Greg Emerson Gives Tennessee the Jewel of its Recruiting Class

When the news broke on Sunday that elite Tennessee defensive end target Greg Emerson suffered a leg injury at “The Opening” recruiting showcase camp, Volunteers fans and commitments everywhere showered the 4-star prospect with love.

The news improved significantly on Monday when it became clear the Jackson, Tennessee, star would be running again after just 4-6 weeks on the shelf.

Then, 24 hours later, the headlines concerning Emerson became front-page news for UT fans when perhaps the top target in the 2018 Vols recruiting class made his commitment to Tennessee official on the NFL Network with a surprise announcement.

“I said I was going to do it in December, but I guess I’ll go ahead and let everybody know. For the next four years, I’ll probably be furthering my education at the University of Knoxville. Go Big Orange.”

It’s all good that he left out the “Tennessee” part right now. Quite honestly, nobody who cares anything about Vols football cares that a nervous kid mixed up the name. The bottom line is Emerson is an elite prospect who has seemingly favored UT for a long time and will play his college days on Rocky Top. That’s massive news for head coach Butch Jones, Emerson’s top recruiter Walt Wells and his position coach, Brady Hoke, who deserves a big assist in the commitment.

Emerson is the nation’s No. 26-ranked player overall in the 247Sports recruiting rankings and the third-ranked defensive tackle. In the composite ratings, he’s the No. 76 player and fifth-ranked defensive tackle. He is currently 6’3″, but he wants to stay on the outside and play defensive end in college, and because he’s reportedly down to 260 pounds (from 296), his weight and his athleticism may allow him to do just that. Last year, there were 32 5-stars on 247Sports, so with a strong senior season, there’s no reason to believe he can’t finish there.

247Sports analyst Steve Wiltfong believes the Vols are getting one of the most athletic defensive linemen in the nation, which is saying something at his size.

Emerson’s size may sound like an interior lineman, and he may very well be, but Emerson’s burst is elite. At the very least, he’ll be a guy who can be a versatile cog anywhere up front the way Jonathan Kongbo projects to be and much the way a guy like Malik Jackson was able to do in the past. Emerson has that type of talent, and it’s the reason why he’s one of the most sought-after players in the country.

Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and basically everybody else wanted him to commit to them. Emerson even admitted early in the process he grew up an Alabama fan. But Emerson has been feeling the Vols for a while. Last year, when UT won a hotly contested recruiting battle for the services of 5-star offensive lineman Trey Smith of Jackson, Emerson was present at his announcement, and he was visibly excited for Smith committing to Tennessee.

Over the past few months, Emerson visited Knoxville multiple times. He developed a strong bond with Jones, Wells and Hoke, and, beyond that, he also built a rapport with two other big-time linemen from the Volunteer State in Brant Lawless and D’Andre Litaker. Both of those kids verbally committed to Tennessee over the past few months, and it became evident that it would be a major upset if Emerson went anywhere else.

On Monday, he made his verbal commitment official.

The Vols continue to load up in the Volunteer State. Pretty much, the only three players they wanted who haven’t committed are running back Master Teague (Ohio State), offensive lineman Max Wray (Ohio State) and Jordan Davis (Alabama). The Vols quickly moved on at running back and on the O-line, and they’re still heavily recruiting Davis, but it appears he’s solid to the Crimson Tide at the moment.

Davis visited at “Orange Carpet Day” a couple of weeks ago, as did Emerson, who actually silently committed to Tennessee during that visit, according to VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton and Austin Price, who did a commitment video with the big lineman during that weekend.

With Emerson’s commitment, it gives Tennessee a bevy of Volunteer State studs. Five-star offensive lineman Cade Mays from Knoxville Catholic leads the pack with Emerson not far behind him in the rankings. Alontae Taylor is also at “The Opening” recruiting showcase camp in Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The Manchester, Tennessee, athlete gives UT another marquee player from close to home. Lawless and Litaker have all the trappings to be next-level studs, and Chattanooga safety Brendon Harris looks like he could be a multi-year starter, too. Farragut tight end Jacob Warren and Knoxville (Gibbs) center Ollie Lane round out the players from within state borders in UT’s haul.

The Vols have a few other in-state targets they’d love to land, but topping that list is offensive lineman Jerome Carvin.

If UT can get him, that will mean perhaps the best instate recruiting class in the history of Vols football. It will mean the Vols addressed major needs in both trenches without even having to venture out-of-state. When you’re able to take care of business at home, it can be the beginning of a fantastic class.

Throw in two good-looking running backs and a pair of stellar quarterbacks, and this class is off to as good a start as any nationally.

This UT recruiting machine has come a long way in the past year when you take into consideration that nearly a year ago, the Vols were receiving a crucial blow when Oak Ridge wide receiver was choosing Clemson over his hometown team. Toss in Jacob Phillips and JaCoby Stevens choosing LSU, and it was a forgettable recruiting class for the Vols in their own state.

This year, the class is elite. And it’s getting there because all the big boys in the Volunteer State are staying home to be part of the #Dom1n8 class that is shaping up to be dominant, at least on paper. It’s a class that is loaded. Emerson makes it much more so.

With the changes he made on the coaching staff, they’re paying major dividends with prospects. Tennessee is currently ranked fourth nationally in recruiting and second in the SEC. The Vols have put together a strong group of 16 kids in a class that should swell to 25-26.

Regardless of what big fish Jones may land between now and National Signing Day, Emerson is going to be among the top two or three in the group. He’s exactly the kind of player who can be a playmaker and an immediate-impact prospect in Knoxville.