With the Early Signing Period beginning next week, Tennessee has a very strong class of 2019 recruiting class. However, especially with the large need for both talent and depth across the roster, the Vols still need to add more pieces. Below we take a look at how things could shake out between now and next week, as well as what awaits the Vols after the Early Signing Period into January and February
Update on Tennessee Commitment Signing Plans
Tennessee commitments ATH Aaron Beasley, DL Elijah Simmons and OL Melvin McBride, all of whom had previously planned on waiting to February to sign, have both now decided to sign on December 19th, meaning 17 of Tennessee’s 19 current commitments (not counting Jalil Clemons, who won’t be a Vol and pending JUCO DL Darel Middleton’s plans) will be in the boat when Tennessee moves on to fill out its class in February.
The Vols are trying to get Lakia Henry to change his mind and sign next week as well. He’s OV’d to both Tennessee and Arkansas – who seems to feel like it has some momentum – and FSU is flirting as well. We’ll see if he changes his plans, which would be a relief for UT coaches as he’s currently the only LB commitment and looks like he could be an instant impact newcomer at a position of real need.
Another commitment who is currently planning to sign in February is DL Ledarrius Cox. Cox’s commitment has been considered to be pretty soft, and at some points it’s been unclear how hard Tennessee was trying to hold onto him. But Vol coaches have been to see him a couple of times during the contact period, so they at least want to keep him on the burner. He’s had a strong few first practices this week at the AL/MS All-Star Game and that could cause the Vols push even harder for his signing in February. He’s stated this week that he’s solid to the Vols and is only waiting to sign because he wants/needs to take the ACT again (potentially a reason Tennessee has asked him to wait) but he does an OV to Ole Miss planned for late January and Auburn also remains an option.
A Look at This Weekend’s Visitor List
The Vols will have a large group of official visitors this weekend that includes a mix of current commitments as well as a handful of high level targets.
WR Ramel Keyton, QB Brian Maurer, TEs Sean Brown and Jackson Lowe, CB Warren Burrell, DL Roman Harrison and Beasley (both fresh of GA state championships) and McBridewill be officially visiting their future home this weekend as they look to continue to bond as a group and likely do a lot of peer recruiting as well. Additionally, OL Wanya Morris will be in town to hang out and do some peer recruiting of his own.
In terms of prospects the Vols are still fighting for, Tennessee has done a nice job of getting some very important players on its board to campus the weekend before the Dead Period begins and leads into Early Signing Period next week.
WR Jaylen Ellis will be making his long-awaited first visit to Knoxville. The Army All-American from Texas – a fairly wide open Baylor “commitment” – has been a major target for Tennessee for months and actually had a few planned UVs to Knoxville this season that never panned out. But WR Coach David Johnson has seen him a few times during the contact period and Pruitt has been inhome as well. Ellis doesn’t plan on signing until February; however, he is planning to announce his decision at the Army All-American Game on January 5, so this will be his last OV before then. At this point, despite not having yet decommitted from Baylor, he seems to have Michigan and Tennessee at the top. He OV’d to Ann Arbor a few months ago, and while Michigan has continued to pursue Ellis heavily they are actually hosting their other top WR target Cornelius Johnson officially this weekend. Johnson will announce his decision next week, so along with what should be a great visit in Knoxville there could be some further clarity in Ellis’s recruitment next week either way. With the news of WR Khafre Brown’s commitment to UNC last weekend (more on that below) Ellis has become an incredibly important target for the Vols so expect them to really roll out the red carpet this weekend. He’s got the kind of speed that doesn’t exist in the current UT WR corps and would be an incredible addition to the class.
RB Noah Cain from IMG Academy in Florida emerged this week as a new target on the board, as RB Coach Chris Weinke’s efforts to secure Cain’s last OV proved successful. Cain is an elite RB, as evidenced by his other major suitors: Penn State, UGA, Auburn and Texas being the final contenders. All four other schools have at one time felt good about their position with Cain, but Texas, UGA and Auburn in particular have other major RB irons in the fire at the moment (DJ Williams, Mark-Antony Richards, and Jamious Griffin among others) which could allow Tennessee to sneak in here. The Nittany Lions are actually the perceived favorites going into the weekend, but the Vols feel like a potential darkhorse. Cain’s IMG teammate Chris Akproroghene, who also helped the Vols land an OV from future UGA signee (and #1 overall player) Nolan Smith, seems to be helping with Cain as well. This could turn out to be nothing, but the Vols absolutely would love to add a RB the caliber of Cain to go with (hopefully/likely) Eric Gray.
