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'X's reports
for the 2024 class


Smoothie King
1/23/2024
'X' Says: 'Tennessee got their guy Monday. Quarterback George MacIntyre announced his public commitment to the VOLS in front of family and friends at his high school, Brentwood Academy. MacIntyre could have chosen any school in the country; he is that highly thought of. His finalists were Tennessee, Alabama, and LSU. Tennessee offered MacIntyre a scholarship in August 2022. He has been on Tennessee’s campus countless times. MacIntyre’s recruitment started to turn Tennessee’s way late in the summer and into the fall.

Coach Heupel and Coach Halzle get the credit here. The recruitment of George MacIntyre is vintage Josh Heupel. You give coach and year and a half of phone conversations and in person visits and he is hard to beat.


He believes in relational recruiting, and it is beginning to pay off for him in a big way.


Tennessee was all in on MacIntyre from the time he was offered a scholarship. He is the Number 1 prospect on Tennessee’s recruiting board for 2025. And he is literally the only quarterback prospect Tennessee has recruited for this signing class. Regardless of how many of Tennessee’s top targets they are able to sign or even if they miss on a few, Tennessee is going to consider the 2025 class successful because George MacIntyre is part of it.


The kid comes from a football family if you didn’t know. He's the grandson of former Vanderbilt coach George MacIntyre. His uncle is Mike MacIntyre who has coached in college and in the NFL. He also has two cousins who have stints in college coaching. He comes from a Tennessee family too. Mom and a grandfather are Tennessee alums.


The recruiting industry consensus is George MacIntyre is a five-star prospect. The consensus is MacIntyre is one of the top 15 best prospects in the country. In the early 2025 state rankings, he is rated as the top prospect in the state of Tennessee. He has thrown for 5500 yards and 44 touchdowns in season as the Brentwood Academy quarterback.


While the comparison is and will be unfair it comes with being a highly sought-after quarterback recruit, his skill set is going to remind Tennessee fans of Nico Imaleava and for good reason. First, their builds are strikingly familiar. MacIntyre is 6'6" and maybe 185 lbs. MacIntyre may be actually thinner than Nico was his senior year of high school. Clearly, two of his objectives between now and January 2025 is eating a lot and lifting weights.



Next Level Athleticism:

Much like Nico, MacIntyre is a multiple sport athlete. As a sophomore in high school, MacIntyre led Brentwood Academy to a state championship in basketball. He is a good enough basketball player to be offered scholarships to college as a basketball player. As a quarterback, he has a nice quick release, he is accurate with the football, has a good arm, can throw from the pocket or outside the pocket and, much like Nico, he pulls the ball down and becomes a runner instinctively.


Going into his senior year, he has room for improvement. He is a little loose with the football sometimes and his footwork still needs consistency. In fairness, much of his junior season behind center was spent literally running for his life. One thing about facing constant pressure in high school. It forces a young quarterback to process information and make decisions quickly. In the Tennessee offense, the ability to do so is paramount to its success.



Bigger Picture For Vols:

Tennessee’s staff can breathe a sigh of relief. Getting an elite high school quarterback prospect (the one you covet with literally the full recruiting cycle ahead of you is significant). Being from Brentwood, MacIntyre has been on Tennessee’s campus countless times. He has met and started to forge relationships with many of the prospects Tennessee is targeting for the 2025 class. Moreover, MacIntyre is well-known through his participation in these recruiting service sponsored skills competitions that are held nationally as well as being a fixture in 7 on 7 events.


Again, through competition in these events, he has developed relationships with many prospects including others Tennessee is recruiting. MacIntyre will continue to be a frequent visitor during the spring, the summer, and on game days in the fall. In my opinion, MacIntyre’s decision to publicly commit before Tennessee holds its first official recruiting weekend of the 2025 cycle is fantastic news and do nothing but bolster Tennessee’s chances of having an exceptional 2025 recruiting class..


In state, MacIntyre’s commitment should pay dividends. Athletes like Cam Sparks from the Baylor school in Chattanooga now have an extra reason to wear orange. Sparks is being recruited by some 40 plus schools. Many think it's Sparks not MacIntyre who is the best prospect in the state. MacIntyre will be an asset for Tennessee with wide receivers Radarious Jackson of Memphis and Joakim Dodson from Collierville; defensive lineman Ethan Utley from the Lipscomb Academy in Nashville; and safety Jaylen Morgan from Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro. All are in state priorities in a very good year in Tennessee.


Regionally, MacIntyre has already begun to develop relationships with offensive tackle prospects like David Sanders from Charlotte; Juan Gaston and Josh Petty from the Atlanta area; Ryan Fogje from Texas; Logan Powell from Arizona. Other top 100 and highly sought after wide receiver’s prospects such as Marcus Harris from California; Jaime Ffrench from Florida; and Caleb Cunningham from Mississippi will take note of the MacIntyre commitment.


All the above prospects plan to visit Tennessee in the upcoming months. We’ll have more on their recruitments over the next few months and a whole lot more recruiting information right here.



Tennessee Short Shots:
Since the end of the 2023 season through today, Tennessee has improved its roster. Tennessee signed 21 prospects through traditional recruiting, added 8 players through the transfer portal (9 if you count the transfer walk on from Wofford) and created space on its roster through the attrition of 12 players who entered the transfer portal.


Lance Heard at 6’6” 240 lbs. Physically is what a 5-star offensive tackle prospect in the SEC looks like. He more than passses the eye test. Go put on some Alabama film during Saban's reign and you'll see what I'm getting at. Look at their tackles. That is what Tennessee got with Heard. He is a high risk/high reward type of pick up. He played 200 snaps for LSU last season. All of them as a right tackle. He has no experience at left tackle in college. He physically looks ready to go, but the spring and fall are important for him to develop consistency.


Jaxson Moi the transfer from Stanford Is a nice addition to the defensive line. He has multiple years to play. This is important because Tennessee loses a lot of depth from the interior of the defensive line after the 2024 season. Losing Moi was a tough blow to Stanford. He played regularly at Stanford, and he was disruptive. He'll push the line of scrimmage into the backfield and keep lineman off our linebackers.


There is a lot of pressure on wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope. Pope signed two, talented wide receivers out of high school and a transfer from Tulane who may end up being their number 1 receiver next season. All of whom are on campus 8 full months before the first game. The two questions I have are: can you get the new receivers comfortable in the offense by September and are you willing to expand the rotation to play more talented but less experience players.


I can not wait to see how Tennessee uses edge rusher Jordan Ross next season. I have watched Ross’ junior and senior high school film and watched him perform in two post-season all-star games. I haven’t seen a player improve as much from the completion of their junior year to the completion of their senior year as Jordan Ross has. There were times he was unblockable. He has also put in the work off the field. He is noticeably bigger than he was a year ago.


Thanks for reading along


It was fun being on with Tony & the guys yesterday ...


'X'




Smoothie King
1/9/2024
'X' Says: The Portal and Portal Recruiting

A few observations concerning the portal and portal recruiting. It’s too early to say Tennessee is struggling with attracting offensive linemen. It’s not because of the position coach or his personality. Come on. A couple of offensive linemen have chosen other schools but that happens. The offensive line coach is not going anywhere. This position coach has been with this head coach for years. They are thicker than thieves. He knows this offense inside and out and probably as well as the head coach.


Staying on the topic of the offensive line coach ... He coached an injury plagued offensive line group last season that led the SEC in rushing. Minus a couple of starters, his unit was instrumental in Tennessee rushing for 232 yards against the 4th best team defense in the country in the CITRUS Bowl.


And he was instrumental in signing one of the best offensive line recruiting classes in recent Tennessee football history (the group included 4, 4-star prospects; the top prospect in the state of Colorado; and 2 of the top 10 high school offensive linemen in Texas).


Reasons to be Frustrated With The Weekend (if you are in that camp) Pace of Play? Are other schools discouraging offensive linemen in the portal from considering Tennessee because of its frenetic offensive pace? I don’t think so and statistics support that conclusion. Here are different pace of play metrics for Tennessee and two teams it seems to be losing players to in the portal - Ole Miss and Oklahoma.


For the 2023 football season …. Average offensive plays per game. Oklahoma ran 78 offensive plays per game; Ole Miss ran 74; and Tennessee ran 72. For the entire 2023 season Oklahoma ran 974 offensive plays; Ole Miss 929; and Tennessee 899.


The 2022 season is more realistic in terms of pace of play. Tennessee didn’t run its offense as fast in 2023 as it did in 2022 because the quarterback was limited. Therefore, looking at 2022 offensive statistics Ole Miss ran 2.94 plays per minute which was the 3rd fastest pace of place in college football. Tennessee, led by Hendon Hooker, ran 2.86 plays per minute which was the 6th fastest pace in college football. Oklahoma on the other hand was outside the top 10 schools in terms of pace of play. There were no discernible differences between the number of plays the offenses ran either.


I could bore you with more data and add other schools here, but the conclusion is still the same. Pace of play is not a contributor to Tennessee’s challenges of landing offensive lineman in the portal.


Is it Structural?

I know some but not all of the inner workings of Tennessee’s player acquisition process for the portal. Tennessee has staffers whose whole existence is what I call data harvesting: watch game film, compile data on prospects, develop lists of prospects in the portal, chart information, make more charts, network, watch more film, and make more charts. It is a thankless job.


All of this data is then provided to another person and his/her staff. This person may have the title of Chief of Staff, Player Personnel Director, General Manager, or something. This person is the conduit between the player personnel and shares the information with the decision-makers which is a combination of the position coaches, the analysts, and coordinators and so on.


This is where decisions begin to take shape. Decisions here need to be made quickly and decisively because time is key with the players in the portal. Some of these players get 15 to 20 schools interested. They have to pare down their lists to 2 or 3 schools quickly. How smooth or dysfunctional this process is with Tennessee is directly related to how quickly they can move on a player.


One of the criticisms I heard was the staff was not prepared to pursue players when the portal opened. I could see that happening at Tennessee and as well as many schools. December is now the month where football coaches are overwhelmed. The demands of game preparation, closing out recruiting of high school prospects, travel for in-home visits, recruiting current players to stay on the roster, and of course the NIL. I think this happened at a number of schools and probably at Tennessee.


Portal Recruiting is Different

Using the portal for player acquisition can be a head coaches’ best friend or worst nightmare. For a coach who believes his roster is “3 or 4 players away” from making a run at a conference championship or a national championship, the portal allows the coach to fill those needs immediately instead of relying on the development of younger, inexperienced players. However, the portal requires every aspect of the traditional recruiting model to be sped up. With the portal, recruiting goes something like this: define needs with staff; watch game film, identify a pool of prospects; staff decides player to recruit; staff or analyst contact player by email or social media; zoom meeting or two follow, and an official visit that may last a day if you are fortunate. And part of the official visit is devoted to NIL. That is portal recruiting.


Portal recruiting is the antithesis of Coach Heupel’s process. With portal recruiting, you don’t get to work out players, see their work habits, see how they interact with support staff and others, or establish a relationship with the player and their family which is built over time through multiple interactions. With the portal it’s business more than football.


When Coach Heupel took the Tennessee job the biggest question mark surrounding his success here was recruiting. Josh gets here, gets recruiting going, and the NCAA moves the cheese.

He is a relational recruiter. He wants prospects on campus for games, for camps, to hang out as many times as they can get to campus. Most of the players Tennessee signs have been to on campus and around the team at least 5 or 6 times before their official visits. This whole portal recruiting has turned into building a football team through Tinder??


In Summary

There are over 1,000 prospects still in the portal including multiple offensive linemen who have both game experience and multiple off seasons in a college strength and conditioning program under their belts. Tennessee has an advantage some other schools don’t in that the spring semester doesn’t begin until later January. This gives Tennessee and portal players more time to build relationships.

I expect Tennessee to sign one maybe two offensive linemen out of the portal. Tennessee can also wait to add a lineman or two during the spring portal, but I think you really want offensive linemen to participate in spring practice to learn the offense and pace of play.


Remember This

The head coach and offensive line coach have worked hand in glove for years. The offensive line coach understands Coach Heupel’s offensive scheme better than any other coach on the staff. The offensive line coach did not make the decision to start a quarterback with limited skills in 12 football games last season which impacted offensive line play. With quarterback limitations, Tennessee still led the SEC in rushing.


And lastly ….

This offensive line coach is the same coach who is recruiting David Sanders from Charlotte, North Carolina and Josh Petty from Atlanta, Georgia. Two of the top 2025 offensive tackles in the country and Tennessee is a top school for each prospect. He has been developing relationships with these prospects for 2 plus years. Tennessee’s NIL program can compete with the best in the country. At heart of high school recruiting with NIL being equal I think it’s still about relationships.


'X'



Smoothie King
12/20/2023
'X' Says: 2024 Signing Class. In Hindsight, The Struggles Were To Be Expected. Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class showed tremendous promise through the end of August with as many as 20 commitments and a high national ranking. The recruiting momentum waned during the late summer and continued into the fall. The coaches have closed fairly well picking up much needed depth at key defensive positions and at tight end. The class was ranked as high as 6th nationally and 4th in the SEC at one time. As of this writing, the 2024 class is now ranked outside the top 10 and 8th in SEC team rankings when including Texas and Oklahoma.


Tony and I discussed during the last signing day special that the 2024 recruiting class would be challenging for Tennessee. Fresh off a 10-win regular season then sprinkle in an impressive Orange Bowl victory, Tennessee could have been a fun team to watch with a freshman quarterback that was all the rage. High expectations heading into the off season to be sure. Tennessee leverages the successful 2023 season into targeting higher profile prospects. Tennessee stepped up in weight class. Doing so is always challenging but even more daunting with a staff with limited SEC recruiting experience. The results were good early.


Tennessee is on a 110-day bender without a commitment from a 2024 high school prospect. This doesn’t happen at Tennessee. There is something structurally unsound or process related with Tennessee's recruiting approach ... I say that because Tennessee has taken many highly rated prospects literally right up to the finish line only to see the prospect choose to commit elsewhere. More on this below ...


2024 Signing Class. The Results are in…. sort of

2024's class is all but in the books. Tennessee needed to address key positional needs while adding talented prospects at all positions. As I’m writing late Tuesday evening, Tennessee sits at 20 commitments: The class breaks down as follows; 5 offensive linemen; 4 defensive linemen/defensive ends; 2 wide receivers; 2 cornerbacks; 2 linebackers; 1 quarterback; 1 running back; 1 safety; and 2 “athletes”.


