Coming into the Kentucky game, a Tennessee program that was 4-5 in Coach Jeremy Pruitt’s inaugural season had the #2 recruiting class in the SEC East and 15th nationally, with ample room to move up and needs addressed at multiple positions. At the same time, national pundits were talking about a buzz around the Vols as the staff’s recruiting prowess continues to show while the team’s overall improvement and individual player development are apparent. However, after the Vols dismantled the #11 Cats on both sides of the ball to move to 5-5 and place themselves in firm position to make a bowl and even finish 7-5 (a possible 3-game improvement overall and 4-game SEC improvement), there can be no doubt that Pruitt and Co. have positioned themselves for an outstanding finish to their first full class as they hope to take a step-change leap in terms of improving the roster overall and in particular narrow the talent gap with the elite programs in the country.
With one more home game to go – this weekend against Missouri – and only roughly one month until the early signing period begins on December 19th, Tennessee’s recruiting board continues to get bigger and more importantly the staff is adding more and more elite players to the list.
Below we take a look at the Offensive Board, where the Vols have needs at each position and currently only 7 (maybe 8) of its 20 commitments are on that side of the ball (and TE Jackson Lowe is being heavily pursued by Florida):
OL
Despite hosting Oklahoma commitment EJ Ndoma-Ogar on an official visit for the Alabama game, that one seems like an extreme longshot, especially after his very successful OV to Norman this past weekend. With the Vols already having an incredibly strong 4-man OL class – headlined by 5-star OT Wanya Morris – at this point it’s basically a one-man OL board consisting of 5-star West Virginia native Darnell Wright. Wright is ostensibly still considering a few other bigtime programs like OSU and PSU, but in reality this is a Tennessee-Alabama battle with the Vols by all accounts in the pole position. Wright had even planned to be in Knoxville this past weekend for the UK game but couldn’t get the transportation logistics worked out, but the simple fact that he was trying to get back for his second unofficial of the season – after having been to campus multiple times beforehand and with an OV still to be scheduled – speaks volumes. At this point, while there is no public commitment and in recruiting things can change on a dime, the recruiting world would be surprised if he doesn’t sign with the Vols. If and when he does, he would complete an OL class that, like one of Stefon’s night clubs, has everything – multiple 5-star OTs, powerful interior players, and simply talent and numbers at a position in dire need of both.
Offensive Playmakers
Perhaps more than anything else this season, what has been laid bare this season is the Vols dearth of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. At RB, the Vols have Ty Chandler – an electric runner and pass-catcher who absolutely fits that bill – and a handful of guys who are solid but unspectacular. Tim Jordan almost defines that, and not in a bad way per se but simply in the fact that he’s not a starting RB for an SEC contender but excels as a 2nd or 3rd back in a rotation. Carlin Fils-aime has actually showed flashes of being a playmaker due to his straight line speed and willingness to put his head down when he’s been given opportunities (going back to last year, really), and I’m quite hopeful that he can build on those and be a contributor in the rotation going forward in his career. Madre London, whatever he’s been this season, will be gone after the season. And freshman Jeremy Banks’s unfortunate penchant for fumbling combined with the need at LB and his athleticism and physicality (not to mention Pruitt’s track record for moving “athletes” to defense) means he’s likely ticketed for LB starting with bowl practice (crosses fingers). At the same time, the current commitment list contains no pure RBs, and the only possible RB committed is Aaron Beasley, who not only is also considered a LB/S prospect but as a RB prospect is more of a brusier. Additionally, Beasley is also still taking visits to other schools.