LB Chris Russell from Dyersburg, TN has emerged as a coveted recruit for multiple SEC schools in the last month or so, picking offers from Auburn and Texas A&M to go with one from the Vols in the last month or so. Arkansas has been involved here as well. Russell has good size and speed – he tested very well at a Tennessee camp this past summer – and his senior film is outstanding. As Tennessee has rejiggered its LB board in the last few weeks Russell has become a major target, and Pruitt was inhome this week ahead of the OV. Currently Russell has said he plans to wait until February to sign, which would allow him to take his other OVs. Should that happen Tennessee could find itself at a major disadvantage given that they have used their two most valuable visits, so expect the Vols to really press hard for at least a commitment as well as a signature next week. While from a rankings perspective he’s a step down from someone like Owen Pappoe, Russell looks like a really fine prospect and frankly more of a true LB. The Vols would be thrilled to add him to Lakia Henry.
DL Nick Figureoa is a very intriguing JUCO DL prospect who TE Coach Niedermeyer has done yeoman’s work with to get to Knoxville this weekend. Figureoa is a big-bodied player who looks like he can play multiple positions across the DL, and is a rare JUCO player who’ll have three full seasons to play. He’s a California native who’s got offers from, and has taken OVs to, both USC and UCLA, and the odds are that he ends up staying on the West Coast. However, he’s clearly got enough interest in Tennessee and enough of a relationship with Niedermeyer to make the cross-country trip this weekend. The Vols could absolutely use another DL in this class, let alone a highly recruited JUCO who will enroll early and would likely help immediately and happens to have three seasons to play. This would be a big win if Tennessee could pull it off, and we’ll know next week.
WR Jerrod Means will also be in town officially. The former UNC commitment from GA is a solid looking prospect who earned a Vol offer at a camp back in the summertime before he committed to the Tar Heels. As a February signee he’s likely a secondary option while the Vols wait on other targets higher on the board.
Tennessee offered JUCO Rush End Everitt Cunningham late Tuesday night, and the early-enrollee from East Mississippi C.C. (home of UT commitment Darrel Middleton) could be one to watch if the Vols get him on campus this weekend. He’s got a so-so offer list (UCF, Indiana, etc) but was a standout for the national champion EMCC team after going to JUCO winning the MVP of the national championship game. At 6’5, 230 is the kind of prospect currently missing in this class (and, frankly, except for longshot Khris Bogle, on the entire board), so if the Vols do bring him to Knoxville and like what they see (and by all accounts he’s a great kid with a big motor who went JUCO not due to grades but to get better collegiate opportunities) he could end up filling a major need.
LB Jamie Pettway is another Alabama linebacker prospect who the Vols have been involved with for some time. Pettway plans to sign next week, so if the Vols want to get back into the mix they’ll need to bring him in for an OV this weekend. His other contenders include Louisville, Georgia Tech and Missouri.
It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Tennessee have more visitors than the list above. In fact, Volquest.com has been reporting that despite reports that Gray would be taking his final OV to Texas A&M this weekend he will not take that visit and could in fact come back to Knoxville for the fifth time since the fall. Obviously that would be a great sign for Tennessee in his recruitment, and assuming he’s all Vol he could be another peer recruiter for fellow offensive playmakers Ellis and Cain as well as Russell (a fellow West Tennessean). There’s also been talk of either 5-star OL Darnell Wright coming to Knoxville, which, despite the longtime thought that he’s a major Tennessee lean, would be huge for the Vols whether he signs next week or sticks with his current (stated) plan to wait until February. And finally, Volquest has also floated the idea that the Vols might have convinced WR Javonta Payton, a Mississippi State JUCO commitment, to come to Knoxville this weekend. We’ll see who shows up, but the expectation here is that a handful of guys who aren’t confirmed as of this writing end up visiting Tennessee this weekend.
Weekend Visits to Watch Elsewhere
LB Ke’Shun Brown will OV to TexasA&M this weekend, one week after somewhat coming out of nowhere to take an official visit to Knoxville. Brown is a 4-star LB from Alabama who got offers early in his recruitment from the likes of Alabama (when Pruitt was the DC), LSU (where he took an OV this summer) and others. For whatever reason his recruitment stalled out a bit, but when the Vols and Aggies came calling – both at least in part due to losing out on LBs higher on their respective boards – Brown jumped at the opportunities. Coming out of last weekend’s visit to Knoxville the Vols appear to be in strong position but the Aggies will surely make a push this weekend. Pruitt was in his home early this week so Brown certainly he knows a priority for the Vols, and Brown is planning on signing next week, so Tennessee will know one way or the other here.
WR Jadon Haselwood was a somewhat surprising unofficial visitor in Knoxville last weekend. The 5-star WR is a former UGA commitment who will be taking his final OV in Athens this weekend. Miami and UGA appear to be the frontrunners, but Tennessee saw him this week so they must feel like they are in it at least a little bit. Haselwood isn’t an EE but will announce at the Army All American Game on January 5. It goes without saying that landing him would be a massive coup for Tennessee but at this point that appears unlikely.
