And Now the Craziness Really Begins

After an eventful first-ever Early Signing Day that saw Tennessee ink 12 prospects, including five players who signed/committed yesterday, the final phase of the 2018 recruiting cycle has begun.  The class has a nice base of players, highlighted by 8 early enrollees and multiple immediate contributors.

With just a few weeks until the traditional February National Signing Day, new coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff will attempt to fill out their first signing class with the kinds of players who can quickly put Tennessee back into SEC contention.  Pruitt and Co. are in an interesting and unique position in that while they were able to salvage a situation in which they had barely two weeks to cobble together the early portion of their class, the stretch run to February will likely seem like an eternity.  And for Vol fans what it exciting is that, especially compared to what was truly available to Tennessee in December, the remaining board looks chock full of bonafide SEC championship winning type players.

Although Tennessee was at a disadvantage relative to its SEC peers due to the new staff coming on late and the early signing period, the Vols could actually be in a good position to be the “best looking girl at the bar at midnight” for some really talented prospects who see their top choices fill up.  In short, as much as it hurt to see rivals like Alabama and (especially) UGA load up on bigtimers yesterday, there simply aren’t enough spots at those places for all of the available top talent, and the Vols are in a real position to capitalize.

As the staff surveys the landscape to see who all signed and didn’t sign, there will undoubtedly be more offers sent out.  Not only that but not only will Pruitt have a full staff in less than two weeks (likely with strong recruiters who bring their own contacts) but he himself as well as new DC Kevin Sherrer will be less constrained to recruit unsigned Bama/UGA commits and targets.  Finally, I would expect that with the success at landing three California products yesterday and all of the uncertainty on the West Coast with new staffs still getting their bearings at UCLA and Oregon in particular, not to mention Tyson Helton’s contacts.

All that said, below is a quick look at the current “February Board” and where the Vols stand with each player, by position:

QB

After signing former Cal commit JT Shrout yesterday, Tennessee is likely still in the market for a second QB.  Shrout is a perfect “bridge QB” for the new staff, as he appears talented enough to take a chance on but not enough of a big name to scare off a true bluechipper in 2019.  Problem is, the remaining pickings are, shall we say, slim. If Tennessee can get in the mix with those I think the staff will take a shot.  If not, my guess is they’ll look hard at the grad transfer market as a way to get some 2018 depth in a one year rental without gumming up the works for the 2019 class and beyond.  Early names to watch for include former Michigan starter Wilton Speights and recent MTSU graduate Brent Stockstill.  Others will pop up in the coming months for sure.

RB

Landing Jeremy Banks yesterday was big for the Vols, both in terms of what looks like a really good prospect as well as planting a flag in Memphis for the new staff going forward.  Of course, helping to sew up teammate and fellow bluechipper OL Jerome Carvin makes Banks look that much better.  The Vols missed out on JUCO product Greg Bell, who signed with Nebraska – whose decision it was is unknown and frankly moot, but I for one am ok with it, because I don’t think Tennessee needs a JUCO back unless he’s a no-brainer stud (which Bell is not) and I’m not entirely sure this class needs more than one RB in total.

Though Buford, GA product Anthony Grant is still technically committed to the Vols most people think he’s unlikely to end up signing with Tennessee in February and most feel like that’s Pruitt’s decision.  I’m a fan of Grant, as I think he’s a really nice looking prospect and would also be the third player to sign with the Vols from the powerful Buford HS program in the last few years.

Right now the depth chart looks like this: John Kelly/Ty Chandler/Tim Jordan/Trey Coleman/Jeremy Banks.  We all know that Kelly could very easily decide to skip his final year for the NFL, but there is a really nice stable of SEC-level backs behind him.

So, assuming Grant signs elsewhere, it will be interesting to see what happens at the position.  The only other RB out there is C’Bo Flemister, a highly productive but relatively Georgia Tech commitment from South Georgia who put off signing yesterday specifically because Tennessee asked him to – he’ll be visiting in January.  Other than him, the board is pretty empty, so we’ll know really quickly if the staff wants another RB in the class by whether or not they start putting out new offers.

WR
With Alontae Taylor back in the fold and an early enrollee, the only decision Tennessee was waiting on was that of JUCO product Jaron Woodyard (also an early enrollee and a Nebraska commitment who OV’d to Knoxville last weekend).  Ultimately Woodyard decided to stick with the Cornhuskers, which means that the bulk of the WR class will come in February.  The good news is that the current board contains four very high level prospect, with more offers likely to go out in short order:

Jacob Copeland; Copeland is a former UF commitment who has been considered a Bama lean for a while.  However, he loves Pruitt and was blown away on his Tennessee OV this past weekend.  The bad news of course is that there is a lot of time between that OV and February’s NSD, and Copeland intends to take more OVs.  That said, the Vols have put themselves in a strong position.  Copeland is a stud and would be worth whatever effort the staff has to put in here.