At WR, the Vols have a good core of solid SEC WRs, but even with all of the different strengths that each of the rotation WRs bring to the table, none of them are go-to studs for an SEC contender. And while all of them should be back next season, after Tennessee signed just one WR in the 2018 class (sleeper Cedric Tillman) it’s 2020 where the cupboard will be empty, and that’s simply a numbers game and not a comment on the talent. Right now the Vols have 4-star Ramel Keyton committed…and that’s it unless they choose to move do-everything electric ATH prospect Anthony Harris – who is rated as a S prospect but plays QB for his high school- to offense. Keyton is a very good prospect and is talented enough to compete for immediate playing time. He’s a high-end SEC playmaker, in my opinion. But the Vols simply need more of them, and they need them in this class if they want to take another step next season.
The good news is that the Vols have a really nice list of RB/WR – “playmakers” – on their board with whom they are very legitimate players. And the aforementioned buzz is generally centered on these types of players
RB Eric Gray – Gray is currently committed to Michigan but no one who resides outside of Ann Arbor realistically thinks he’s signing with the Wolverines. The Memphis native has smashed state records this season and is electric with the ball in his hands. He’s not a “big” back, but he’s not small at 5’11 and just under 200lbs. He has good but not great speed but on film runs away from opponents in the open field and at that size can both break tackles and make guys miss. After there not being a ton of mutual interest in the summer before he committed to UM – he took what seemed like a perfunctory UV to Knoxville – the Vols upped their interest quite a bit once the season started and Gray reciprocated that interest with an OV for the Florida game and then a return visit for the Alabama game. Distance (and the cold) seems like it’s going to be Michigan’s worst enemy, and Ole Miss (where he has an OV planned in December), and maybe Mississippi State and even Alabama could challenge the Vols here. The vibe is that Tennessee is in good shape here, but the timing of any decommitment/flip will be very intriguing given the overall numbers issue Tennessee could be facing as well as who else they think they can get at not just the “playmaker” positions but really anywhere else. The tell will be if he does not get to Ann Arbor this weekend for their final home game, which will mean he won’t have visited the UM campus all season and not since his summer OV. Gray is an early enrollee so he’ll be making his ultimate choice in the not too distant future, which will clear up a lot of things for the Vols
RB John Emery – A new add to the board, Emery is a 5-star back from LA who was formerly committed to UGA. Obviously he’s an elite prospect, the kind of player the Vols do not have at all on the roster. He seemed to have very little interest in the Vols despite his father having started his career in Knoxville, and when he decommitted from the Dawgs most pegged him as a strong LSU lean. And while LSU might still be there leader, Emery showed up in Neyland Stadium this weekend as an unofficial visitor and left having watched the Vols notch their 2nd Top 15 win of the season and declaring that he would be back in December for an official visit with his entire family. Emery is the type of prospect who you make room for regardless of what the rest of the class looks like, but given the aforementioned potential issues with numbers in the class he could complicate things for others if the staff thinks they can really land him. He’s taken no OVs at this point so this recruitment has a ways to go, but the Vols are firmly in the mix in a way that seemed far-fetched as little as 4 days ago
RB Lee Witherspoon – A relatively unknown (or at least underrecruited) prospect, Witherspoon like Gray is putting up video game like numbers for his North Alabama Stevenson HS squad – home of emerging Vol LB Will Ignot. He’s also a track star and at 6’0 is well put-together for a kid with that kind of speed. He’s currently got offers from Mississippi State and Virginia Tech, and he’s taken an UV to Starkville this season. He was supposed to be in Knoxville for the UK game but as of this writing it was unclear if he indeed made it. While he doesn’t have an offer for the Vols or either of the two big instate schools, he has the look of a prime candidate for a late-cycle surge in his profile. Whether the Vols choose to try to really insert themselves in this recruitment remains to be seen and could depend on how things are going with the two RBs above as well as the WRs below. From my amateur viewpoint, however, Witherspoon looks like a dynamite RB prospect and someone is going to be lucky to land him
