especially considering you want and need to have plenty of able bodies up front.
I have a feeling in a couple of years we’re going to say “dang that Melvin McBride was a good get by Jeremy Pruitt”
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) August 22, 2018
The Vols are already reportedly improving up front with the additions of JUCO tackle Jahmir Johnson and freshman Jerome Carvin. Another freshman, Ollie Lane, could factor into the equation down the road, and the return of Trey Smith, Chance Hall and the transfer of Brandon Kennedy should help with a unit that was awful a year ago.
But if the Vols can close the deal on Wright, this has the potential to be the best O-line class at Tennessee in a long, long time. McBride figured to be headed to Arkansas recently, but a couple of Memphis-area Vols — Carvin and junior offensive tackle Drew Richmond — reportedly talked with McBride deep into the night and convinced him he needed to wear orange and white.
That’s exactly the kind of peer recruiting you need. In that conversation was a first-year guy who has been given the opportunity to prove himself and shone immediately, placing himself firmly in the mix to start (Carvin), a maligned veteran who has struggled at times throughout his career but still looks like the Game 1 starter at one of the tackle spots as he tries to turn around his career (Richmond) and a guy who will fill the void in the future in McBride.
It speaks volumes for the kind of environment Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend fostered since arriving on campus.
Yes, UT now has 20 commitments in a class that wasn’t supposed to reach 25, but there’s a long way between now and national signing day. You never know about defections, flips, mutual parting of ways, injuries or other factors. McBride was a big ol’ bird in hand, and he not only gives the Vols a great athletic big man with a huge upside (he’s only played football one season), he helps Pruitt and Co. get in the door of Whitehaven, a powerhouse in West Tennessee.
His coach thinks he’s a steal.
“Extremely athletic for a man that size — actually, scary athletic for a guy that size,” Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry said, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel‘s Blake Toppmeyer. “Extremely strong, extremely driven and extremely coachable. The kid is a sponge to learning. He wants to get better.”
McBride’s pledge moves Tennessee to No. 10 in the 247Sports Composite rankings, and the Vols are eighth on Rivals.
The Vols need help all over the field in this year’s recruiting cycle, but they have placed a major emphasis on the trenches. McBride is the fourth offensive lineman and the 10th trench man to pledge in this year’s haul.
McBride isn’t the most polished player yet, but he’d be one of the most athletic linemen on UT’s roster. Best of all, he’ll actually have some time to develop like an offensive lineman is supposed to, considering he’s going to be stepping into a situation where UT has some nice-looking young guard prospects like Carvin, K’Rojhn Calbert, Riley Locklear and Ryan Johnson. McBride looks like a definite interior lineman like Akporoghene, and Morris and Lampley could project to tackle.
The Vols are going to have options, and Pruitt has proved so far in spring and fall camps that he wants his guys to learn to play multiple positions so he can always have his best players on the field if there are injuries.
McBride’s athleticism lends itself to future versatility, and while the Razorbacks have come into the state and grabbed a few guys the Vols didn’t prioritize in what is a good year rankings-wise for guys from the Volunteer State, it was good to see Pruitt get a big man he wanted in a head-to-head battle.
The Vols likely are done on the offensive front until Wright makes his decision, and the big man from West Virginia has a spot regardless. It’ll be interesting to see how the final few places in the class shakes out.