A Few Things Stand Out About This Class Tennessee prioritized offensive linemen and signed 5!!! That need was addressed in a loud way. Bennett Warren and Max Anderson are both 4-star prospects and rated as top 10 offensive line prospects in Texas ... Tennessee bested Clemson for interior lineman William Satterwhite, a massive man child who projects well in major college football ... Satterwhite is another 4-star prospect ... Rounding out the group, the Vols held off Colorado for 4-star offensive tackle Gage Ginther. And, add in state tackle Jesse Perry to the group and this is a very solid class on paper ... Well done ...


Addressing WR Needs: Tennessee needed quality depth at wide receiver and addressed that with a a pair of highly rated promising young playmakers. Mike Matthews packs the bonafides you'd expect from a 5-star prospect. He's the #4 ranked player in Georgia and a top 25 prospect nationally. Brandon Staley is a 4-star prospect and the #1 wide receiver prospect in South Carolina. It should be noted that he improved significantly during his senior season of high school. Both Matthews and Staley are early entrants and should have an opportunity to play next season. These receivers are as good a pair of wide receivers as Tennessee has signed in years.


The Back Four Better? Tennessee continues to upgrade the talent in the defensive secondary. 4 defensive backs were signed, 3 of whom are from Tennessee. Cornerbacks Kaleb Beasley and Marcus Goree are both highly regarded and considered two of the top prospects in the Volunteer State. At one time Beasley was regarded as the top cornerback in the country. Goree wasn’t as highly recruited as Beasley, but he may have more versatility and upside than his Tennessee counterpart. Edrees Farooq is an under rated safety whose athleticism gives him a chance to contribute early as a special teamer. Boo Carter who will likely begin his Tennessee career at nickel back is as dynamic an athlete signed by Tennessee perhaps since the Fulmer era. This guy is a world class athlete. Now it's finding a way maximize him here.


Other Class Of 2024 Highlights: In-state linebacker Edwin Spillman is as good a linebacker as there is in the southeast. He will undoubtedly compete for playing time early.


Defensive end/edge rusher Jordan Ross, considered a 5-star prospect and top 50 prospect nationally by some recruiting services, has all the makings of an elite pass rusher.


Credit UT OC Joey Halzle for prioritizing the recruitment of Georgia quarterback signee Jake Merklinger, a top 25 prospect. He is an excellent addition to Tennessee's class. I love his quick thinking and quick release.


Kellen Lindstrom is a defensive end who's film gives me flashbacks of Will Overstreet. That's high praise right there.


The Tough News So Far: As of this writing, Tennessee does not have a commitment from a high school tight end or a pure interior defensive linemen. Tennessee has been scrambling just a bit to identify tight end prospects because the prospect who was committed for over a year decommitted three weeks before signing day. Tennessee is a finalist for two tight end prospects both expected to make their college decision on signing day. With defensive tackles, Tennessee never seemed to pick up any momentum with any defensive tackle they offered. That seems (and probably is) troubling.



Who Announces for Tennessee Today (Signing Day)??


Tennessee is still waiting on 3 high school prospects to make their college decisions. I don’t think there are any “surprises” per se.


I suppose Jordan Seaton from IMG Academy could surprise everyone and pick Tennessee, or Oregon, or not sign at all . Anything is a possibility here.


If A Juco Commits In The Woods ... Sunday evening Tennessee received a commitment from Junior College defensive lineman Jamal Wallace from Sierra College in California. Wallace is an interesting prospect and actually a bit of a head scratcher. Very little film is available on Wallace. In high school he played running back and defensive back, then gained over 100 lbs. and morphed into a defensive end/tackle. Coach Garner will get about 20 to 25 lbs. off of him when he gets to campus. Tennessee likes Wallace’s quickness, strength and versatility. Tennessee envisions Wallace being able to slide from position to position along the defensive front.

I do wonder why Tennessee chose to take a commitment from a junior college prospect while there are options in the transfer portal that may be more ready to contribute. With Wallace committed, Tennessee now has 20 commitments.



Waiting On Decisions From ...

Maraad Watson, 6’3” 285 lbs. from Irvington, New Jersey - Watson is a late bloomer who recently committed to Kent State and literally the next day started received interest from SEC, ACC, and Big 10 schools. He visited Tennessee last weekend. I think the decision comes down to Tennessee or Syracuse. You wonder if Wallace took Watson’s spot in the class.


Tennessee has two high school tight ends left on their board: Cole Harrison from Junipero Sierra High School, San Mateo, California ( 6’5” 220 lbs.)

and

Willie Rodriguez from Covington Catholic High School, Alexandria Kentucky (6’4” 240 lbs.) - Tennessee wants one if not both these kids. Harrison and Rodriguez have different skill sets. Harrison reminds me of a tall and long wide receiver who plays tight end. Harrison is choosing between Tennessee, San Jose State, and Washington State. I lean slightly toward Tennessee.


Rodriguez is the more prototypical in-line tight end who can be used as a blocker, H-Back, and in the passing game. Rodriguez, a Kentucky commitment, is the subject of an intense and somewhat social media fueled recruiting battle between Tennessee and Kentucky. Kentucky tried its best to keep the kid from visiting Tennessee last weekend. He visited Tennessee anyway. I lean slightly to Tennessee but in-state pressure is always hard to navigate.


Some Tennessee Fans Are Concerned About Recruiting – Should They Be?

Coach Heupel is not only Tennessee’s head football coach but also the head offensive coordinator. He is also a true innovator and one of the top play callers in college football. He's an offensive mastermind who's still growing into being a head football coach in the toughest football conference in the country. He is faced with the challenge of retooling a roster that is still thin at many positions. He hired a good group of assistant coaches, and the support staff is solid. Give Tennessee credit, relationships with high school coaches, and other groups and persons who matter throughout the state of Tennessee are much improved. He also has worked with organizers to develop a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) program that takes a backseat to very few NIL programs in the country. With all these good and positive things why has recruiting seemed to have sputtered since late August? And a bigger question… is Tennessee simply being conservative in pursuing players through the transfer portal or are there other issues in play? There isn’t an easy answer. So let's look at this from different layers ...



Staff

One of Coach Heupel’s best traits as a coach is loyalty toward his coaching staff. He is loyal to a fault. I don’t foresee any staff changes between now and 2024 opening kickoff.

This staff ranks in about the lower middle of the SEC in terms of recruiting. Tennessee has good recruiters, and a few staff members are new to recruiting and continue to learn on the job. Our Coach is learning that in the SEC, there is a difference between being a good recruiter and a good closer. This is a concern for Tennessee. Rodney Garner and Willie Martinez are veterans of the day-to-day rigors of SEC recruiting. The issue here is that both are moving to another stage of their lives and recruiting remains a young man's game.


I’m not advocating for staff changes. But help your assistants sell your brand. For instance:

Need help at receiver? Tennessee has a 3 ½ hour window on January 1 against Iowa to make a compelling case for wide receivers to come to Knoxville. Play Nico. Throw the ball all over the field.


This offense excels when playmakers are in space with the football. When you have elite talent on your roster, give them the opportunity to use those talents in multiple ways. Dee Williams has been the most underutilized player at Tennessee this side of Evan Berry. He is one of the most dynamic players in college football with the football. Yet, it took Tennessee 1 ½ years to give him an opportunity as a wide receiver whilst he was buried on the defensive back depth chart. Why?


Tennessee signee Boo Carter is projected to play in the secondary. Carter is an elite talent who could play defensive back or running back/wide receiver in college. Mike Matthews, a 5- star prospect, is one of the best wide receiver prospects in the country. Alabama recruited Matthews as a safety not a wide receiver because their head coach believed his pathway to the NFL was as a safety. Carter and Matthews were the best players on the field on both sides of the ball in every high school game I watched them play. Don’t take my word for it. Google their names, watch their film and enjoy. This shouldn’t be complicated . Figure out ways to get both players involved on offense and defense. Even if it’s a few plays a game that give both kids opportunities to utilize their skills. Both are practicing with the team now and will be at Tennessee for spring practice.


Rival recruiters continue to use Tennessee’s reluctance to play young players against them. You can’t tell me that the two, young wide receivers (Webb and Nimrod) would have played any meaningful snaps if McCoy or Thornton were healthy all season. Look at Dylan Sampson’s situation. Sampson may have been the most well-rounded running back in the group. I don’t think it’s a coincidence he played fewer snaps than Wright or Small, both solid players by the way. Yet, with limited snaps he had more yards from scrimmage than Small, and he scored more touchdowns than Wright and Small combined. I’m not even going to discuss the quarterback situation or the malfeasance that with defensive back rotation last season. It was inexplicable.



The Portal

The portal makes my head spin. A couple of comments ...

Tennessee’s approach to the transfer portal is confusing. I don’t think Tennessee is out of money. If reports are accurate, Tennessee was prepared to sign Jordan Seaton to a lucrative NIL deal. I can’t figure out if Tennessee is truly serious about competing for SEC and national championships or simply trying to fill the voids left by departing players.


Tennessee needs players at literally every level of the offense and defense. These NIL collectives are funded by donors, supporters, fans, businesses who depend on Tennessee athletics for their livelihood. If a football program like Tennessee isn’t trying to maximize the return on the investment your base has made by putting the best team on the field the NIL will fund, how do you ask your base to do more?


Tennessee has received 2 solid commitments from the portal.


Holden Staes, Tight End from Notre Dame. Tennessee landed a commitment from the top tight end on their board. His skills weren’t maximized at Notre Dame. He runs really well and can catch the ball. Tennessee will be able to exploit Staes’ speed against slower safeties and linebackers.


Jakobe Thomas, safety Middle Tennessee State University. He is a long, rangy looking safety. Time will tell whether he is an upgrade over secondary players who have left Tennessee. He is a volume tackler who has played a lot of football in his career. You have to hope his athleticism and closing speed will address the pass coverage issues Tennessee has experienced with the middle of the field.


Tennessee is waiting on a couple of other players from the portal to make their decisions. Let’s hope Heupel and Co can close these out.



2025 Recruiting

The outlook for Tennessee’s 2025 football recruiting class is promising with many top-level prospects already receiving scholarship offers.

Surveying the recruiting services, the consensus seems to be the top prospects in Tennessee in 2025, and coincidentally top recruiting targets for Tennessee are wide receiver Cam Sparks, quarterback George MacIntyre, cornerback/athlete Tarrion Grant, and lineman Ethan Utley.

2025 recruiting is off to a good start. Four prospects all of whom hail from the state of Georgia are Tennessee commitments. Recruiting priorities for 2025 are a top quarterback, fortifying both the line of scrimmage which is set to suffer heavy losses due to graduation; and add wide receivers.


A brief look at many early names linked to Tennessee.



2025 Quarterbacks: It starts with George MacIntyre from Brentwood Academy.   He is by far and away the top prospect on Tennessee’s recruiting board. He is the #1 prospect in the state and a top 10 quarterback nationally. He reminds me of Nico actually. MacIntrye is 6’5” and 190 lbs. He has a strong release and quick throwing motion. He is athletic and a willing runner. While he has been a frequent visitor to Knoxville, this is going to be a Tennessee – Alabama battle to his announcement date in the spring of 2024.


Running Back One of the four verbal commitments is running back Justin Blake from Buford High School in Buford, Georgia - He is a nice prospect, but I think Tennessee will be looking to add multiple running backs in this class. There are two nice running back prospects in the state and Tennessee has extended offers to both. Duane Morris, 5'10" 180 lbs. from Oakland high school in the mid-state and Skehai Mills Knight, 6’2” 210 lbs. from Baylor High School in Chattanooga. From across the southeast Tennessee has extended offers to Ousmane Kromah from Lee County High School in Leesburg, Georgia; Zion Johnson , from Newton High School, in Covington, Georgia; Alvin Henderson from Elba High School in Elba, Alabama.


Wide Receiver This is a good year in Tennessee for wide receivers. The headliner is Cam Sparks 6’3” 215 lbs. from the Baylor School in Chattanooga. Depending on the recruiting service polled, Sparks is either the #1 or #2 prospect in Tennessee. Tennessee has made Sparks a priority. So has most every other school in the country. Tennessee is battling Georgia, Texas, LSU, Alabama, Florida State, and others. Other in-state wide receivers Tennessee has either offered or continues to evaluate are Radarious Jackson from Sheffield High School Memphis; Joakim Dodson from Colliersville; and Kolbe Harmon from Brentwood Academy. Other wide receivers from across the southeast who mention Tennessee are Caleb Cunningham Choctaw County High School Ackerman, Mississippi; Thomas Blackshear Calvary Day School Savannah GA; Dillon Alfred Saraland High School Gautier, MS; Corey Simms Christian Bros College High School St Louis MO; and DJ Vinson Montgomery Academy, Montgomery, Alabama.



Tight End: Tennessee has offered Alcoa tight end Eli Owens. Physically, in terms of the weight, height, frame, Owens is a great fit. However, Owens isn’t that highly rated and while Tennessee is recruiting Owens, I wouldn’t call Tennessee one of his top schools. Interestingly, there are a half dozen tight end prospects in the state of Georgia that will be recruited by every school in the SEC. Emaree Winston (Texas commitment); Elyiss Williams (Georgia commitment); Hollis Davidson McIntosh High School in Peachtree City GA; Logan Brooking Savannah Christian Prep (Clemson commitment); and Ryan Ghea and Ethan Barbour (Milton HS-Alpharetta). Tennessee is involved with other tight end prospects nationally such as Jack VanDorselaer (Southlake, TX); Noah Flores Graham-Kapowsin HS Graham, WA); DaSaahn Brame (Derby, KS)


Offensive Lineman: As with 2024, the offensive line is once again a priority. Tennessee has offered two in state offensive line prospects Kalen Edwards (Dyersburg) (committed to Auburn) and Chauncey Gooden (Lipscomb) mid-state. However, much of their offensive line recruiting is focused on the state of Georgia and surrounding states. David Sanders, an offensive tackle from the Charlotte area is at the top of Tennessee’s lineman board, Sanders is one of the top offensive tackles in the country. Georgia is loaded with offensive lineman this recruiting cycle including prospects like Josh Petty (Roswell); Juan Gaston ( Atlanta); Tavaris Dice (Fairburn); Brayden Jacobs (Buford); and Justin Hasenhuetl (Rabun Gap). Tennessee likes interior lineman Cortez Smith from Lilburn, GA; Peyton Joseph Fort Valley GA; Jayvon McFadden Washington DC; Jake Flores from San Juan Capistrano, CA; JuJu Marks, in Lenexa, Kansas; and Bryce Jenkins from the Washington DC area.


