As June rapidly approaches, the Vols are in a situation not seen since the 2014 class that featured early commitments from studs like Todd Kelly Jr and Jalen Hurd: A highly-ranked class featuring not just a large collection of commitments, but a commitment list jampacked with studs from top to bottom AND two bigtime QB commits to boot. And while the Vols have dominated instate recruiting so far, there are still more than a half-dozen instate prospects who the Vols are pushing hard and are in good position for (more on that below).
And with all of the momentum the Vols have on the trail right now, the relatively newly important month of June holds the promise of more message board booms. In back-to-back-to-back weeks, June will feature two instate satellite camps, one in Nashville in one in Memphis, as well as the featured event of the offseason, Orange Carpet Day in Knoxville. It’s no secret that the MIdstate has and continues to be a growing area in terms of high level football talent, and Memphis (and nearby Mississippi) appears to be getting more attention from this staff of late with the 2018-2020 classes. And Orange Carpet Day has been a source of summertime commitments every year since Butch created it. Obviously last year was an anomaly in terms of the sheer volume of commitments (not to mention the fact that the majority of those didn’t end up signing with UT in the end), but it’s reasonable to expect some action that weekend.
While we haven’t seen attendee lists for the two camps, below are uncommitted prospects with Vol offers in the respective areas. The sheer number boggles the mind for those who have followed instate recruiting for more than 3-4 years:
June 4th Satellite Camp – Nashville
[ess_grid alias=”grt-2017-promo-grid”]
2018
- RB Master Teague
- DL D’Andre Litaker
- OL Taylor Antonutti
- WR Camron Johnson
- CB Jaylon King
2019
- OL Jackson Lampley
- DL Joe Anderson
- DL Ani Izuchukwu
- WR Lance Wilhoitte
- WR Trey Knox
- DB Wesley Walker
- DB Jashon Watkins
2020
- DL Tyler Baron
June 11th Satellite Camp – Memphis
2018
- DL Greg Emerson
- LB Cam Jones
- OL Jerome Carvin
- DB Rayshad Williams
- ATH Kundarrius Taylor
- DL Jordan Davis (Bama commit)
- WR CJ Bolar (MS)
- DB Jeshaun Jones (MS)
2019
- DL Kristian Williams
- DL Trevis Hopper
2020
- WR Darrin Turner
June 17th Orange Carpet Day
While the attendee list for Orange Carpet Day is similarly unclear at this point, based on history and the high volume of instate prospects who have UT high on their lists, one can expect a very impressive number of blue-chip prospects to be there. Staying with the instate theme, the Vols have a real chance to build momentum with a bunch of kids heading into Orange Carpet Day at the camps held the prior two weeks and then potentially seal the deal with some of them when they are in Knoxville.
So far, commits Adrian Martinez and Jatavious Harris have said they will be there, along with CB prospects Rayshad Williams and Jaycee Horn. I wouldn’t be shocked if most of the rest of the current commitments are also there. Again, I don’t expect the kind of fireworks we saw at last year’s event, as not only is this class already at 10 high-level commitments but also the staff has shown at least so far this cycle they are willing to be pickier about who they take. That said, a commitment or two that day wouldn’t be surprising in the least.
Finally, the staff will be holding camps on campus throughout the month and will likely bring in many more offered prospects for those while at the same time identifying others to offer. Happens every year.
In addition to what one could reasonably assume to be some guys pulling the trigger based on these camps and the Orange Carpet Day event, there are a handful of prospects that UT appears to lead for who have indicated that June commitments could be coming, including the aforementioned Litaker as well as Knoxville area TE Jacob Warren. So while a Vols fan has to be feeling incredibly good about where the Class of 2018 sits heading into the last week of May, chances are things will be much better when the month of June closes.