Nikko Hall/Chris Olave/Geordon Porter – Three California playmakers, one of whom (Hall, formerly coached by Casey Clausen) is definitely planning on taking a Tennessee OV in January.  The other two have OVs left to use, so it will be interesting to see if UT can get any traction here.  Having fellow Californians JT Shrout and Dominick Wood-Anderson and Jordan Allen in the fold could be a big help with these and any other West Coast prospects the staff should decide to take a swing at.

TE

We discussed Tennessee’s coup gaining the signature from Dominick Wood-Anderson, the nation’s #1 JUCO TE yesterday.  Pairing Wood-Anderson with longtime commit and local star Jacob Warren means the TE position has received a much needed injection of talent.  We also discussed the ramifications for Glenn Beal, a Jumbo ATH who could play both TE and DE and took his OV to Knoxville this past weekend.  Interestingly, Beal tweeted last night that he is thinking about signing early.  The guess here is that were that come to pass it would be either Tennessee (his only OV) or LSU (home state school and where he’s visited multiple times).  We shall see here…

OL

After signing Tanner Antonutti, Ollie Lane and ESD commitment and fellow instater Jerome Carvin, the Vols have a nice base of talent for an OL class that needed to have quantity and quality, and still needs more of both.  And after outstanding OVs this past weekend, the Vols are strong favorites for both Giancarlo Valentin and Jahmir Johnson, two highly rated JUCO products (who coincidentally were high school teammates).  Both plan on taking more visits between now and NSD, but Tennessee is in great position for both.  The staff has zeroed in on these and I expect them to expend every effort necessary to land them.

These guys, along with Carvin in particular, project as instant contributors and would solidify the 2018 OL for the Vols.  They would also allow Antonutti and Lane the necessary redshirt year to develop and be ready to contribute in 2019 and beyond.

DL

With a really nice DL haul that included three early enrollees in DE Jordan Allen (JUCO) and Greg Emerson and Kingston Harris along with highly regarded instate DT Brant Lawless, the Vols have a nice group of early signees at a position where you always need more bodies and more talent.  Tennessee also still holds a commitment from instate 4-star D’Andre Litaker.  However, his situation appears to be in limbo and the new staff evaluates him and the overall position, and how they proceed here will be something to keep an eye on.

Malik Langham – A longtime Tennesse target, Langham appears to be down to Alabama and UT, with Notre Dame, where he’s already taken an OV, trying to hang around and UF scheduled for an OV. Langham has been to campus quite a bit, including this fall for the South Carolina game; however, in order to solidify its position Tennessee will have to secure one of his two remaining OVs.  I do expect that to happen, but this one will be another Pruitt vs. Saban battle that goes to the wire.

Coynis Miller – Massive Auburn DT commit, Miller is very talented and a perfect NG fit in Pruitt’s 3-4.  He was scheduled to OV to Knoxville last weekend but did not come – whether he cancelled or rescheduled is unknown right now, but not signing with AU yesterday leads one to believe he’s not completely sold on the Tigers.  Alabama is pushing here too.  He has a great relationship with new Tennessee coach Chris Rumph, which should keep the Vols in it here.  If he reschedules the OV you can count the Vols as a real player here; if not, you can obviously scratch him off.

There does not appear to be much traction with Michael Williams, a Jumbo ATH from Louisiana with offers from LSU and Bama among others who got a quick offer from Pruitt.  We’ll see if that changes in the coming weeks.  In contrast, Javonte Jean Baptiste, a long and lean (6-5, 215) edge rusher with a great frame who hails from the same high school as Jarrett Guarantano, does not appear to have gotten much attention from the new staff.  He did have the Vols in his Top 4 with BC, Virgina Tech and UCF and was actually scheduled to OV for the Vandy game, so if Pruitt and Co. want to get involved I think they can, but they’ll need to move quickly.  I like his game and think he’d be an interesting fit in Pruitt’s 3-4.

I think DL is a position where we’ll see some new offers go out, but Langham and Miller in particular look like the staff’s top targets.