DEFENSE

Lineman/End:

Tennessee has extended offers to two in-state defensive lineman Amir Leonard Jean Charles (mid-state) and Jhrevious Hall (Columbia). Tennessee likes Reginald Vaughan (Madison, MS); Justus Terry (Manchester, GA); Christian Garrett (Bogart, GA); Isiah Campbell (Durham, NC); Ryshawn Perry (Newton High School Covington GA); and Amaree Adams (Florence, SC).


In terms of defensive ends Tennessee‘s top target in state is Ethan Utley from the mid-state. Tennessee is also recruiting Ari Warford (Norfolk, VA); CJ May (Highland Homes. AL); Andre Fuller (Logansville, GA) ; AND Austin Alexander (Union, KY).



Linebacker Tennessee has offered in-state linebackers: Brenden Anes (Page High School) Franklin; CJ Jimcoly , Sam Haley, and Kris Thompson (all from the mid-state).


Regionally, Tennessee is recruiting Kelan Butler (Jefferson, GA); AJ Holloway (Buford, GA); Eric Winters (Enterprise AL); Mantraz Walker (Buford, GA); Ethan Pritchard (Sanford, FL); Keylan Moses (Baton Rouge LA); Chase Taylor (Stockbridge, GA); Taani Makasini (Provo UT). While Tennessee needs multiple linebackers, Kelan Butler is a priority for Tennessee.



Defensive Backs Three of Tennessee four 2025 commitments are defensive backs. Moreover, all three attend the same high school and play in the secondary at Milton High School in Georgia. This is an especially strong year in Tennessee for defensive backs so it will be interesting how many defensive backs actually sign with the Vols.

Tennessee would take commitments today from in state defensive backs Jay Len Mosley (Jackson TN) and Tarrion Grant (Murfreesboro).   Tennessee is also recruiting Carsen Lawrence (McCallie, TN) a defensive back committed to Vanderbilt. Tennessee is also involved with 5-star cornerback Na’eem Offord from Birmingham AL, a prospect who has already been to campus multiple times.


Stay tuned for more 2025 updates as the smoke clears with this transfer portal and the positional recruiting boards begin to take shape.


'X'




Smoothie King
12/4/2023
'X' Says: Portal Report ... Featuring 'X' The college football transfer portal is officially open for business!! The portal stays open for approximately 30 days. If the activity is anything like the lead up, the next 30 days will be insane. I’m not sure what to compare it to honestly. 2100 players entered the transfer portal last season. A national recruiting analyst suggested 2,000 players enter the portal next week alone. I keep thinking someone needs to step in and return some order to the process, but I really think the decision makes people love it. TV ratings and interest in the sport are at all time highs.


Actually, the portal is already open. Deals are being done. Tampering is rampant. Vanderbilt already has a portal commitment ( yes Vanderbilt) and North Carolina and Notre Dame already have deals in place with their 2024 quarterbacks…. apparently.


Some fun pre-portal trends are emerging ... NC State, a Tennessee 2024 out of conference opponent, is getting pillaged. Already a dozen members of their 2023 team have entered the portal including their projected 2024 starting quarterback and other key contributors on both sides of the ball.


Another Tennessee opponent, Florida, is seeing multiple key players leave as well.


Good ole Clemson, a program who for years has been immune from portal concerns, has already lost three players to the portal - one was a 27 game starter with another year of eligibility. Going to be interesting to see how their cult-like administration handles the portal.


Indiana who fired their head coach Tom Allen has already seen 20 players enter the portal including their entire starting offensive line. There is a Tennessee tie to what is happening in Indiana. Two of Indiana’s starting lineman are Tennessee kids (Matthew Bedford and Kahili Benson). Both have eligibility remaining and played a lot of football for Indiana.


Closer to home… All eyes are on how Tennessee is going to approach the transfer portal.

The local and national media praise Tennessee’s NIL program. According to the media, Tennessee’s NIL program takes a back seat to very few NIL’s in the country. We are going to learn a lot about how in sync the Tennessee NIL program, the Tennessee athletic administration, and the Tennessee football program are in the next 30 days.


If those three groups are aligned and Tennessee’s player personnel staff have done their jobs, Tennessee will improve its football roster. While tight end, offensive line and defensive back are arguably where the more immediate needs exist, Tennessee has depth issues at all positions.


There are really no excuses for Tennessee not landing a true number 1 wide receiver from the portal or finding experienced offensive linemen, or athletic secondary defenders.


There are players who are already posting on social media of their intentions to enter the portal. Here are some headliners and the school each is transferring from ( note to readers search twitter it’s easy to locate this information)


Quarterback

Duante Moore, UCLA

KJ Jefferson Arkansas

Grayson McCall Coastal Carolina

Max Johnson Texas A&M

Cam Ward Washington State

Will Rogers, Mississippi State

Max Brown Florida

MJ Morris NC State


Cornerback / Safety

Jalen Geiger Kentucky

Mumu Bin Wahad- UCONN

Jordan Watkins Duke

Jakeem Harris NC State

Louis Moore, Indiana

Cameron Martinez Ohio State


Defensive Lineman

Josh Hardy Boston College

Marcy Cook, MTSU

Aeneus Peebles, Duke


Wide Receiver Josh Kelly, Washington State

Kelly Akharaiyi UTEP

JaMori Maclin, North Texas State

Raleek Brown, Southern California

Kris Mitchell Florida International

Myles Price Texas Tech

Chris Tyree Notre Dame

Eric McCalister Boise State

Donovan McCulley Indiana

Beaux Collins Clemson

Antoine Wells, South Carolina


Tight End Jalin Conyers Arizona State

Justin Jolly, UCONN

Johnathan Odom Florida

Kamari Morales North Carolina

DeShawn Hanika Iowa State

Lukas Ungar, Stanford

Holden States, Notre Dame

Dae Quan Wright Virginia Tech

Carsen Ryan UCLA


Lineman Spencer Brown Michigan State

Davion Carter, Memphis

Luke Newman Holy Cross (All American)

Brandon Crenshaw, San Diego State (played both left and right tackle) 3 years of eligibility.

Matthew Bedford Indiana

Kahili Benson Indiana


Power To The Players! Over the last week, Notre Dame has lost the following receivers to the portal: Rico Flores, Chris Tyree, Braylon James and Tobias Merriweather. Tyree led the Irish in receiving yards. Flores finished third on the team as a true freshman. James and Merriweather were four-star recruits in the 2023 class.


All this comes in the wake of Notre Dame firing wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey last week.


I'll be breaking in this week along with Portal Dave ...

Thanks for following along

'X'




Smoothie King
10/31/2023
'X' Says: 'Roster Management, Recruiting, Transfer Portal and Thoughts

Recruiting below but for starters let's hit some related topics.

Roster Issues Going Forward: You can’t discuss recruiting without discussing the current state of the roster and the transfer portal. Let’s be honest ... Tennessee’s roster continues to be a work in progress. The turnaround of the program by Coach Heupel given all the roster issues he inherited is not talked about enough. The state of the roster after the 2023 season presents another interesting challenge. Fans should be getting prepared because the 2024 roster will look far different than what you see the last 5 games of this regular season.


There are 31 scholarship seniors on the current roster and many fortunately have been key contributors. 16, by my count, of 31 have an extra year of eligibility because of COVID. I don’t expect many -maybe a handful - of those seniors to return. Most will move on either to the NFL or move on because it's time.


44 scholarship players are either sophomores or freshman. That is great. However, 20 to 25% of those players must show significant improvement between now and next September to factor into the two deep.


In the day and times of the transfer portal, you can expect some of those players to shoot their shot in the transfer portal or at least flirt with it.


Fans will truly need to download the roster off the Tennessee Athletics website to their phone next September to figure out who is who.


Positions Of Concern: The offensive line and secondary will be the hardest position groups hit in the offseason through a combination of graduation and transfer portal movement. My opinion but follow me. There are 7 offensive linemen who are seniors. Most of the seniors contribute. The offensive line play hasn’t been stellar, but it has been serviceable. What is troubling is the development of the backup linemen.

Tennessee got itself in this spot because the 2022 offensive line signees haven’t developed as expected and frankly aren’t ready to contribute
. Tennessee signed 5 offensive lineman in its 2022 signing class. One signee never made it to a practice. The others, and I mean all of 4 of them, have yet to play a meaningful snap.


The good news is the 2023 offensive line signees appear to be a more promising group, Tennessee is putting together a nice class for the 2024 class, and there is the transfer portal.


If Tennessee has SEC championship or playoff aspirations, they must sign as many offensive linemen out of the transfer portal as they can that have experience playing in an up-tempo offense and give the younger linemen time to develop.


The secondary is interesting. 6 defensive backs are seniors. It seems like time for most of those kids to move. The backup defensive backs are inexperienced but athletic and talented. However, this coordinator, assuming he returns, doesn’t like to play young, inexperienced players. How active Tennessee is in the transfer portal with defensive backs will be interesting to monitor.


Recruiting: Tennessee sits with 20 high school prospects committed and unbelievably it's less than 8 weeks until the early signing window opens. The class is a sneaky good class just outside a top 10 ranking in the country. Two months have passed since Tennessee received a 2024 football commitment. This drought in commitments has more to do with new normal in recruiting and not so much that Tennessee doesn’t have any recruiting momentum. Over that time, Tennessee has added 3 commitments for its 2025 signing class. Tennessee could sign as many prospects as it wants.

There is no more limit of 25 signees per year pursuant to new NCAA guidelines. The transfer portal has changed the recruiting game forever. Tennessee will likely use two or three of its available scholarships for high school/junior college prospects they feel can be impact type players. Otherwise, those scholarships and NIL dollars will be used on players in the transfer portal.


A nice recruiting board has been assembled as we head toward the early signing window. The prospect at the very top of the final recruiting board is Jordan Seaton, an offensive lineman from IMG Academy, Florida. Seaton is the number 1 ranked offensive lineman in the 2024 class. He is a five-star prospect with over 40 scholarship offers.

As a prospect, there is a lot to like that could lead to early playing time: the development in his technique and of his frame from his sophomore year until the present is impressive, he looks like a different player and the work he has put forth to change his body and improve his technique is obvious; physically, at 6’6” and over 300 lbs. gaining size is not an issue though he’ll need to get stronger; he can probably play guard early which is an easier transition for a high school lineman wanting to play early. Another thing to like about Seaton is his time at the IMG Academy. He plays and practices against the best prospects and teams in the country. Tennessee doesn’t lead for Seaton, but Tennessee is not just a hat on the table at a signing ceremony. He is scheduled to officially visit Tennessee for the Georgia game.


The other targets are nice prospects just not at the level of Seaton.


As a staff that seemingly collects cornerbacks, Tennessee continues to pursue LSU cornerback commitment Cai Bates. Tennessee finished as a runner-up to LSU for Bates’ commitment in July. The defensive issues LSU has dealt with this season, the porous nature of the LSU secondary defense, and the rumors the LSU defensive staff will be replaced in the off season has opened the door for Tennessee to get re-engaged.


Tennessee would like to add another high school receiver in this class. The prospect at the top of their board Kam Mikell from Statesboro, Georgia. Mikell is rated as the 14th best prospect in the state of Georgia. Georgia is recruiting Mikell as a defensive back; Tennessee is recruiting Mikell as a receiver; and Colorado is offering an opportunity for him to play both. I do believe Mikell is an excellent prospect. However, why not provide current Tennessee defensive back commitment Boo Carter an opportunity at receiver instead. I don’t watch high school football outside of the Southeast. I can’t imagine there are many other high school prospects in the country as dangerous with the ball in their hands as Boo Carter.


I could see Tennessee adding one more defensive lineman. Tennessee is recruiting a couple of high school defensive linemen, plus junior college prospects Kemari Copeland and Jamal Wallace are more physically ready to contribute and are higher on Tennessee’s board. Both Copeland and Wallace are big and have the body types to play outside or in the interior.


Transfer Portal: I have a hard enough time performing my own job, so I feel a little uncomfortable telling others how to do theirs… Let’s hope the player personnel staff at Tennessee are watching these mid-week college football games. I’m entertained by mid-week college football. The mid-week games give these players exposure and prime time auditions for the major conferences to see.


Lastly The marriage between Milton, Halzle, and Heupel has more to do with 2025, 2026, and 2027 quarterback recruiting than whether or Nico is ready to play. Tennessee is in the game for top quarterback prospects in all three of these future recruiting classes.

The kids, their parents, and advisors are watching closely as to see how Coach Heupel and Coach Halzle handle the criticism directed toward Joe Milton’s performance, how he continues to develop as a quarterback, and their decision on whether to continue to play him or move on. In fairness, the Alabama Kentucky stretch may have been Joe Milton’s best as the quarterback at Tennessee. Power on.


And Finally Please support the AMACHI tailgate in whatever way that you can. One of the best investments that one can make.


'X'





Smoothie King
8/22/2023
'X' Says: 'Tennessee continues its good work on the recruiting trail: On Monday Jordan Ross an edge rusher/ athlete publicly announced his commitment to Tennessee. Ross is the 20th high school football prospect to publicly commit to Tennessee. Ross is listed at 6'5" and he looks every bit that tall. He is also listed as weighing 230 lbs. I have a hard time believing that weight is accurate after watching his highlights. He has the build of a basketball player wearing a football uniform to be honest.


Ross' recruiting journey to Tennessee is not what I would refer to as goofy. I would call it unusual with a better than 50% chance to become goofy before signing day. More about that later. Unusual in the fact that you have a 4 to 5 star who is projected as an edge rusher, a position that requires elite athleticism, coveted every school in college football, in a state where people are so passionate about college football that people lose their life defending their loyalty to Auburn or to Alabama, and neither of the schools have recruited him terribly hard. Auburn has shown a little bit more interest in him than Alabama but frankly it doesn’t appear either school is that into the kid ... Very unusual when Auburn or Alabama isn’t that interested in a 5-star prospect within driving distance of their schools. It could get goofy because he reportedly has outrageous NIL demands… not saying Tennessee met those but Georgia, Florida, and LSU were recruiting him, and they seemed to lose interest in him the further Ross’ recruitment drug on.


Ross is one of the two or three kids committed to Tennessee that bear watching until the fax is received on signing day (can you believe in 2023 we live and die by hearing that fax machine hum on signing day). Tennessee has always been a constant in Ross' recruiting. He has flirted with Georgia and Florida, Texas and of late LSU but things always come back to Tennessee. If I'm Tennessee even with the commitment by Ross, LSU and Texas scare me. Either school can overpay for him if they want him bad enough. I think there is so much unknown about what kind of prospect he is that Ross’ recruitment is far from over. Auburn will keep in touch with him and monitor his senior season. Auburn is a worry too because Auburn has been a royal pain in Tennessee's keister in recruiting for as long as I have been following Tennessee football.