WR Javonta Payton – The Nashville native and former Ole Miss commitment attended the Alabama game in Knoxville as an UV and promptly decommitted from the Black Bears. And while he hasn’t flipped to Tennessee yet the Vols do appear to be in good shape for the long (6’2) and speedy junior college product, ranked by 247 Sports as the #2 JUCO WR in the country. Mississippi State appears to be the primary competition at this point, which Florida and UNC working to get involved as well. In my opinion Payton, who will enroll early wherever he signs, is a plug and play WR who would add the kind of speed the Vols need on the outside. Given the need for playmakers and Payton’s ability to step in and help right away – he’s an early enrollee so that will help tremendously – it seems like he’s a definite take for the Vols and would allow the Vols to have a “floor” at WR with him and Keyton as they chase another top-flight prospect like the next guy on the list
WR Jadon Haselwood – The player who might embody the current buzz around the Vols as much as any offensive prospect (with LB Owen Pappoe being the other), Haselwood is (another) former UGA 5-star commitment who all of the sudden the Vols appear to be real players with. He took an UV to Knoxville over the summer but no one really viewed Tennessee as a threat, even after he reneged on his pledge to UGA. Most have seen Miami – where he took an October OV, and OU (summer OV) as schools at the top of his list, and Auburn got an OV a few weeks ago but not only are the Tigers fading with quite a few top prospects as their season tanks (see Pappoe above) but he actually left that visit early, never a good sign. UGA won’t go quietly here for the #1 WR in the country and until Jadon actually visits Knoxville again soon color me at least slightly skeptical, but it’s hard to ignore this kind of buzz especially when it’s coming from sources outside of Tennessee insiders. My guess is that the Vols would love to get him to campus this weekend as an unofficial visitor for Senior Day and what should be a great atmosphere and then have him come back for an OV closer to Signing Day, so that will be one of the big storylines to watch leading up to the weekend. In my opinion Haselwood and Emery are the two guys who you not only hold a spot for until they sign elsewhere (or give you a 100% ‘No”) but also are players who none of the other elite schools in their respective recruitments will give up on. As such, they’re going to be wildcards in this entire class, not just on offense and not just in the “playmaker” category
WR Khafre Brown – The Tarheel native and brother of a freshman on the UNC squad, Brown has been to Knoxville numerous times including an OV for the Florida game and a subsequent visit for the Charlotte game. Brown is a speedster with solid length though he’s a bit lanky, and at this point it seems like the Vols are not ready to push all their chips in here. In theory UGA and Michigan are the other two players here but neither appear to be recruiting him all that hard, which leaves Tennessee and North Carolina. He clearly likes the Vols a lot, but right now I don’t think they’d take him if he wanted in. I am not sure I would have said that last week, but that was before Emery became at least a somewhat realistic option as well and then the buzz started getting very loud about Haselwood. Brown is a very good prospect in his own right (he’s a 4-star on all sites, with again, track speed) and should the Vols indeed sign him they’ll be getting a player who might not be an immediate contributor but one who could develop into a very nice SEC WR
WR Jaylen Ellis – A Baylor commitment in theory, Ellis has been scheduled to come to Knoxville unofficially each of the last two weeks but has not made it. That said, the Army All-American tweeted last week a “Final Six” that included the Vols. Obviously not a good sign for the Bears, but until Ellis does make it to campus it’s hard to think the Vols are in as good of shape as they are for others on this list. I’m sure the Vols would like to do the Missouri game OV/December OV trick like they’re hoping for with Haselwood (and have put themselves in position to do with Emery). If that happens then Ellis will absolutely be a prime prospect on this list, so that will be one to watch this week as well
Next up we’ll take a look at the board on Defense, which like the one above has seen an increase not only in quantity but especially in quality as the season has progressed. As always numbers will be a factor as the staff sorts through its options, and also as always there will be some turnover on the current commitment list that will help illuminate the entire picture. But just like on offense, the Vols have put together a strong list of committed prospects on the defensive side of the ball and have also positioned themselves to close with the kinds of players who will get Tennessee back to being a serious contender sooner rather than later