LB

JJ Peterson – A longtime Bama lean, Peterson recently said that the Vols are now his leader.  This is almost 100% due to Pruitt, who he is very close with.  It of course doesn’t hurt that he plays for Pruitt mentor Rush Propst, is from GA so knows Sherrer, and also that UT is now home to two former Colquitt Co players in Jaquan Blakely and Shawn Shamburger.  This will be a knock down drag out fight and one that could yield a crown jewel of the class should Tennessee win out.

Quay Walker- He’s not only close with Pruitt but also is being heavily recruited by UGA (Sherrer).  UGA tried hard to get him to flip and sign yesterday, but he held off and now is fully in play.  Auburn is also a player here, so the Vols are treading in deep waters, which is where you want and can expect this staff to traffic

Javeon Becton – Former UGA commit from current Vol Eric Crosby’s HS, Becton is a pass rusher who knows Sherrer well.  He got a recent Tennessee offer and is very nterested – in fact, he was in Knoxville for the UGA game in late September so he’s been to campus once already.  Virginia Tech is the other big player here

Caleb Tannor – Georgia dropped Caleb Tannor over academic concerns, but it sounds like he will have a chance to qualify. With Auburn missing on Andres Fox, they could very well zero in on Tannor, who initially chose the Bulldogs over the Tigers. Tannor liked the Vols a lot back in the summer before committing to the Dawgs and has been on campus a few times including recently for the LSU game.  Tannor is a really good prospect who I think deserves attention from the new staff given the need for pass rushers.  We’ll see if either side reaches out

Otis Reese – More of a 3-4 ILB, and a very talented one at that, the Michigan commit from GA has had a ton of interest in UGA and Bama, where Sherrer and Pruitt were his respective recruiters of record.  I’ve admittedly not heard of anything going on here but on paper he seems like a guy who would get a quick call from the staff today to gauge interest after not signing yesterday

DB

With zero DBs signed or committed, and with a huge need at the position, one can expect Pruitt and DB Coach Terry Fair to spend a lot of time and energy trying to land some elite prospects.  The good news is that they’ve already laid a lot of good groundwork with a number of highly talented prospects:

Olaijah Griffin – A Top 50 overall player in the class, Griffin had an outstanding OV to Knoxville this past weekend that instantly marked Tennessee as a strong contender for this elite prospect.  Interestingly, Griffin has quite a bit of family in East Tennessee and his uncle actually accompanied him on his official visit, so there is clearly a comfort level here.  As one would expect for a player of this caliber, this will be a fight, and USC, Auburn, Michigan and of course UCLA will battle until the ink dries here.

Isaac Taylor-Stuart: Another big-timer from CA who’s been considering Alabama for a longtime, Stuart got an immediate offer from the new staff and instantly inserted the Vols into his Top 6 alongside the Tide, UGA, USC and Texas A&M (where he’s already OV’d).  Like Griffin, Stuart-Taylor is a hyper-talented prospect and would be an instant contributor in Knoxville, and if he follows through on his stated intention to OV to Knoxville the Vols will be firmly in the mix

Eddie Smith – After decommitting from TCU after a quick offer from Pruitt, the Louisiana native fits the Pruitt mold of long CBs and is obviously incredibly talented when you watch his film.  He also trains with former Vol JJ McClesky and is close with 2017 Vol signee Cheyenne Labruzza.  He will likely set up a January OV to Knoxville pretty quickly and you can, in my opinion, almost pencil him in to the class

Rayshad Williams – A Vandy commitment from Memphis, Williams did not sign yesterday and therefore I’d consider his recruitment wide open.  He’s had interest in Tennessee for a long time but committed to Vanderbilt when UT didn’t come through with a firm offer.  There have long been questions as to whether the 6’3 prospect is a CB or a S, but there is no doubt he’s talented and the new staff seems to like him more than the former. He got a visit form a UT staffer in December and I’d expect him to set up an OV to Knoxville for January.

Roger McCreary – Former South Alabama commitment who is now heavily considering homestate Auburn as well as the Vols after receiving offers.  One would think he’s AU’s to lose, but he does have an OV scheduled to Knoxville on January 26^th.  If he makes it that far he could be one to watch

Benjie Franklin – The most recent CB offer, Franklin is a JUCO product who’s getting more and more interest.  Auburn has also just offered and will likely be a factor.  I’m not sure where Franklin sits on the Tennessee board (or others’), so his recruitment will likely be impacted by how schools do with other prospects

Vernon Jackson – Another Jumbo ATH, Jackson profiles as a big Safety who can really run.  He’s a Bama commit but didn’t sign yesterday and despite heavy interest in/from Texas A&M I think he might be one who gets a quick call from Pruitt today.