In terms of ratings, the recruiting services LOVE Jordan Ross.

247 lists Ross as a 5-star prospect, the number 1 prospect in Alabama, and a top 20 prospect nationally. The composite ranking across all recruiting services isn’t far from that: a 4-star prospect, the number 5 prospect in Alabama, and a top 100 prospect nationally.


As a prospect, Ross is a great looking athlete and his first step off the line of scrimmage is as good as you will see in any high school prospect. He is nowhere near ready to compete against SEC offensive lineman. He beats high school kids based upon just being better athletically. He will get buried in the SEC unless he is much heavier and learns how to use his hands better. He is a poster child for high ceiling – low floor prospect.


After a solid summer where Tennessee got much of its 2024 recruiting done, the recruiting board for the remaining spots is shallow. I expect that to change as the high school season wears on. Keep your eye on two prospects committed to other schools who could easily end up as part of Tennessee's signing class.


Kameryn Fountain Is a strongside defensive end from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta. Fountain has quasi re-opened his recruitment after committing to Southern Cal in the summer. He plans to visit other SEC schools this fall, and I expect Tennessee to be one of the schools he sees. Prior to Fountain’s commitment to USCw, Tennessee was the presumed leader for Fountain's commitment.


Cai Bates, cornerback from Orlando, Florida Bates committed to LSU in early August. Bates’ commitment came down to Tennessee and LSU. LSU paid or at least committed to paying a lucrative NIL deal. In my opinion, the kid wants to be at Tennessee more than he wants to be in Baton Rouge. Tennessee still wants a true cornerback in the 2024 class. Tennessee continues to recruit Bates and it isn’t out of the question that Tennessee sweetens its previous NIL offer.


'X'




Smoothie King
8/01/2023
'X' Says:If Tennessee football recruiting were a stock…… I’m putting in a buy order. My position on the 2024 class is the best is yet to come.


Recruiting has been a challenge for Coach Heupel since he arrived here. Those challenges have been well chronicled here and often discussed on the Basilio show.


Coach Heupel inherited a mess of a roster and even a worse situation off the field. The roster is vastly improved however there are position groups that remain an injury or defection away from being problematic.


The 2024 recruiting cycle has been no different. The cloud of the NCAA investigation continued to hang over the program like this crazy summer smoke in our area; the baseless negative recruiting such as accusations the offensive scheme ran by Tennessee does not to translate to the NFL and the pace of play on offense has a negative impact on defensive players and their hopes to be drafted by the NFL. And Tennessee challenged itself. Tennessee made a conscious decision to step up in weight class if you will. That is, the decision was made to go toe to toe for the best of the best prospects in the nation with the premier college football programs.


Amidst all these challenges, Tennessee’s recruiting has gone well. The competition for the prospects Tennessee is recruiting is intense, unpredictable, and expensive. The month of July had its successes and its disappointments but it closed yesterday with a bang. Tennessee moves toward the start of fall practice with 19 commitments. Rivals has Tennessee’s class ranked 9th in the country.


Tennessee closed July on the highest of highs landing one of the biggest prospects remaining on their offensive board, both literally and figuratively. Mammoth offensive tackle Bennett Warren from Christian Academy High School in Fort Bend, Texas chose Tennessee on Monday. Warren had over 35 who's who offers. In fact Warren whittled his list down to Texas A&M, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.


I don’t think Warren seriously considered A&M or Oklahoma but he put them there for posterity's sake. The competition for Warren was a two-team race for months. Tennessee emerged as the clear leader for Warren after his official visit to Knoxville in June. He loved it !! Rumors were the family prefers Michigan because of academics but allowed him to make his own college choice. Warren's commitment is music to the ears of Tennessee's brass who are losing several key pieces off the offensive line after the 2023 season. Warren will have a legitimate opportunity to step in and play early in 2024.


Warren has the size and athleticism to play early in the SEC.The Texas product stands 6 feet, 7.5 inches tall, and weighs 330 pounds. He is a member of the high school basketball team, and he threw the shot put 37’ and the discus 102’ 10” last track season (I know very little about track and field, but those numbers sound impressive).


Most of his game experience is at right tackle. He was named all state last season and his team won the Division II championship in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Right tackle is tough to play in the SEC but is arguably one of the easier positions to transition to for younger, less experienced players. He is yet another Tennessee commitment who is clearly the most impressive player on the field when you watch his video.


With the Warren commitment, Tennessee has 19 commitments. This recruiting class has an opportunity to close with difference makers turning a very good class into an outstanding class. There is simply no need for Tennessee to fill out the remaining spots in the class with marginal prospects.


Key needs remain at wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker, and cornerback. It doesn't seem that Tennessee will receive good news when wide receiver Amari Jefferson commits in early August. No fault to Tennessee sometimes despite best efforts decisions just go the other direction.


Tennessee still remains a top school for top 50 wide receiver Ryan Wingo from St. Louis, MO. He is down to Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri. Wide Receiver is just a position I don’t worry too much about. You can be sure there are many top wide receiver prospects across the country that make Tennessee must watch TV during the football season.


Tennessee has a number of options along the defensive line. Jordan Ross is a legitimate possibility. He is a top 100 prospect who is likely to choose between Tennessee and Florida.


Defensive tackle Kam Franklin from Lake Cormorant, Miss. named Tennessee his leader months ago but hasn’t pulled the trigger . He is a dude and at 6’5” 265 lbs. can play on the outside or slide inside to play the interior. Tennessee continues to battle for two highly sought after defensive line prospects in Danny Okoye from Oklahoma and Williams Nwaneri from Missouri. Okoye is a pass rush/edge specialist and Nwaneri is a bigger version of Okoye. Okoye may become the better player long term, but Nwaneri is the more polished prospect of the two. Nwaneri is a top 10 prospect nationally and his favorites are Georgia, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. I think Tennessee leads for Okoye right now though a decision doesn’t appear imminent. Tennessee continues to recruit Kam Fountain from Atlanta, Georgia. Fountain is a strong side defensive end committed to Southern Cal. I could envision Fountain backing out of the Southern Cal commitment and ending up with Tennessee.


At linebacker, the one prospect you continue to hear mentioned with Tennessee is Chris Cole from Virginia who is a high school teammate of Tennessee running back commitment Peyton Lewis. Cole’s senior season will be something to watch. He hit a growth spurt after his junior year and has grown into a 6’4” 225 lbs. major college prospect. His top schools at this time are Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.


At defensive back options look a bit cloudier. Tennessee continues to evaluate its options there. Kumaro Brown from the Memphis area, Kameron Mikell and Demello Jones from Statesboro, Georgia remain options. Tennessee can be patient, which is a great place to be. As we enter another football season there will be players emerge who none of us have heard of. The players will become legitimate targets for major college programs.


This time last year Arion Carter was a 2-star running back prospect committed to Memphis University. He decides to play linebacker his senior season and half-way through the season every school in the country knows his name. Carter went from an unknown to arguably the #1 football prospect in Tennessee last season. There will be more players like Arion Carter this year . Let’s hope Tennessee’s player personnel operation is networked well enough to identify these players before other schools are able to do so.


'X'



Smoothie King
7/20/2023
'X' Says:Tennessee is coming off a disappointing recruiting week that saw the VOLS lose out on two highly sought after prospects. Both opted to commit to their home state schools instead of playing for Tennessee.


Tennessee got back on track in a big way Wednesday evening. Parkview (Lilburn, Georgia) High School wide receiver/safety, multi-sport athlete Mike Matthews publicly committed to Tennessee. Matthews, a decorated football prospect who every major football program in the country coveted, accumulated 40 or more scholarship offers. He chose Tennessee over Clemson, Georgia, and Southern Cal.



Tennessee has been in the lead for Matthews from the jump. Excellent job by the staff to identify, recruit, and close on one of the top talents in the country in this recruiting cycle.


Where to begin on Matthews. RIVALS rated Matthews as the 7th best prospect in the country. He is ranked as the 4th best prospect in the state of Georgia (he probably should be ranked higher in state if we are being honest). He is a consensus 5-star prospect and arguably the best wide receiver prospect in the country this recruiting cycle.


I found it interesting that Alabama recruited Matthews but viewed him as a safety. Alabama staff is convinced Matthews would make an even better safety in college and in the NFL than a wide receiver.


Coach Heupel has established a wide receiver profile at Tennessee and Matthews’ skill set fits the profile remarkably well. He is tall and lean at 6’2” 185 lbs.


He is a multi-sport athlete #1. He is an excellent basketball prospect and a key member of the team who is being evaluated by SEC and ACC schools.


He is a multi-sport athlete #2. He is a member of the school track and field team. During his time at Parkview, Matthews has competed in the 100- and 200-meter dash, the triple jump, and the long jump; but, Matthews is a football player.


His best sport is football without question. At Parkview, he plays both offense and defense and rarely comes off the field. Parkview is part of the state of Georgia's highest classification. Last season, Matthews averaged 22 yards per catch, over 1000 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. On defense, teams ran their offense away from him. Even so, he made over 25 tackles, had 2 interceptions, and broke up multiple passes.


No need for me to breakdown his highlights or to provide a wordy description of his skill set …. roll the video and 1) he is ALWAYS the best player on the field 2) he MAKES contested catches and, 3) NOBODY in Georgia is catching him from behind.


Matthews is the second wide receiver commitment of the class joining 4-star Braylen Staley and the seventeenth overall for Tennessee. Matthews and Staley are very similar tall and lean frames; elite athleticism; multi-sport athletes, and top 100 football prospects nationally.


With Matthews’ public commitment, three of Tennessee’s top remaining targets make public commitments soon...

On Friday July 21 Edwin Spillman. Linebacker from Lipscomb Academy Nashville. Spillman is an athletic “sideline to sideline” linebacker. There are a number of excellent high football prospects in Tennessee, and some believe Spillman may be the best. Spillman will choose between Ohio State and Tennessee. Spillman’s recruitment has gone longer than expected. A lot of things point toward Tennessee, but Ohio State has certainly made this uncomfortable for Tennessee.


On Thursday July 26th. Cai Bates. Cornerback from Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida. Bates is one of the most coveted cornerbacks left on the board. He is a top 15 cornerback prospect nationally who, like Matthews, holds well north of 40 scholarship offers. Tennessee is in this recruitment more than most analysts believe. Next Thursday he picks between Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama.


Early August Amari Jefferson. Wide Receiver from the Baylor School in Chattanooga. Jefferson another multi-sport athlete is down to Tennessee and Alabama. He plans to take a day trip to each school in late July, return home, finalize, and announce his decision. Right now, it’s a dead heat.


Much like with the recruitments of Spillman and Bates Tennessee has put its best foot forward and done all it can do. Now, they have to wait to see if their best was good enough to land one, two or all three of these prospects.



Thanks for reading

'X'



Smoothie King
7/3/2023
'X' Says: Recruiting never stops, not even for holidays. Tennessee continued its excellent June recruiting momentum with the addition of 4-star wide receiver prospect Braylon Staley from Aiken, South Carolina on Friday. Staley picked Tennessee over North Carolina, Miami, and Clemson.


Staley is the fourth commitment of June joining athlete Boo Carter, linebacker Jordan Burns, and offensive lineman Max Anderson as recent Volunteer commitments. A note for the star gazers. All four June commitments are 4-star prospects.


Back to Staley. He fits Coach Heupel’s profile of the type of athlete he wants at Tennessee. He is 6’1”, 180-pounds (nice size for a wide receiver), a multi-sport athlete in high school, and has excellent speed. In addition to football, Staley displayed his athleticism and speed as a superb track and field athlete. He has competed for region and state final championships. He runs the 100- and 200-meter sprints though his specialty is the triple jump. Staley is rated as the second-best prospect and the top receiving prospect in South Carolina. Nationally, he is a top 150 prospect and rated as one of the top 25 wide receiver prospects in 2024.


Skills and Athleticism As a junior, Staley was named as an All-Region. He accumulated over eight hundred receiving yardage and posted eight touchdowns on a high school team that didn’t throw the ball a lot. He reminds me of Josh Palmer in terms of his build and the way he is able to readjust his body in traffic to catch the ball.


His high school film shows his speed and ability to separate. He isn’t afraid of contact, he shows ability to catch the ball in traffic, compete for contested throws, and (key here for receivers) he didn’t get caught from behind by high school defensive backs. He is fast but I would stop short of calling him a speedster. Staley is Tennessee’s 15th commitment. The class is ranked 10th nationally with a lot of work to get done in July.




Here is a look at a list of prospects announcing their commitments in July.


OFFENSIVE LINEMAN:

Ronan O'Connell, Interior Offensive Lineman Franklin, TN. Tennessee or Clemson


William Satterwhite, Interior Offensive Lineman, Akron, OH. Tennessee or Clemson


Bennett Warren, Tackle , Sugar Land, Texas. Michigan or Tennessee


Commentary: As a Tennessee fan, I am most concerned about offensive line recruiting for 2024 and beyond. The offensive line position group loses a number of key contributors, starters, and seasoned backups, after the 2023 season. The “ developmental” players in the offensive line group, who have been in the program for a couple of seasons, are not progressing as quickly as the coaches anticipated. Tennessee can’t continue to sign developmental prospects and compete at the highest level in the SEC. Tennessee must be able to close with some of these higher rated offensive lineman. For whatever reason, Tennessee hasn’t been able to do that under the Heupel tenure.


Ronan O'Connell, an instate prospect, looks like an ABT (Anywhere but Tennessee) decision. Tennessee has been ready to take his commitment for months however I don’t see him as part of Tennessee’s signing class.


William Satterwhite therefore becomes an important piece to the class. His recruitment is at best considered a tossup between Tennessee and Clemson.


Bennett Warren is a top 100 prospect nationally. You could see a pathway to Warren playing a lot as a true freshman at Tennessee. It’s a Tennessee and Michigan battle for Warren. I would argue Bennett Warren is one of the most important targets left on Tennessee’s board.


WIDE RECEIVERS: The aforementioned Braylon Staley is an excellent pick up. He more than makes up for the decommitment of JJ Harrell that happened a few weeks ago. Two of Tennessee’ top wide receiver targets are scheduled to make a decision in July.


