Add DL Monkell Goodwine to the list of elite players that new TE Coach Joe Osovet has Tennessee in on. He recently named the Vols in his top 6 along with Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas A&M, and local Maryland. The Vols seem to have some ground to make up with Alabama in particular, so a spring visit will be a must. But to say Osovet is off to a hot start is an understatement
At the same time, add WR JJ Jones to the longer list of elite players that Tennessee is very much in the mix for. Jones added an offer from UGA this week to go with Tennessee, South Carolina, and UNC. The Vols are going to be very selective with WRs in this class after landing a borderline elite WR haul in the 2020 class, and already have 4-star Jordan Moseley in the fold. That said, with Donte Thornton, instate star Adonai Mitchell, and a handful of others firmly on the radar, the Vols have put themselves in a good spot at the position for 2021.
4-star DB Jantzen Dunn (#201 overall per 247 Sports) from Bowling Green, KY recently named Tennessee as his leader along with Oklahoma. He plans on being back to Knoxville this spring after visiting for a Junior Day in January, and has also set up an OV to Norman in April for their spring game
Interesting nugget: Rusty Mansell from 247 Sports reported that Georgia is not currently heavily recruiting Atlanta-area 4-star OLB Zach Carter (181 overall by 247) despite having offered him. After visiting Tennessee the first weekend in February he now has the Vols firmly in his top list of schools, with upcoming visits set to Alabama and LSU in March. If UGA is not a factor that will really open things up for someone to fill that void (like with BJ Ojulari in 2020), so there is opportunity for the Vols to become a real factor. New OLB Coach Shelton Felton will hope to use his GA high school ties to quickly build a relationship, and if he can expect Tennessee to get in the mix
With the Vols set to host the very strong (and likely growing) group of visitors for their big spring showcase Junior Day on March 7th, Tennessee is also going to have at least two bigtime players on campus this Sunday as the dead period ends. 4-star and 247 Sports’ #67 overall player Jeremiah Williams will be visiting this weekend. The stud passrusher was just on campus for a late January Junior Day after visiting for last season’s UGA game, so he clearly has a ton of interest. That said, like fellow Yellowhammer State passrusher Dylan Brooks, both Alabama and Auburn are hot on Williams’ trail as well making him a difficult pull. Getting him to visit again so soon is obviously a good sign, however, so look for the Vols to really try and stamp themselves as he gets to spend a lot of solo time with Coach Pruitt and the staff. Also expected in this weekend is bigtime instate 4-star LB Junior Colson, who is back on campus after being in for a late January Junior Day and two games during this past season. Colson is a top target, one of the best players in the state, and frankly a must-get as the Vols look to continue lock down the best players in Tennessee
As of this writing, the following players are expected in Knoxville for the aforementioned March 7th Junior Day:
WR Jordan Moseley (Tennessee commitment)
DL Darrell Jackson (Tennessee commitment – possibly accompanied by teammate and FSU commitment DL Joshua Farmer)
DL Payton Page
CB De’Jahn Warren
CB Andre Turrentine
DL Jahvaree Ritzie
DL Taleeq Robbins
WR Tray Curry
WR Simeon Price
RB Jaylen Wright
ATH Kamen Marley
Obviously getting the two commitments back on campus is big for relationship building, especially for Jackson who committed to Tennessee when Tracy Rocker was the DL Coach. Even bigger will be the presence of the 5-star Page and stud DBs Turrentine and Warren, who has absolutely blown up in recent weeks after receiving his first offer from Tennessee back in November. As noted above, this list is likely to expand, and in particular will likely contain some instate prospects as well as more players from North Carolina.
It’s likely that Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and others will also be aiming for the March 7th weekend as a big one as well and the Vols will be fighting those programs and others to get players to Knoxville. As an example, Florida and Florida State will be hosting quite a few Tennessee targets on their respective campuses:
UF
RB Cody Brown
OLB Jeremiah Williams
OLB Kristian Zachary
DL Victoine Brown
OLB Smael Mondon
DL Justus Boone
DL Leonard Taylor
DL Tim Keenan
DB Kamar Wilcoxson
DL Anquin Barnes (who Volquest reported today is (also?) expected in Knoxville that weekend)
FSU
RB Jaylin White
DL Joshua Farmer (possibly accompanied by teammate and Tennessee commitment DL Darrell Jackson)
DL Zyun Reeves
CB Deshawn Rucker
WR Chauncey Magwood
With the Early Signing Period in December and the ability for players to take official visits as early as April, the month of March has become a very big deal. Even moreso when it comes to recruiting QBs, many of whom are already locked up leaving a ton of bigtime programs fighting over a limited number of bigtime targets. Therefore, visits during the month will be incredibly important to watch as bellweathers for the recruitments of the types of elite prospects for whom Tennessee is planning to fight.