Two down, two to go.
The Tennessee Volunteers received one of their biggest commitments yet in the 2018 recruiting class on Tuesday when Murfreesboro (Riverdale) defensive tackle D’Andre Litaker tweeted his intentions to officially become a Vols pledge. UT has led for his signature for months, but the 6’3″, 300-pound defensive lineman elected to stay near home and play for Tennessee for the next four or so years.
https://twitter.com/dandrelitaker/status/874673687777210369
Though he had things planned out for breaking the news at this weekend’s “Orange Carpet Day,” Litaker decided to pull the trigger early.
“I was going to wait ’til Saturday and do it on ‘Orange Carpet Day,’ but I couldn’t wait no longer,” he told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan.
Litaker — a 4-star prospect who is one of the nation’s top 250 players — joins Nashville 4-star defensive tackle Brant Lawless as Tennessee commitments. The duo gives first-year D-line coach Brady Hoke a pair of potential studs around which to build the defense. While Hoke had a hand in the pledge of Litaker for sure, ace Midstate recruiter Walt Wells was the one who led the recruiting efforts for Litaker. He continues to be a home-run hire for UT on the recruiting trail, and the Vols hope he can provide the same impact for the offensive line.
Now, the Vols need to focus on uncommitted stud 4-star strong-side defensive end/defensive tackle Greg Emerson of Jackson and Alabama commitment Jordan Davis of Memphis to round out their recruiting class. Both of those guys will be tough pulls, but Emerson may actually be leaning to UT right now, though the Crimson Tide, Ohio State and others are deep in that battle, too. As for Davis, he’ll be tough to get away from the Crimson Tide, but the Vols are making every effort to convince him to stay in the Volunteer State.
In a great development for the Vols, both Emerson and Davis will be in Knoxville this weekend for the “Orange Carpet Day” recruiting get-together that has been so successful in recent years for UT head coach Butch Jones. Maybe the Vols can convince those two guys they need to join Hoke, Lawless and Litaker in turning around UT’s fortunes on the defensive line. Considering Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie are rising juniors and Kendal Vickers is a senior, the Vols need some interior linemen, and this year’s instate haul comes at exactly the right time.
As far as Litaker goes, this is a major pledge. Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and many others wanted Litaker, but he never could get Tennessee off his mind. The Vols did a great job recruiting him, Wells in particular. Teams are sold on Litaker’s combination of size and athleticism despite injuries keeping him off the field for the Warriors.
“I think there’s a lot unknown about him,” 247Sports director of scouting Barton Simmons told Ryan Callahan regarding Litaker, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 240 overall prospect and No. 23 defensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 class. “We just haven’t seen him play a lot of football because he’s been injured.
“But, from what we’ve seen, he’s very talented. He’s got an SEC body, and he’s just going to be somebody that has to be diligent in his rehab and needs to get healthy because, when healthy, I think he’s got a lot of upside.”
A couple of days after receiving a major recruiting blow from Murfreesboro when top running back target Master Teague chose Ohio State, the Vols were happy to get the news on Litaker, who was essentially a silent pledge to Tennessee for months. He was just waiting for the right time to let everybody in on the news.
With his pledge, Litaker helps the Vols continue a massive instate recruiting class. Despite missing out on top targets like Teague and offensive lineman Max Wray to OSU, at least for now, the Vols have commitments from Litaker, Lawless, safety Brendan Harris, elite receiver Alontae Taylor, stud offensive lineman Cade Mays, O-lineman Ollie Lane, tight end Jacob Warren and defensive back Shatar McClay. The Vols won’t stop recruiting guys like Davis, Teague and others, though it appears they’ve moved on from Wray as of now. Jerome Carvin is a top offensive line target who is still being heavily recruiting from the Volunteer State, too.
Tennessee has missed on a couple of guys in this cycle, yet still sits seventh nationally in the 2018 rankings according to 247Sports, and that’s good enough for second in the SEC.
Litaker is a great get for the Vols, who now have 13 commitments.
Vols Secure Another 2019 Pledge
The next few days could be another recruiting whirlwind for the Vols with this weekend’s recruiting celebration upcoming, but Tuesday was big in its own rights.
Before Litaker came and stole all the thunder, it was already a great day on Rocky Top.
That’s because 2019 cornerback Te’Cory Couch committed to Tennessee just a few days after receiving an offer. The 6’1″, 165-pound defensive back from Hollywood, Florida, had offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Kentucky and others. He was receiving interest from some of the nation’s top programs.
“When I visit school I try to learn about the history of the school and what the classes are like and the type of coaches I’d be playing for and I liked everything I saw from that at Tennessee,” Couch told VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs.
The Chaminade-Madonna Prep standout earned an offer after camping at UT this past weekend. He committed just three days later via Twitter.
https://twitter.com/TecoryC_16/status/874618922334605312
No matter how much you want to nitpick early commits, Couch is potentially a good one. He was a first-team All-Broward County selection by the Sun Sentinel as a sophomore a year ago. That’s exceptional football down there, and he’s standing out as a sophomore.
Reporter David Furones wrote that he had six picks a season ago.