Mike Matthews Parkview, GA - Clemson - Southern Cal - Tennessee


Amari Jefferson, Chattanooga, TN Tennessee, or Alabama


Terrell Anderson, Greensboro, NC - North Carolina State or Tennessee


Commentary: I may be completely wrong. Tennessee has been the team to beat for Matthews for months. I still think he picks Tennessee this month but it's anything but a certainty. The Matthews recruitment is one of those good old SEC type recruiting showdowns. It’s been filled with negative recruiting, schools using their beat writers to spread misinformation about the other programs, and schools sparring with one another in the media.


Amari Jefferson is an elite prospect who wants to play football and baseball in college. Jefferson has developed himself into one of the top wide receiver prospects in the country. This is another Tennessee – Alabama recruiting battle for, yet another elite instate prospect. I think his decision comes down to what school he trusts more to give him a legitimate opportunity to play both sports in college.


Anderson picks North Carolina State. Tennessee really likes Anderson, but the timing is terrible. With Staley off the board to Tennessee, Matthews and Jefferson are the two top targets remaining. Tennessee’s wide receiver recruiting is paused until Matthews and Jefferson make decisions.


RUNNING BACK Braylen Russell, Benton ARK. Tennessee, or Arkansas. Both Arkansas and Tennessee feel good about their chances with Russell. Russell likes Tennessee and I believe he legitimately wants to leave the state of Arkansas to play college football. The question is can he pick Tennessee in July and withstand the pressure from the Arkansas fans and boosters until signing day.



DEFENSE:

CORNERBACK: Cai Bates, Edgewater, FL. Tennessee, or LSU. Bates is a top 100 prospect who reminds me of high school cornerbacks who sign with Georgia, Alabama, and LSU year in and year out. Is Tennessee in a position to beat LSU two years in a row for a cornerback? Tennessee survived Bates’ LSU official visit as is still presumed to be the leader heading into July. LSU media believe Bates is headed to Tennessee. That is pretty telling however a decision has yet to be announced.


LINEBACKER: Edwin Spillman, Nashville, TN. Tennessee, OR Ohio State. It’s a two-team race for Spillman who many believe is the top prospect in Tennessee for 2024. Spillman’s brother, and a couple of teammates are either enrolled or are headed to Tennessee to play football. For those reasons, I’m sticking with Tennessee to pull this one out.


DEFENSIVE LINE: Kamerion Franklin, Cormorant, Mississippi. Tennessee, Miami, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss. Franklin’s recruitment has taken twist and turn after twist and turn. At one point, Tennessee was the favorite. I don’t know if that has necessarily changed but Ole Miss and Auburn have really put the full court press on Franklin of late. The longer Franklin goes without committing the more I favor Auburn or Ole Miss.


Jordan Ross, Birmingham, AL. Tennessee, Florida, or Georgia. Few times has Tennessee been a serious contender for one of Alabama’s top high school football prospects. Ross is a pass rush/outside linebacker prospect who clearly wants to leave Alabama for college. Neither Alabama nor Auburn seem to be serious contenders for Ross. Ross has been leaning Tennessee for months let’s see if Tennessee can’t withstand a challenge from Florida.


Elijah Rushing, Tucson, AZ. Oregon, Tennessee, or Arizona. Rushing is another high-profile pass rush/edge prospect. We’ll know soon on Rushing. He is announcing on July 4th. Most think he selects Oregon. He has a brother who plays football at Arizona. By all accounts Rushing and family had a great official visit to Tennessee. It’s probably Oregon but Rushing could commit to Tennessee and I would not be surprised.


Williams Nwareni. Summit, MO. Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Tennessee shot its shot for Nwareni. There was some optimism early where Tennessee was thought to be his leader. That optimism seems to fade after his official visit to Tennessee. I think he ultimately chooses to play close to home and picks Oklahoma or Missouri.


Danny Okoye, Tulsa Oklahoma. Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tennessee. Okoye isn’t committing in July. Okoye is included because Tennessee is in serious contention to land Okoye who is the #1 prospect in Oklahoma, the 10th best edge rushing prospect in the country, a top 200 prospect nationally, and a 4-star prospect to boot. He has taken multiple unofficial visits to Tennessee. He is planning to take an official visit to Tennessee during the season.


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Tennessee could have a good run in July and conceivably end up with over 20 commitments. I would have never imagined 5 years ago that many college football programs would get the lion's share of their recruiting finished during the summer. The ability to take official visits early, prospects and families wanting to get the recruiting grind over, and the NIL has changed everything.


Thanks for reading ...


'X'




Smoothie King
6/22/2023
'X' Says:Tennessee struck again on Wednesday afternoon picking up its third commitment in the last five days.

Offensive lineman Max Anderson from Reedy High School in Frisco, Texas picked Tennessee over Michigan and Oklahoma.


Anderson stands 6’5” 315 pounds. He projects as an offensive tackle but based upon how his body fills out, he could move to the interior of the offensive line.


Anderson becomes the 14th commitment of the class. He is a consensus 4-star prospect across the recruiting services. He is also rated as the 185th best prospect in the nation for 2024. Though it’s a bit early to pay attention to team rankings, Anderson’s commitment gets Tennessee back in the top ten recruiting class in the country.


This is a sneaky good pick up by Tennessee. Anderson’s offer list includes schools like the aforementioned Michigan, Oklahoma (where his brother plays), Alabama, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Miami, Ohio State, among others. He probably wasn’t at the top of the recruiting boards of all those teams, but those schools had invested time in evaluating his film and extending him an offer.


Like so many of the Tennessee signees/commitments under Josh Heupel, Anderson is a dual sport athlete. In addition to being a nationally recognized recruit as a football player, he is a competent track and field athlete as well. As a junior, was the area champion in the shot put and qualified for the regional finals in the shot put and discus.

Upon studying Max Anderson’s junior tape, two things are apparent. He is more advanced at this stage of his development as a run blocker than pass blocker (normal for most high school lineman). Also, his ability to get off the first block at the line scrimmage and climb to the next level to get pads on a linebacker or safety is really impressive.


He plays in a high school offense that is similar to the style Tennessee runs so the transition to the up-tempo style shouldn’t be a challenge for him. It is easy to see why Tennessee liked Max Anderson so much.


Otherwise, he is a prototypical SEC offensive line prospect: broad-shouldered, athletic, long arms , plays low and behind his pads, and likes to mix it up. He has played against good competition (Texas 5A is one of the most competitive classes of football in Texas). And give Tennessee credit for going into Texas and landing a prospect that many of the major college football programs in that state wanted.


This is the kind of recruiting momentum Tennessee needs going into the single biggest official visit weekend on the recruiting calendar. Tennessee hosts as many as 16 official visitors this weekend.


Outside of the official visitors, I still think Tennessee has a couple other prospects who are nearing a decision and could make a public decision in the next couple of weeks.


Thanks for reading along


'X'


Smoothie King
6/21/2023
'X' Says:Tennessee football's recruiting class received good news on Tuesday afternoon. Jordan Burns, a linebacker from Pace Academy near Atlanta, Georgia, became the 13th prospect to publicly commit to the Volunteers. Burns’ commitment comes less than 72 hours after the Saturday evening commitment from Boo Carter.


The Burns commitment is very good news for Tennessee. He is a consensus 4-star prospect who had approximately 25 offers, all from major college programs (Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Kentucky, Southern Cal, and others). Tennessee targeted Burns early in the process and hosted him regularly for unofficial visits during the spring. Burns attended the Memorial Day recruiting celebration and just finished up an official visit to Tennessee last weekend.


Burns has prototypical SEC linebacker size and athleticism. He is almost 6’2” tall and weighs around 220 lbs. His closing speed and quickness off the edge stand out. His fundamentals look sound, and it looks like he has been coached well. He is a solid tackler, has the ability to fend off blockers with his hands, and he plays fast. Burns is a top 50 prospect in the state of Georgia for 2024. He is a two-way player at Pace Academy. Some schools project Burns as a running back in college, not as a linebacker. Burns reminds me of past Tennessee linebackers who were high school running backs that Tennessee signed and developed into very good college linebackers.


With the commitments of Boo Carter and Jordan Burns, what is next for Tennessee? I believe Tennessee is on the front end of a nice run of upcoming commitments. Tennessee hosted 12 official visitors last weekend. Tennessee's biggest recruiting weekend of the recruiting calendar is coming up this weekend. Approximately 16 prospects, many of which are the top prospects at their position for Tennessee, will take their official visits. Further, there are prospects who have visited Tennessee that are finalizing their decisions and could make their decisions before or around July 4.


'X'



Smoothie King
6/20/2023
'X' Says:Tennessee suffered a few bumps and bruises on the recruiting trail during the last few weeks. That changed Saturday when in-state athlete Boo Carter from Chattanooga announced publicly that he was committed to Tennessee.

Boo Carter is arguably the top prospect in the state of Tennessee for the 2024 recruiting class.

He is rated as a top 50 prospect in the country by Rivals and a consensus 4-star prospect by all the recruiting services. You cannot place a value on how important the commitment of Carter is to the 2024 recruiting class and the football program in general.


Carter’s recruitment had taken its share of twists and turns during the past 2 ½ years to be sure. Tennessee beat out the best of the best programs in college football for Carter. He could have gone anywhere in the country to play football. LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, and a few other programs had made strong and serious pushes for Carter at different times. Tennessee also had to overcome the notoriety and cult of personality of Carter's being pursued by Colorado and Deion Sanders. Tennessee was able to do so. In the end Carter picked Tennessee over Michigan. Two things here 1) Tennessee bested Michigan for a prospect Michigan pulled out all the stops for and 2) Tennessee went toe to toe with a storied program that has one of the best name, image, and likeness (NIL) programs in college football. Michigan is not used to losing prospects over NIL issues.



Carter as a Prospect Carter is 5’10 maybe a little taller and weighs in at 180 to 185 lbs. Schools recruited Carter to play offense, defense, and special teams. Look at his 2022 statistics and you can understand why. At Chattanooga Christian he tallied 1,500 yards and 28 touchdowns on offense and was credited with 40 tackles on defense, where he also intercepted four passes, returning one for a touchdown.


Willie Martinez and Tim Banks were lead recruiters for Carter. I expect him to play nickel corner or safety at Tennessee. Carter also figures to contribute early to the return game. A tremendous athlete, don’t be surprised if you see him lineup in the backfield or at slot receiver during his time in Knoxville.


Carter’s athleticism is amazing. He has been timed at 4.39 in the forty-yard dash, 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters, and 4.35 seconds in the shuttle run (the shuttle is a drill designed to identify a player's ability to quickly change directions and how well they accelerate). These are elite numbers by any measure.


On tape Carter’s quick feet and ability to change direction are just phenomenal. He looks natural and instinctive playing both running back and in the secondary. I do like his ability to diagnose the play as safety and react to either run or pass. He isn’t afraid of contact either. He is unafraid of contact and looks comfortable playing close to the line of scrimmage. For all these reasons I think he ends up as the nickel corner here.



Why is the Carter commitment important?
If you haven’t noticed, Tennessee has subtly moved up in weight class in recruiting. This recruiting cycle Tennessee is shooting their shot with more of the best prospects around the country than anytime in Coach Heupel’s time at Tennessee. These prospects obviously are being recruited by the best programs in the country. Gone are seeing the likes of Purdue, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, or Maryland mentioned prominently with the quality of prospects Tennessee is recruiting at present. They've been replaced by Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State, and others though.

When you go heads up with the elite of college football it’s simply a tougher go of it. Tougher to get these prospects to campus, make the list for one of their five official visits, close, and land their commitment. Tennessee has frankly found this to be a bit challenging. Carter could have gone to any of those schools, but he chose Tennessee.


The recruiting calendar has changed. Tennessee picked the wrong time to hit a dry spot and struggle in recruiting. June is the new January on the recruiting calendar. Schools get most of their major recruiting work done in June.


Tennessee is one of those schools who places a premium on summer official visits. Tennessee hosted 12 official visitors last weekend and will host as many as 16 official visitors this upcoming week.


That is 50% of the official visits the NCAA allows a team during a recruiting year. Many prospects are now making their college decisions in July or August so they can devote their full attention to football and academics.


Carter is what many refer to as an alpha personality type. He is an outgoing kid with a big personality. He has close relationships with a number of prospects committed to Tennessee and is well known by other prospects Tennessee is recruiting. He is well known because of 7 on 7 competitions as well as camp participation. He is scheduled to take an official visit to Tennessee next weekend. An opinion leader, I think Carter will have a positive impact on Tennessee's ability to close on a number of its key remaining targets.


Affirmation!!! Fans have short memories when it comes to recruiting. Tennessee did very well last recruiting year and closed out on an elite number of talented defensive prospects. As a college football program, you have to do that again and again. Coach Heupel, who many questioned his ability to recruit at the level necessary to compete in the SEC, closed on the top prospect Tennessee who is a premier high school athlete nationally.
...


Thanks for reading


'X'





Smoothie King
5/8/2023
'X' Says:On Friday evening Tennessee picked up a football commitment from Kellen Lindstrom from Springfield. Missouri. Lindstrom is commitment number 11 for Tennessee and that moved the Volunteers back inside the top 10 recruiting classes in America (and 4th in the SEC). On Friday evening, I really like this commitment but more on that later. Tennessee literally came from out of nowhere to land Lindstrom. Tennessee made an impression on him and the family last season, extended an offer, got him to campus, and Lindstrom picked Tennessee over some 30 plus other schools. He held committable offers from literally a “who’s who” of college football programs. His finalists were Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Southern California. I continue to believe the best is yet to come for this recruiting class.


I watched a lot of Kellen Lindstrom’s tape since he committed to Tennessee. The one word that describes him is disruptive. He reminds me of former Tennessee great Will Overstreet and Nebraska great Grant Wistrom who is coincidentally Lindstrom’s high school position coach. Physically, he is a solid 6’5” and 240 lbs. He is athletic, can run, is intense and plays hard. He is a fierce competitor and a prospect who has been coached well in his 3 years of high school. If he continues to grow and improve, he is going to be a handful for offensive tackles in this league for a few years.

The state of Missouri takes a backseat to no other state in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The state of Missouri boasts the #1 defensive end prospect in the country (Williams Nwaneri); the #1 tight end prospect in the country (Jadden Reddell); and the #2 wide receiver prospect in the country (Ryan Wingo).

Three prospects Tennessee is heavily involved with by the way….