DB Jammie Robinson is an underrated playmaker on both sides of the ball who visited Knoxville for the UF game after which the Vols became a serious contender. Robinson has previously said that he would wait until February to sign despite having officially visited South Carolina (the current perceived favorite) and planning on OV’ing to Kentucky this weekend. UT’s tie here is his former high school coach Shelton Felton who is on Tennessee’s staff, and at this point Robinson is one of a very few DBs who are legitimate targets. He’s a dynamic player and would add a ton of speed and athleticism to a Tennessee secondary that needs it in spades despite a strong current commitment list.
LB Trezeman Marshall is a UGA commitment who the Vols have made a major push for. However, he’ll be back in Athens this weekend and the smart money appears to be on him signing with the Dawgs next week despite his strong relationship with Tennessee DC Kevin Sherrer.
Falling Off the Board
Since last weekend it has become apparent that a handful of Tennessee targets will not be signing with the Vols:
WR Khafre Brown committed to home state North Carolina. While the Vols seemed to slow-play him over the past few months, the staff had picked up its recruiting intensity such that it seemed like Brown was actually a Tennessee lean. However, after taking yet another unofficial visit to Chapel Hill and meeting with new coach Mack Brown, Khafre elected to pledge to the Tar Heels, where his older brother is already on the team.
LB Owen Pappoe not only did not take his previously scheduled OV to Knoxville last weekend but instead was back on the Plains for another visit to Auburn. Despite it looking not that long ago that Pappoe was certain to flip to the Vols this one appears over.
DB Kenyatta Watson, Wanya Morris’s (and Pappoe’s) teammate and Texas commitment appears to have shut down his recruitment and will sign with the Longhorns despite the Tennessee staff’s best efforts.
DL Keonte Schad took his OV to Minnesota last weekend and appears to have “fully committed” to the Golden Gophers after taking a handful of OVs elsewhere. Tennessee never ended up getting him to campus.
Rush End Niadre Zouzoua took an OV to Baylor this weekend instead of his previously scheduled one to Knoxville, and the buzz is that he’s likely to commit to the Bears soon. He hasn’t done it yet and it remains to be seen how hard the Vols are pushing here, but right now he doesn’t look like a future Vol.
WR George Pickens, another Auburn commitment, and Tennessee at one time seemed to have some mutual interest but that no longer appears to be the case.
DL Gabriel Hall was actually a late add to last weekend’s official visitor list for Tennessee, but despite what sounds like was a really nice time it appears the Baylor commitment is likely to stick with the Bears.
Adding to the Board, Laying the Foundation for February
Tennessee plans on signing upwards of 17-18 of its current 19 commitments and hopes to land a few more signees as well (Gray, Cain, Brown and potentially Ellis and Russell). Regardless of how many more spots are remaining, the Vols will look to finish out their class with as much quality as possible. The below are longtime Tennessee targets who plan to wait until February to make a decision:
OL Darnell Wright (pending a change)
OL EJ Ndola-Ogar
LB Henry To’oto’to
DE Khris Bogle
CB Travis Jay
DB Jammie Robinson
These five prospects are elite players for whom Tennessee will be fighting with other bigtime programs. Wright is considered a heavy Vol lean but could still take OVs to Georgia and likely to Alabama in January as well. To’oto’to is also a Tennessee-Alabama battle, while Bogle and Jay have the Tide along with the major Florida schools contending for their respective services. Robinson’s situation will be worth watching next week.
In order to have a full board to work from for January and into the February Signing Day, Tennessee has been offering new prospects. At WR the Vols have gotten fairly heavily involved with Arji Henderson, a recent OU decommitment from Texas who is a near 5-star prospect. Henderson seems to be feeling the Vols and plans on OV’ing Knoxville in January. Xavier Leggette is another WR on the board, and the South Carolina native has an OV scheduled to Knoxville in late January with the instate Gamecocks currently being the other contender. Additionally, Tennessee recently offered Dy’wan Griffin, a New Orleans native who flew under the radar a bit but has a really intriguing size/speed combination and has only played one year of high school football.
Tennessee has also circled back with DL Kristian Williams from Memphis. Williams, a 4-star DL on 247 Sports, was at one time planning to sign next week but has now pushed that back to February, potentially at Tennessee’s behest. He’ll take an OV to Minnesota this weekend, and the Gophers are among his Top 4 with Indiana and Memphis. In contrast to his rather lackluster offer list, Williams was a standout at both a major LSU camp last summer (where he dominated one-on-one matchups including vs. 5-star OG Kardell Thomas) as well as at a combine in May where he showed out as one of the most athletic defensive players. Williams is also a city champion in shot put and at 6’2, 275 has really good strength and quickness. Depending on how things shake out both on the DL as well as with other prospects, Williams could be a nice find for the Vols come February.
LB Octavius Brothers is a former UCF commitment who has recently gotten offers from Tennessee, Auburn, UNC and Syracuse among others. He plans on taking an OV to Knoxville in January pending how things go at LB for Tennessee between Russell/Brown next week as well as To’oto’to.