After landing RB Jaylen Wright, WR Walker Merrill and WR/ATH Roc Taylor in between March 30th and April 10th, the Tennessee Volunteers have shot to the edge of the Top 10 nationally with its current 11-man 2021 class. During this time the Vols have also worked their way into multiple top schools lists and have also firmly established themselves as real players for an unprecedented number of elite prospects. Other than Ohio State, one could easily make the argument that Coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff have done more to advance their 2021 class than anyone in the country during the shutdown.
So with that momentum, and with the possibility that the restrictions on campus visits and in-person recruiting could extend for even longer, the question is who could be next to pop for Tennessee? Below we look at fiven(+1) who could like the most likely:
WR Julian Nixon
This one is obvious. Nixon has been almost over the top with his love for the Vols on Twitter over the last couple of weeks, and has even declared Tennessee to be his leader. While there is talk that some close to him are trying to get him to slow down – likely due to some pro-Auburn sentiment in his camp – there are a few reasons why that might not work. For one, like everyone, Nixon is in limbo due to COVID-19, so he may decide that since it’s impossible to know when he’s going to be able to take other visits he might as well just go with what feels right. Secondly, and more importantly, he might feel a little bit of a sense of urgency in terms of spot availability. As strange as it sounds considering Nixon is a unique talent due to his size/speed/skillset combination, Tennessee might not have a spot for him forever. With Taylor’s commitment following Merrill’s, the Vols now have commitments from three pass catchers including Jordan Mosley. Tennessee ideally would like 3-4 WRs and 2 TEs in this class, and they’re highly prioritizing instate stud TE Hudson Wolfe, who’ll have one of those TE spots as long as he wants it. The Vols are also quite possibly at the top for TEs Miles Campbell and Trinity Bell, both of whom profile more as pass-catching TEs – the position at which the 6’3, 230 pound Nixon could ultimately profile along the lines of 2020 signee Dee Beckwith. So what happens if Campbell (who, funny enough, is listed ten pounds lighter than Nixon) or the 6’7 Bell want in? Does the fact that Roc Taylor is in the same mold factor in at all? What happens if the Vols make a move with a stud true WR like Deion Colzie or Donte Thornton? Who knows, but if Nixon truly loves the Vols as much as it appears he might be wise to secure his spot
LB Junior Colson
Colson has set a tentative commitment time for sometime in May, which makes his inclusion on this list fairly easy. The Midstate stud is near the top of the Vols’ LB board and profiles as an everydown ILB in Tennessee’s 3-4 scheme with the ability to use his speed against the run and in coverage. With offers from Michigan, LSU, Auburn and Oregon to go with his Tennessee offer, Colson – a consensus 4-star prospect – is clearly an elite talent and the kind of prospect the Vols must keep at home. So far they’ve done an excellent job in his recruitment, getting him on campus for multiple game visits and junior days and ensuring he knows he’s a high priority for them. Michigan, where he has some family ties, appears to be Tennessee’s chief competition at the moment, which should give Vol fans some comfort given the fact that Pruitt has dominated Jim Harbaugh in head to head recruitments highlighted by Quarvaris Crouch and Eric Gray (a onetime Wolverine commitment). That and the fact that Colson is very close friends with Merrill. A commitment from Colson would give the Vols two bigtime gets in the Midstate and also potentially give Pruitt and DC Derrick Ansley the heir apparent to Henry To’oto’to as the next great Tennessee LB
OL William Parker (used to be Griffin)
Although Parker has his share of bigtime suitors such as Alabama and Ohio State, one gets the sense that the Midstate standout likes the Vols a great deal. With three visits to Knoxville in the last 6 months –both the South Carolina and Vanderbilt games as well as the February 1st Junior Day – he’s easily most familiar with UT’s campus and vibe. With what we’ve seen nationwide in terms of prospects choosing to select instate schools or schools close to home during this time, Parker would make sense. Coaches Chaney and Friend are certainly selling him on being the first OL commitment in the class who would not only be the foundation of Tennessee’s this cycle’s big uglies but also another bigtime instate prospect to (hopefully, along with Colson) choose the Vols, and that pitch could resonate during this prolonged shutdown
OT Colby Smith
While Parker could play Offensive Tackle, he’s probably better suited as a road grader inside. And after the Vols signed three interior OL in the 2020 class and no true OTs, Tackle is a high priority in the 2021 class. Enter Smith, a 6’7, 295 pound true tackle from Reidsville, NC. A 4-star prospect with offers from the instate schools UNC and NCSU, the Vols jumped to the top of Smith’s list after a late January offer and subsequent campus visit and have continued to press hard for him since then. Notably, that February 1 visit to Knoxville was Smith’s final campus visit before the virus-imposed shutdown. Along with OL Coach Will Friend and NC recruiter extraordinaire Jay Graham, Pruitt himself seems to be heading up this recruitment, which has not gone unnoticed by Smith. While the Vols are trying hard for 5-star OT Nolan Rucci and have local developmental tackle J’Marion Gooch as well as rising prospect Diego Pounds on the OT board, landing Smith – who looks like he could play in the SEC in year two or three – would go a long way to ensuring that Tennessee meets it needs at the position
RB Cody Brown OR RB Tiyon Evans
Tennessee will be looking to add at least two RBs in this class and already has one commitment in the aforementioned Wright, a speedster with sneaky size and ability between the tackles. But while Wright is absolutely a bigtime prospect given his world class speed, the Vols would like to pair him with a truly elite back, something that so far Pruitt has not yet been able to sign in his time at Tennessee. Brown, a 4-star RB from the Atlanta suburbs, is that, with offers from Georgia, Auburn and other schools like Florida to prove it. Much more of a bruiser than Wright (or Evans), Brown is also an excellent track and field (shot put, discuss) athlete and showcases that functional athleticism with incredible strength and balance when he runs. He’s not a burner (again, more Wright and potentially Evans’s department) but he rarely is caught from behind in his film and fits the big back profile that Pruitt so famously loves. In terms of his recruitment, Brown came to Knoxville for a game last season and then again for the February 1 Junior Day and is also a priority for Auburn but perhaps less so for Georgia. The homestate Bulldogs recently picked up a RB commitment and assuming they do want to sign two they seem to have a couple of other RBs ahead of Brown. With the Vols also only having one spot left but having Brown higher on their board, he has an opportunity to jump in Tennessee’s class that might be too good to pass up.
Evans might play into Brown’s calculus as well. The JUCO product from Hutchinson C.C. by way of Hartsville, SC, Evans is a high priority for the homestate Gamecocks and the consensus is that after South Carolina offered Evans in late March that he is destined to spend his college career (in mediocrity) in Columbia. That said, the Vols, who offered Evans almost two months earlier, are also recruiting Evans incredibly hard. People certainly think that Evans is a Gamecock lean, and he’s never been to Knoxville, but Tennessee RB Coach Jay Graham has a longstanding relationship with him along with deep ties in the state from his stint on the South Carolina staff, so the Vols are in deeper than some might expect and the Vols are pushing hard here.
In theory the Vols would take whoever wants to commit first, and in theory there is only one RB spot left. That could cause one of them to go ahead and make a move in the coming months.
With the momentum Tennessee has on the recruiting trail it seems inevitable that the Vols land another commitment in the coming weeks. Who do YOU think it will be?