The rest of the top 10 prospects in Missouri are committed to SEC schools, Big Ten schools and those that aren’t are being recruited by schools from virtually every football conference in the country. I don’t believe the recruiting services have a separate category for edge rushers but if they did Lindstrom would be right at the top of the list. He is also a 4-star prospect and is a top 5 prospect in Missouri across the recruiting services.


Lindstrom is a fantastic addition to the recruiting class and a real win for UT's staff ... They had to beat back history to get him. He has family ties to the home state school. His grandfather and dad both played baseball at Missouri. His position coach is a Nebraska alum, and the high school staff is chocked full of former Missouri players. Speaking of baseball, Lindstrom is a very good baseball player as well though I don’t believe there are any plans for him to pursue baseball in college.


The addition of Lindstrom is yet another impressive addition to the pass rush specialists Tennessee has added to the roster since Josh Heupel to control of the football program.


You have heard Dr. Sinclair and I talk about “stacking “ good recruiting class on top of good recruiting class on top of good recruiting class. Stacking is the process used to restore quality depth to the roster and ascend back to the top of the SEC. There is no other position group on the Tennessee roster where stacking is more evident than at the pass/edge rush position. The 2022 recruiting class brought in James Pearce and Joshua Josephs. In 2023, Tennessee signed Caleb Herring and Chandavian Bradley (another prospect from Missouri). Though Lindstrom is committed and not signed he would be an excellent addition to this position group.

May is traditionally a slow month for football recruiting news even in the era where many prospects are beginning to schedule official visits. Tennessee has an opportunity to add a couple more pieces to the recruiting class before the end of the month.


And don’t look now but in a few weeks …. summer camps and summer workouts for the football team begin.



Thanks for reading

'X'



Smoothie King
4/25/2023
'X' Says:Jeremias Heard announced his commitment to the Tennessee football program Friday evening. You may have missed it, and that is ok. There was a lot of good stuff going on with Tennessee athletics from Friday to Sunday. Heard dropped the announcement on social media in the midst of the Tennessee-Vanderbilt baseball game and the news that Rick Barnes secured a key commitment from a coveted transfer for the basketball team.


Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Short Porch Podcast (Ep 9) - Presented by TLD Logistics
So, who is Jeremias Heard? He isn’t a four- or five-star prospect. He isn’t in any top 100 list published by the recruiting services. Tennessee didn’t beat Clemson, Georgia, or Alabama for Heard. In fact, full disclosure here, Tennessee was his only Power 5 offer. Until last fall, Heard was best known as a Power 5 basketball recruit. Heard is a 6’9” 285 lb. power forward for Model High School in Rome, Georgia. He is good at basketball. He is a handful around the rim. He was named region player of the year last season and is a good enough basketball prospect that schools are pursuing him for basketball opportunities in college.


As a football prospect, that is another story though maybe not for long. Heard is very much an unknown as a football prospect. The recruiting services ranked him just inside the top 1,000 high school prospects nationally (that is 1,000 not 100). He is barely a top 100 prospect in the state of Georgia this recruiting cycle, and schools outside Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia aren’t really recruiting.


Heard decided to play football in July 2022. He had a month of training and practice before Model High’s first game. He is just learning the game, but you see the improvement in his play from early season to late season on what video there is available. At season's end, he totaled 30 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Not great numbers but not terrible numbers for a kid effectively walking off a basketball court into a football fieldhouse and lining up to play. He played and trained for football all of 5 months and then jumped right into basketball.


Tennessee recruited Heard as a defensive lineman. He will start off with Rodney Garner. At 6’9” 285 lbs. with confirmed arm length of 35 inches, I am curious as to what kind of player he could develop into when devoting 100% of his training to football. Coach Garner has a lot to work with. If Heard has a football player inside that big body, Coach Garner will get the best version of that player out of him.


As for other schools, Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia have scouted Heard, and none of the schools were ready to offer him a scholarship. Rather, those schools asked Heard to delay his announcement until they could evaluate more film. Not Tennessee. He visited Tennessee 5 times since he was extended an offer. Rodney Garner offered him and is his lead recruiter.


Heard makes commitment number 10 for Tennessee. Nationally, Tennessee now has the 9th best recruiting class in the country. Honestly, I think the best is yet to come for this recruiting class in 2024.


Tennessee is in the thick of any number of recruitments for some of the top prospects not only in the south but across the country. Tennessee will not sign them all to be sure. However, to keep the program moving directionally in a positive manner, you have to win a fair share of those battles.


'X'




Smoothie King
4/18/2023
'X' Says:Mother Nature cooperated and Tennessee fans did not disappoint. More than 60,000 made their way to campus on a beautiful spring Saturday afternoon for a scrimmage which marked the close of Tennessee spring football practice 2023. The post-spring depth chart is coming, but first a few Saturday observations.


Tennessee held out about 2 dozen players because of injuries (the in-game injuries appear to be minor). The play calling was vanilla. The improvement to the roster, though, was obvious.



Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Short Porch Podcast (Ep 8) - Presented by TLD Logistics
Coach Heupel has changed the roster. You see it EVERYWHERE. The players on offense and defense at every position group are bigger, faster, and longer.


So many freshmen that played … that didn’t look like freshmen.



Arion Carter, and John Slaughter on defense in particular. Both are going to challenge the incumbents for playing time.


Another true freshman Christian Conyers tipped a pass that led to an interception. Just an ordinary play I know but because of his length he got to the pass. I’m not certain how many returning defensive backs make that play.


Nico didn’t disappoint. He made a few mistakes, but the arm talent, composure, and athleticism are as advertised.


Cam Seldon is going to be a problem for SEC defensive coordinators. Passing and rushing he totaled close to 100 yards Saturday. I know it’s a spring game but just remember he wasn’t recruited to Tennessee to play running back. Seldon at running back is a product of Tennessee’s evaluation. Tennessee showed his versatility just enough on Saturday to give opponents one other thing to worry about over the summer.


Nathan Leacock, Ethan Davis, and Desean Bishop are farther along physically than I expected.


I thought all the new kids handled the pace of play well.


In terms of returning players, Addison Nichols looks like an SEC offensive lineman. He apparently has been force fed the playbook at both guard and center.

With Mays’ injury issues, Nichols would be the next in line. Physically, he looks ready. Nichols will definitely be in the offensive line rotation this fall.


Good to see the young receivers make a couple of plays. Their development is critical. There are 8 scholarship wide receivers currently and 3 depart after the 2023 season. The opportunity for playing time at receiver is real going into 2023. Great for recruiting. The depth really gets stretched if one of the front-line receivers misses time.


Wesley Walker and Doneiko Slaughter are the two players I feel most comfortable in the secondary.


Good to see the transfer from Arizona State Norman Lott being active along the defensive line.


The Depth Chart: Offensive Line: The most unsettled position group on the team (outside of the kickers).


Cooper Mays (center) and Javontez Spraggins (right guard) are SEC-tested and are starters heading into the fall. The other three positions are up for grabs. The left guard position is a four-man scramble. Ollie Lane, Jackson Lampley, transfer Andrej Karic, and the aforementioned Addison Nichols are even leaving spring practice. You kind of know what you have with Lane, Lampley, and Karic. Nichols is the wild card. His continued development and him winning the job could solidify in the interior.


The same with the tackle position. There are four players (Dayne Davis, Gerald Mincey, JJ Crawford, and Miami transfer John Campbell) competing for two spots. Again, all apparently even. All those players have experience.


Tennessee is looking for offensive linemen in the transfer portal. One target has been extended an offer (Wyoming's Emmanuel Pregnon) and others are being evaluated. This can be interpreted in two ways. Is Tennessee expecting members of the offensive line group to enter the transfer portal to the extent depth might be an issue, or is Tennessee not comfortable with the progress the transfer offensive lineman or the returnees made this spring and are seeking immediate help? We should know soon enough since the transfer closes in less than 2 weeks.


The Skinny On Pregnon: Tennessee offered Emmanuel Pregnon, an offensive lineman from the University of Wyoming who entered the transfer portal over the weekend ... Pregnon has already received offers from schools such as Auburn, Ole Miss, Penn State Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, Purdue, Tennessee, Illinois. You wonder if a player like Pregnon is a “2 at 10 OR a 10 at 2” (like Basilio in college)? Are schools so desperate for players that they are willing to cut corners on evaluations and checks simply to add a body to a position of need and hope the signing works out? You love his size, 6’6” 320 pounds, and you also love the fact that he is transferring from a program that is equally well-known for its development of college football players and its lack of a robust NIL program.


Tight End

Jacob Warren and transfer McCallan Castles are solid, experienced players who have a lot of football under their belts. Ethan Davis, a true freshman, is an unknown. He is an elite athlete that gives Tennessee a legitimate down the field threat from the tight end position if he can stay healthy. He will be used in special packages, and he is going to be a problem defending down the field.



Running Back

I am still not sold on Jerry Mack as a recruiter, but he is a very good running back coach and developer of talent. The running backs produce, fumble rarely, and are generally good at picking up blocking assignments. You see the freshmen come in and in such a short time adjust to the playbook and pace of play. It's impressive. The easy call here is to say Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright are bracketed as “co-starters” going into fall camp. Small missed all of spring practice and Wright was limited. Dylan Sampson got most of the work with the 1st team. In my opinion, Tennessee wants Dylan Sampson to be the starter and are giving him every opportunity to be the lead back going into the fall. He had an excellent spring and right now I think he is slightly ahead of Small and Wright. I know it’s the spring game but does anyone think Cam Seldon isn’t going to play? Seldon is young and Tennessee doesn’t play young guys a lot of meaningful snaps but his versatility just makes the offense harder to defend. I was totally not expecting to write that Desean Bishop would factor into the running back rotation this fall but I expect that he will. Injuries always impact running back depth. Tennessee struggled with having healthy running backs last season.


Wide Receiver

A healthy Bru McCoy, Donte Thornton, Squirrel White, and Ramel Keyton give Tennessee one of the better foursomes of receivers in the SEC. I would like to see the rotation expanded this fall to include the younger players like Kaleb Webb, Chas Nimrod, and freshman Nathan Leacock… Cam Seldon will get snaps at wide receiver too.


Quarterback

Joe Milton is the starter, but I will say this .... The offense runs hot and cold with him under center. Adam Sparks made a great point on Basilio's show last week. Tennessee's offense scored 31 points against Clemson's defense in the Sugar Bowl and punted 8 times. He has the job for now, but he needs to be more efficient. Milton is farther along in terms of decisioning-making and playing without thinking than he has since he arrived on campus. And he is learning how to throw some passes with touch. He didn't do that a year ago.


Nico looked like a high school senior who was nervous, trying to process information fast, get the team lined up, and then play quarterback. He relaxed after a couple of series and began to settle in.

I know it is a spring game but the throw while running down the sideline to Ethan Davis is a throw few true freshman make. He also made a throw down the seam to Seldon that was impressive. The arm talent and athleticism are undeniable. Nico looks to be more of a willing runner than Joe Milton. The running threat from the quarterback in the offense just opens up the play book that much more. I am not criticizing Joe Milton, it is just obvious in watching the way each plays. When Milton elects to run it looks forced. With Nico, it looks natural.



DEFENSE Secondary

In my opinion, the ability of the defensive coaches to get the right five and sometimes six defensive backs on the field is difference between one or two wins and losses this fall.


As mentioned above, Wesley Walker is settled in at safety and Doneiko Slaughter is probably one of the starting corners. Gabe Juedy-Lally probably has a slight lead at the other cornerback spot simply because the other cornerbacks with experience were limited and this staff just doesn’t play true freshman meaningful snaps in the secondary.


I expect Jaylen McCullough and Tamarion McDonald will be at the top of the depth chart at safety and star respectively when fall camp rolls around. This staff seems to be married to those kids but there are more talented players that will push both. More so this season than in the past.

True freshman Jonathan Slaughter and sophomore Jourdan Thomas are going to challenge McCullough and McDonald for playing time. Plus, the true freshman cornerbacks, particularly Jordan Matthews and Rickey Gibson may be too talented to keep off the field. Doneiko Slaughter is versatile enough where he can slide over to star or safety position if a true freshman cornerback emerges.


This position group is just out of sync. I know no other way to describe it. 20 scholarship defensive backs. Why? How many of those 20 do you trust for more than a series or two. A few in that group have been injured most of their careers here which is unfortunate. There are others that don’t play well against better competition and in many cases don’t play well regardless of who the opponent is.


Tennessee has reached out to safety/nickel Anthony Wilson from Georgia Southern who has played a lot of football. I don’t think you reach out to him unless you expect transfer portal activity thins out this group.


Linebacker Aaron Beasley and transfer Keenan Pili are your starters at inside linebacker. Sophomores Elijah Herring and Kaleb Perry are more athletic than the starters and are developing into solid SEC linebackers.


True freshman Arion Carter is going to be another freshman that is hard to keep off the field. The other true freshman Jeremiah Telander and Jaylon Smith showed up Saturday. I expect both to play next season in special teams and spot duty in the linebacker rotation. This is as solid a linebacking group that Tennessee has had going into the off season that I can recall.



Defensive Line Including Pass Rushers Coach Heupel didn’t over think it when he hired Rodney Garner. Garner has coached and developed this group into one of the deepest groups in the SEC. Omari Thomas on the inside has the potential to be an All-SEC player, sophomore Tyre West has comparable talent but needs to develop consistency, Norman Lott a transfer from Arizona brings versatility and may be the most valuable transfer by the end of the football season. Tennessee also returns Bryson Eason, Tyler Baron, DJ Terry, and Elijah Simmons all of whom contributed last season and will be asked to do more this season.


The development of Amari McNeill and Dominic Bailey, who were both cast offs from the past coach regimes has been amazing. Both players are developing into serviceable SEC defensive lineman.


The pass rush position is a bit more unsettled. There are a couple of the aforementioned players like Baron, West, McNeill, and Bailey that are athletic enough to be designated pass rushers situationally. Roman Harrison, who seems like he has been at Tennessee for a dozen seasons, is the most experienced returner. Tennessee needs James Pierce, Joshua Josephs, true freshman Caleb Herring, and incoming freshman Chandavian Bradley to step forward this fall. You may also see true freshman Arion Carter or Aaron Beasley used as a pass rusher situationally as well. There is more talent in this group than at any time in the last 10 years, maybe longer. Tennessee just needs a couple of those kids to take advantage of the opportunity.


Lastly… A neat story seems to always emerge during every Orange & White game. This year is no different. Dayton Sneed is a freshman walk on receiver from Hermitage, Tennessee. He made the catch of the game. He caught a pass from Gaston Moore in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. He high pointed the ball with defenders all around while getting one foot down in bounds. Congratulations to Dayton for getting the opportunity to live out a dream. I know it’s just a spring game, but you will not see many receivers do it better in the fall than Sneed did Saturday.


