New Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt is swinging for the fences on several elite, playmaking athletes as the days tick off toward national signing day.

But, due to the Vols needing depth at key positions, they’re having to make sure they’ve got some high-upside players filling the class as well. That’s where Louisiana defensive back Brandon Davis comes in.

The John Curtis High School product is perhaps the least-recruited prospect in UT’s class thus far, but the Vols thought enough of him to take a commitment from him on Monday. The 3-star cornerback had offers from teams such as South Alabama, Colorado State, Nicholls State, Louisiana-Monroe and Liberty.

 

No, that isn’t exactly a murderer’s row of college powerhouses. But he pops on film despite being undersized at 5’11”, 160 pounds, and he’s a two-sport athlete who could wind up in the MLB Draft rather than on the college gridiron.

Is it possible UT got a steal from a guy who is the No. 1,728-ranked player in the nation, according to 247Sports? He told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan that UT coaches told him they see him as being a Tyrann Mathieu-type prospect who can roam all over the field, play a lot of spots and be a versatile playmaker.

So, why didn’t other teams feel the same way? Davis told Callahan he believes there’s a viable reason.

“The reason why is because I didn’t go to any camps and because of baseball,” he said. “I play (two) sports, so it was kind of hard for me. But the film’s not going to lie.”

The Vols have some huge fish left in this class, hoping to land guys like Olaijah Griffin, Quay Walker, Jacob Copeland, Tyson Campbell, John Mincey, Eddie Smith and others, but there is another prospect considering UT who may give the Vols a harder look with Davis in the fold. He’s a teammates of star defensive end/tight end Glenn Beal, who is considering Texas A&M and could also wind up at LSU if the Tigers offer.

If the Vols could get Beal, it would make the Davis pickup even better.

There are still a lot of factors remaining in Davis’ recruitment. Could he get drafted high and wind up in the minor leagues? Is he a potential blueshirt candidate at UT? Will he be a guy who comes right in and plays? Whatever the case, Davis is a guy who’s expected to be in Tennessee’s class.

This is the second commitment in two weeks for UT, who landed 4-star receiver Jordan Young last week; another late-riser who will wind up one of the Vols’ highest-ranked commitments in the class. Davis won’t, but that doesn’t mean he’s a player who won’t wind up competing.

After all, some of the defensive back pledges under the last coaching regime — guys like Brandon Cross and Tanner Ingle — weren’t highly recruited, either.

That leaves about 6-7 spots in this class with a lot of guys remaining on the board. How will the Vols finish? Right now, it’s about as up-in-the-air as any class in recent memory.