AND…….


A New Commitment: The weekend was topped off with commitment number 9. Safety Edrees Farooq from St Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland made it public Sunday afternoon. Farooq is the third defensive back commitment in this class. He chose Tennessee over Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, USC, and Wisconsin. Tennessee will have to continue to recruit him to keep him. Physically, he is 6’ 185 pounds. He is smooth with not a lot of wasted steps. You can tell he has been coached well. He displays good ball skills and is good in coverage, but he clearly feels more comfortable playing closer to the line of scrimmage.

One other sneaky note about Farooq ... his brother Jalil is a wide receiver at Oklahoma. Last season he started 10 games and caught 37 passes for 460 yards and 5 touchdowns; he carried the ball 15 times averaging over 9 yards per attempt; and, he had close to 300 yards in return yardage as a kick returner. You never know what happens at Oklahoma if their 2023 season isn’t successful or going into 2024 the quarterback situation is unsettled.


Thanks for reading

'X'



Smoothie King
4/11/2023
'X' Says:'Football recruiting is picking up some much-needed momentum as we approach the end of spring practice. Tennessee received two commitments to the 2024 class over the Easter weekend and I approve of both.



Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Short Porch Podcast (Ep 9) - Presented by TLD Logistics
Friday afternoon as Basilio was leaving the airways for the week, Murfreesboro Middle Tennessee Christian School offensive lineman Jesse Perry announced via social media that he was a Volunteer.


Then, on Saturday evening, after Tennessee staved off a sweep of a game three series with the Florida Gators, Fort Collins Fossil Ridge High School offensive lineman Gage Ginther announced that he too had committed to Tennessee. Perry and Ginther became the seventh and eighth commitments to the class of 2024. Perry is the Tennessee’s fourth in-state commitment of this class. It would be a shock if that number didn’t double by December.


I like both commitments!!

Perry attends a small school in middle Tennessee. Four months before his senior season he checks in at 6’7” and 275 pounds. There is a question about the competition Perry has faced at his level but there is no disputing his size, length, and athleticism. His recruitment picked up toward the end of his junior season and has surged this spring. Perry had 27 offers. He selected Tennessee over North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, and Mississippi State. He had received some 27 offers in total.


Ginther is similarly built as Perry. Tennessee checked him at 6’6” 280 pounds with 34-inch-long arms. In addition to football, Ginther throws the shot put and discus for his high school. Interesting, he was recently timed at 4.89 in the 40-yard dash – not a bad time for a kid built like Ginther. Ginther is rated as the top offensive lineman in Colorado. His top schools included Colorado, UCLA , Oregon, Southern Cal, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Penn St. Personally, any offensive lineman Wisconsin has interest in is probably going to be on my recruiting board.


Ginther is further along in his development as an offensive lineman than Perry. It could be nothing more than the offensive scheme his high school team runs is more closely aligned to Tennessee’s. His ability to get off the initial block to the next level of defense is impressive. Like most offensive line prospects, my view is that both Perry and Ginther’s running blocking technique is ahead of their passing blocking technique. Both kids have exceptionally long arms and I saw far too many passing sets where both allowed defensive linemen to get into their bodies and pushed them back. This is correctable with strength training and coaching.


For years Tennessee’s offensive line room has had a disproportionate number of linemen who physically resembled interior linemen. Tennessee has had limited success in recruiting big, long athletic offensive linemen (“tackle bodies). .. This has caused Tennessee at times to take interior linemen, who are traditionally smaller and not as athletic as tackles and play them at tackle blocking SEC defensive ends. This simply does not work against the better teams in the SEC.


It's easier to take the bigger more athletic lineman and move him inside than it is to take a smaller less athletic lineman and move him out on an island where he has very little help or margin for error. Perry and Ginther are both tackle bodies. Coach Ellerbee has a lot of raw talent to work with in both. Don’t expect either to see the field immediately but that is okay.


Ginther and Perry were coveted by Tennessee but neither one is at the top of their offensive line board.


I would argue that Tennessee is either the team to beat or in the top group for offensive lineman Marques Easley and Daniel Calhoun, both top 100 prospects, and in-state prospect Ronan O’Connell. I would also argue two if not all three of the aforementioned prospects are higher on the recruiting board than either Ginther or Perry.


There is going to be a big turnover in the offensive line room going into next season. Tennessee is going to sign at least four, if not more, offensive lineman in this class.


Being that offensive line is such a developmental position, two or three of the 2024 offensive line starters may very well come right out of the transfer portal to give the younger prospects time to develop. In closing, this is tough news to those who judge recruiting classes by star power. Recruiting classes are not made up exclusively of 4 and 5 star, top 100 prospects. The best recruiting classes are put together like pieces of a puzzle. With the commitments of Perry and Ginther, that is what Tennessee is doing. You must add prospects each recruiting cycle who fit with your culture, have reasonable expectations, and understand the pathway to the field is a long grind.


Tennessee's 2025 CB Commitment Unpacked: Cornerback Shamar Arnoux from Milton, Georgia announced his commitment to Tennessee on Friday. Arnoux is a 6’1” 165-pound cornerback. He played his first two seasons at Westlake High School in Atlanta and transferred to Milton for his junior year. Already coveted by a number of SEC schools, his recruitment is far from over. Here is what I can tell you about Arnoux. Georgia produces high level college football talent every year. From the time this kid played pee wee football, to 7 on 7 competitions, to summer camps, and through his freshman and sophomore seasons, he has likely competed against some of the best of the best Georgia has to offer and he's held his own during this time period. In other words Shamar Arnoux can play and could have a bright future at Tennessee.


Spring Practice Notes / Observations:

Tennessee has a few more spring practices remaining. Then comes the Orange and White game on Saturday. I don’t know what the spring game will look like and really don’t care. Just get out of the week without any major injuries. The coaching staff has held a number of players out of practice for the entire spring and others have been limited. I refuse to place any of the key players on either side of the football in harm’s way until August. The roster is improved at every position but continues to be a work in progress. An injury to a key player literally at any position could have devastating consequences.


I have heard many positives coming from people who I know and have been able to watch practice. Some of the best news though is something that you haven’t heard much about. I was concerned how Nico would transition from a high-profile high school athlete who is a social media sensation. It seems like that is a non-story and that is great news for Tennessee, By every account, he has made a seamless transition.


I'm hearing he is the consummate teammate and is acclimating himself to college and is really just one of the guys on the team. He has avoided being a distraction, is learning the playbook, and is beginning to look like a SEC quarterback.


Those who have seen him in scrimmages marvel at his composure and how well he seems to be adjusting to pace of play and competition. Physically, he is noticeably thicker through his legs and arms.



Thanks

'X'




Smoothie King
3/31/2023
'X' Says:There is a lot to like about Tennessee’s 6th commitment to the 2024 class. Jake Merklinger from Savannah Calvary Day School Thursday afternoon. Honestly, not much suspense at all with Merklinger’s recruitment… from Tennessee’s perspective. Tennessee extended scholarship offers to other high school quarterbacks in this class, but Merklinger is the only quarterback they recruited.


Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Short Porch Podcast (Ep 8) - Presented by TLD Logistics
On the heels of signing the number 1 high school quarterback in the country, I expected Tennessee to struggle in finding their guy in 2024. Instead, they target a consensus top 100 prospect, who is one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country. And he attends school in the backyard of your biggest rival – and that has won back-to-back national championships.


Merklinger stands 6’3” and 195 lbs. He is rated as the 12th best prospect in Georgia, 7th best quarterback prospect in the country and 66th overall prospect for 2024. He is a consensus 4-star prospect. As impressive as his film is, you see so many things where he can improve.

He is a three-year starter at Calvary Day school. All he did as a freshman was account for 23 touchdowns. As a sophomore and junior he completed close to 70% of his pass attempts. He is a pocket passer who can deliver the pass from different arm slots. He can run but is a throw first kind of quarterback. From his film, I noted he used speed and athleticism to create more time to throw, not to find a running lane. He has a good arm, and you expect his arm strength to improve as he matures and gets bigger. He is a multi-sport athlete (including an accomplished lacrosse player).


Merklinger does not have busy feet in the pocket. He seems to always be looking down the field looking for an open receiver not looking at oncoming pass rushers.


At the time of his commitment, Merklinger had 28 scholarship offers. He picked Tennessee over Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan State. One can make a reasonable argument the pathway to the starting quarterback position is faster at each of the aforementioned schools. Yet, he chose Tennessee.


A Few Drive-By Comments

Running back recruiting. Woof … I told you readers a month ago that the unofficial visit by running back prospect Jordan Marshall from Ohio to Tennessee was window dressing. Marshall, who was at the top of Tennessee’s recruiting board, is a Big Ten running back. He committed to Michigan two weeks ago. I doubt he seriously considered Tennessee. His style of running doesn't fit Tennessee’s scheme either. Come on guys ... this seems obvious.


This is going to be the way it is for running back recruiting until it isn’t. Underwhelming. The inability to land a topflight running back given the opportunities available in this offense amazes me. Don’t give me the Cam Seldon argument. Seldon is an elite athlete with the ball in his hands who should probably be taking snaps at wide receiver but out of necessity is in the running back room for now ( he wasn’t recruited by the running backs coach either)


As long as Coach Heupel is coaching at Tennessee I refuse to worry about wide receiver recruiting. High school, junior college, or the transfer portal it doesn’t matter. This coach has a knack for finding guys that flourish in this offense.


As long as Rodney Garner is recruiting for and coaching the defensive line here, Tennessee will always field a competitive defensive line. For the kids that choose to play for him – he will make them better players and better persons. From a football view, he will get 100% effort out of them, or they won’t play.


It's going to be hard to keep Arion Carter off the field this fall ... and I don’t mean special teams. I am trying to temper my expectations. Every report I receive from people who watch practice say the same. He looks like an Alabama linebacker, when Alabama was elite at linebacker, wearing an orange practice jersey.


Is it possible Tennessee signs 10 in state kids prospects in 2024?

In February, I wrote that an argument could be made the top 10 prospects in Tennessee are comparable in talent to the top 10 in any other state in the SEC footprint. I stand by that and there is another tier of in-state prospects that are fast risers who have caught the eye of Tennessee, other SEC schools, and schools around the country. It's hard to imagine 40% of a signing class being from the state of Tennessee. This recruiting cycle though it wouldn’t be a surprise.


'X'




Smoothie King
2/28/2023
'X' Says:'Random Shots. I can’t believe I’m saying this. March 1st, 2023.


It's early but the defense is ahead of the offense. Tennessee is off to a fast start recruiting talent for the defensive side of the ball. It is important to continue stacking one good class on top of another.


In fact, I don’t think it’s that close. From my vantage point, I can name 8 to 10 uncommitted defensive prospects right now who I can see legitimately signing with Tennessee. On offense, I can name probably 3 and 2 of those are receivers. Coach Pope is doing a wonderful job and deserving every bit of money he is making but SEC football is not 7 on 7.


Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Short Porch Podcast (Ep 2) - Presented by TLD Logistics
I think the above makes Josh Heupel very happy. He can use this for motivating some of the coaches on offense whose ability to recruit is already being questioned . Moreover, the knock-on Coach Heupel was always 1) the ability to recruiting on a big stage and 2) the failure to prioritize defense. He is arguably one of the best play callers in college football and he has done so with less than stellar talent on offense. His defenses have left a lot to be desired. You have to be impressed with the talent Tennessee is assembling on that side of the ball.

A month into the recruiting cycle and I can’t tell you who the top football prospect in the state of Tennessee is for 2024. Frankly, I can’t tell you who the top 3 are. It’s not a bad thing. Here is an example. A recruiting outlet recently named Caleb Beasley a cornerback from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville and Tennessee commitment, as the number 1 cornerback in the country. Beasley is a really good prospect.

However, there are recruiting services that don’t have Beasley in the top 5 best in the state right now. In fact, there are at least 8 in-state prospects who could lay claim to that distinction by December. You can make an argument the top 10 in Tennessee this cycle is comparable in talent to the top 10 in any other state in the SEC footprint. Great job by all of those who have put in the time to improve the raise the stature of high school football in the state.


Can’t wait until the transfer portal re-opens. The chaos of the transfer portal used to give me anxiety and now I embrace it. Tennessee has still roster issues. Better players are needed at talent deficit positions. This means there will likely be a number of scholarship players who leave Tennessee for the portal during or after spring practice. Tennessee still has work to do in the transfer portal and I’m here for it.


Running back recruiting is already making me queasy. Tennessee rushed for 200 yards per game and scored 40 rushing touchdowns with a serviceable stable of running backs. Yet, it is hard to see the results on the field having a positive impact on recruiting running backs. Actually, it looks like more of the same from 2022 and 2023. Tennessee gets mentioned with a high-profile running back, high profile running backs do interview with Tennessee beat reporters, high profile running backs keep mentioning and maybe visit Tennessee, Tennessee is a hat on the table, and running backs chose other schools. Tennessee scrambles meet fill its running back needs and ends up settling. I’m not smart enough to figure out what is wrong here but something with their evaluations, expectations, attention to details, or something else is off. Hope I’m wrong.


A Peak at 2024 Recruiting …. Offense up first. There is a lot of work left to do, but there are bright spots. Enjoy the read.



Quarterbacks If you just emerged from hibernation, Tennessee signed 5-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2023, according to several recruiting outlets. Convincing a high-profile quarterback in the 2024 class to sit behind Iamaleava who early on looks to be s sure-fire SEC starter is going to be a tall task. That hasn’t stopped Tennessee from pursuing a number of high-profile quarterbacks.


Tennessee seems locked in on Jake Merklinger from Calvary Day School in Savannah Georgia. He was named the 3A Offensive Player of the Year during his sophomore and junior seasons. Last season, Merklinger threw for 32 passing touchdowns and 2,000 passing yards. He is a top 10 prospect in Georgia and a top 100 prospect nationally. He has been to Tennessee unofficially four or 5 times including a couple of game days last season. He has established a great relationship with offensive coordinator Joey Halzie. I expect him to visit spring and take an official visit later in the cycle.


Tennessee has offered also offered and visited with Elijah Brown from Mater Dei High school in California; and, another Georgia prospect named Luke Kromenhoek from Benedictine Military School in Savannah, GA.

Right now, Merklinger seems to be the at the top of their board.


Offensive Line:
I have been critical of Coach Heupel’s offensive line recruiting since he arrived at Tennessee (though he has made amends somewhat through the transfer portal additions).

Tennessee seems to have been out recruited by the competition and the resulting has been signing far too many developmental offensive line prospects. 2024 got off to a bad start for the position.


Two of Tennessee’s top 2024 offensive line targets, Kam Pringle, and Hayes Johnson are already off the board. Both committed to rival SEC schools. This is surprising because both prospects had visited Tennessee frequently.


To their credit, Tennessee’ s recruiting staff has gotten up off the deck. Tennessee is involved with a real solid group offensive line prospects.


All fit the Tennessee profile : 6’6” or taller; 280 pounds or heavier; broad shoulder and athletic frames; and look 15 years old not 18. The other positive note here these prospects seem to have legitimate interest in Tennessee.

Their top group appears to be Eagen Boyer (North Carolina); Ethan Calloway (South Carolina); Daniel Calhoun (Georgia); Marques Easley (Illinois). I expect all to take official visits to Tennessee.


Both of their top prospects are in state. Jessie Perry from Murfreesboro is emerging as one of their top tackle prospects and Franklin, Tennessee prospect Ronan O’Connell, an interior lineman, is right there at the top of their board as well. With O’Connell, he was already known as an elite high school wrestler and now he is developing himself into a highly sought-after football player.




Running Backs Two elite running backs have expressed interest in Tennessee and have gone on record as saying visits to Tennessee are on their spring schedules.


The first is Jerrick Gibson who attends IMG Academy in Florida. His recruitment has been all over the place and there is 10 months until signing day. He has elite skills and is being pursued by top programs in the country. He is definitely intrigued by Tennessee. He will visit officially in June and may be on campus sooner for an unofficial visit. Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Texas are other suitors.


The second is Jordan Marshall a 5'11" 185 lb. prospect from Archbishop High School in Ohio.

I like Marshall. He plays in an area of Ohio that historically produces excellent football players. He is fundamentally pretty good for a high school junior. He runs with good pad level, knows how to read blocks, good balance, rarely goes to the ground with the first contact, and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He reminds me of a big ten running back. Good speed but not elite speed. He is better between the tackles than in space. His interest is piqued by the SEC. He looks like a BIG 10 running back and Tennessee is chasing two perennial BIG 10 powers in Ohio State , the home state school, and Michigan. Let’s be real if the home state school really wants a kid , he will be a buckeye


Tennessee does seem to be casting a much wider net. Tennessee recently offered Peyton Lewis a running back from Salem, Virginia and Braylen Russell, a bigger back from Benton, Arkansas , and Micah Welsh who is more of a change of pace running back type from Midgeville, GA.


The running back or running backs that wind up being a part of the signing class are not mentioned above. Still think there is a lot of recruiting work left to be done for this position.




Wide Receivers The recruiting board for this position group is filled with names of some of the most highly sought-after high school wide receivers in the country and why not . Tennessee has turned two wide receivers, who toiled in virtual anonymity at Tennessee before Coach Heupel was hired, into SEC thousand-yard receivers and first- or second-day NFL draft picks.

Monday 4-star wide receiver JJ Harrell from North Panola , Mississippi publicly committed to Tennessee.


The public commitment by Harrell is really no surprise for two reasons. First, Tennessee has been Harrell’s leader for a while. And Tennessee is solidly involved with a number of elite wide receiver prospects. Tennessee was ready for Harrell to commit . This was Harrell’s window or Tennessee may have moved on to other prospects (Am I really saying that about a top 100 prospect?) Actually. Yes, I am …. . Harrell has good size, elite speed, and brings Coach Pope a lot of athleticism to work with . If you judge a commitment their offer list, you are going to love the Harrell pick up. Harrell picked Tennessee over the likes Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, and LSU. Harrell is Tennessee’s 5th commitment and second for the offensive side of the ball. It's March, a long time until signing day, but this is a very nice pick up.


Other than Harrell, Tennessee is in the best shape for wide receiver Ryan Wingo from St. Louis Missouri. Wingo too is a top 100 prospect and reminds me of Cedric Tillman.

Another St Louis area prospect Tennessee is in good shape with is Jeremiah McClellan. McClellan is a speedster who has the ability to stretch defenses. He reminds of receivers you see playing at Oregon and interestingly Oregon appears to be Tennessee’s top competitor.


Also, high on Tennessee’s board is Amari Jefferson from Chattanooga. Last season Jefferson flashed the ability to be a difference making wide receiver. He is a recruiting priority for Tennessee.


Tennessee is also recruiting arguably the top wide receiver prospects in Georgia Ny Carr who is committed to Georgia as well as Michael Matthews.


Personally, I’m going to be watching the development of instate wide receiver Ondre Evans from Christian Presbyterian Academy in Nashville. Evans isn’t well-known outside the state of Tennessee but with a good spring and summer that will undoubtedly change.



Tight Ends

There will be lots of eyes of new tight ends coach Alec Abein. Abein is replacing Alex Golesh and he inherits a solid group of returning players who have been productive here. Abein is a Heupel disciple and knows the offense inside and out so the transition to coach should be smooth. The unknown with Abein is how he handles the day in and day out responsibility for recruiting.

Tennessee’s highest rated commitment to date Jonathan Echols, is a tight end from the IMG Academy. And Echols’ primary recruiter was Alex Golesh. Fairly or unfairly Abein will be judged on whether he can keep Echols committed to Tennessee.


I think this is unfair on many levels. If Echols signs with Tennessee, he won’t play tight end or on offense at all. His future is with Rodney Garner. This kid has elite pass rushing potential. Too, even before Golesh left, it was far from a certainty that Echols’ commitment to Tennessee would stick. He is saying all the right things, but his primary recruiter is now the head coach at South Florida and his film has found its way to the desks of the top schools in the country. Abein and Tennessee have their work cut out to keep him in the fold.


With that said, tight end recruiting seems off to a good start. Two. highly sought after nationally ranked tight ends have high levels of interest in Tennessee. Jaden Reddell from Raymore, Missouri the #5 ranked tight end in the class has Tennessee in his top group. He has been to Tennessee for unofficial visits and is expected back on campus in March as is in Dillion Hipp, another nationally sought after, tight end from Phoenix Arizona.

Tennessee recently offered tight end prospect Colton Heinrich from Fort Lauderdale who is expected to visit this spring. The state of Tennessee has at least two tight end prospects that have interest from SEC schools including Tennessee.

Max LeBlanc from Chattanooga Baylor and Cameron Clark from South Gibson High in Medina.




Junior day is up on Saturday

Next up “next week” the Defense.

Before I leave today I just want to express my condolences on the passing of Roger. I always enjoyed hearing his love and loyalty to the Vols and his fellow man. I'm really going to miss him.


'X'




Smoothie King
2/20/2023
'X' Says:In between the disappointing performances of the Tennessee basketball and baseball teams, Tennessee did receive a bit of good news over the weekend. Bradley Central defensive back/athlete Marcus Goree announced his commitment to the Tennessee football team on Saturday evening. It's Tennessee fourth, 2024 commitment. Three of the four are defensive prospects and interestingly all three commitments for the defense are in-state prospects. Goree camped at Tennessee during the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons. Tennessee offered him a scholarship literally before he broke a sweat at camp. An excellent junior season landed him some 20 plus scholarship offers. He picked Tennessee over Michigan, Colorado, and Nebraska


Matt Dixon: Tennessee Baseball Podcast - Presented by TLD Logistics
Goree isn’t a well-known commodity by the recruiting services. He attends a small school in southeastern Tennessee that has always had a solid football program. Let’s be honest though. Southeastern Tennessee is not an area frequented by recruiting analysts. It's doubtful many recruiting analysts who evaluated Goree have seen him play in person. Rather, they have probably watched his film, watched him compete during camps, or at 7 on 7 competitions.


Goree was the best football player on his team last season, and I expect the same to be true this season. His high school coach admittedly moved him around on defense in the back end to take advantage of matchups and to make opposing offenses account for him. Therefore, recruiting analysts may have viewed his versatility seeing this may view him playing multiple positions as uncertainty about where he plays in college. That train of thought is incorrect. He is a talented football player with an advanced skill set and knowledge of defensive football who Tennessee has had near or at the top of its defense backboard since he first received an offer.


With the commitments of Goree and Caleb Beasley, from the mid-state, Tennessee has commitments from 2 of its top 2024, secondary targets. Goree however is a very different type of defensive back than Beasley. Goree will either play the boundary corner or the star/nickel position. Goree likes the physicality of playing close to the line of scrimmage and he has short area quickness that allows him to close on plays quickly. He is more of an in the box defender than a deep down the field pass defender who would battle a receiver one on one.


Goree will undoubtedly be re-evaluated by the recruiting services and is likely to be bumped to a 4-star prospect. There are old timers who have been involved in the growth of Tennessee high school football over the years who believe Goree may become the most coveted defensive back in the state and possibly the south by December.


As mentioned toward the end of the last recruiting cycle, 2024 looks to a class that produces some very good college football prospects. If things fell Tennessee’s way, I could see another 5 to 7 in state prospects becoming a part of Tennessee’s 2024 signing class.


What is on the horizon? The recruiting dead period ends on March 1. Tennessee is hosting a Junior Day during the weekend around March 4. Spring practice is right around the corner.

I will be posting a position-by-position status of Tennessee 2024 recruiting before the end of February. There are trends beginning to develop some positive and some seem to be carried over from the 2023 recruiting cycle.


'X'



Smoothie King
1/22/2023
'X' Says:'X' Loved What He Saw From NICO:

Goodness ... going to be very hard for this fan base NOT to play extremely high if not unrealistic exceptions on him (including me).


Easy to see why Tayven Jackson hit the portal after watching Friday night. The throw NICO made down the sidelines in the second half was a pro throw.


You know what else that throw did? It had to have gotten the attention of the 2024 and 2025 elite wide receivers Tennessee is trying to get involved with.


If Joe Milton stumbles early out of the gate, how do you resist the temptation to turn the offense over to this kid.


I have a thick coat of wool growing down my back. I'm not sure that I know what a generational talent looks like. Nico may or may not be that at least right now.


If he can stay healthy and out of trouble, he may show us what a generational talent looks like.


John Adams said Thursday to Tony that when you have a QB you've got a chance ... Tennessee HAS a QB for sure ...


'X'



Smoothie King
12/21/2022
'X' Says:'Recruiting At Glance - Where Tennessee Stands Heading into the Early Signing Window
24 Commitments

17 high school and junior college players enrolling in January

15 early enrollees participating in Orange Bowl Practice

3 transfers via the portal enrolling in January


2 "decommitments” during the recruiting cycle. One was a “mutual” parting of the ways. The other was somewhat expected


Recruiting Rankings
RIVALS 10TH class in the country 6th in SEC

On3 11th class in country 7th in SEC

247 9th class in country 6th in SEC

(Tennessee’s SEC class ranking is based on both Texas and Oklahoma being a part of the SEC. Why not? It’s happening sooner than later)



Snapshots of the Tennessee Twenty-Four: 24 commitments are expected to sign today. 14 of the 24 signees are defensive players. Below are talking points on all 24.


Nico Iamaleava 6’5” 190 lbs., quarterback, Downey, California. Iamaleava is the future of Tennessee football. He is the bellwether of the recruiting class on the offensive side of the ball. He committed early and never wavered. Coach Heupel has pushed his chips to the middle of the table with this kid. The national recruiting services across the board have Iamaleava as either the #1 or #2 best high school quarterback in the country. My hope is that Iamaleava has a chance to transition from high school phenom to a 2nd or 3rd team quarterback, learn the offense and settle in. It never seems to work out like this, but it feels great to write.


Khalifa Keith, 6’1” 225 lbs. running back from Parker, Alabama. Originally committed to Kentucky, he ultimately picked Tennessee over Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, and Mississippi State. Keith is not the highest rated running back and neither Alabama nor Auburn are actively recruiting him. However, he fits a specific need that Tennessee wanted to address in the class. A bigger between the tackles running back who can get tough yards when necessary.


Arion Carter, 6’1” 210 lbs. linebacker, Smyrna, Tennessee. When final state rankings are published, Carter may have ascended from a prospect competing in complete obscurity to being recognized as the top prospect in the state of Tennessee. He also saw his single digit FBS scholarship opportunities morph into over 40 offers from Power 5 programs. He is practicing with the team.


Caleb Herring, 6’5” 210 lbs., linebacker, pass rush end, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Herring has been the consensus #1 prospect in the state for over a year. He had a great senior season and Tennessee is excited to get him on campus. He needs to add weight before you will see him play meaningful defense snaps. He is currently on campus practicing with the team.


Nate Spillman, 6’3” 185 lbs. wide receiver/ athlete Nashville, Tennessee. Spillman is an under the radar prospect that some have questioned his ability to play in the SEC. He hit a spurt of growth between his sophomore and junior season. He was a better football player as a junior than he was as a sophomore. He suffered with injuries during his senior season and was hobbled. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but he is a prospect I would expect Tennessee to redshirt for developmental reasons and to get him healthy.


Ethan Davis, 6’5” 225 lbs. tight end, Moultrie, Georgia. Going into his senior season Davis was a top 100 prospect in the country and top 5 prospect in Georgia. He missed his senior year because of an injury which he opted to have surgically repaired before starting college. He has recovered from his surgery, is practicing with the team, and should be a full go for winter workouts and spring practice. A common theme with the signees is many of them are high level dual sport athletes. Davis is no exception. He was an excellent high school basketball player who runs like a wide receiver in a tight end's body. He brings a new set of skills and athleticism to the tight end room and is just another toy for the head coach to use to scheme defenses.


Larry Johnson III 6’6” 365 lbs. offensive tackle Hutchinson Community College Kansas. Tennessee’s search to add more tackle bodies to the class ended at one of the premier football centric junior colleges in the country. He finished the season as one of the top junior college prospects in the country. Hard to see junior college offensive linemen starting next season at Tennessee. He will go through winter workouts and could be used as a back up at both tackle spots.


Daevin Hobbs, 6’6” 265 lbs. defensive end/defensive lineman, Concord, North Carolina. Hobbs is another corner piece to the recruiting class. A highly sought-after, athletic defensive lineman who is physically one of the readiest to play prospects in this class. Tennessee bested Georgia and Alabama for Hobbs. He will begin class at Tennessee in January


Vysen Lang, 6’5” 315 lbs. offensive line Pike Road, Alabama. Lang chose Tennessee over Auburn, LSU, and Mississippi State. He can play tackle but will likely end up as a guard in college. Lang is a nice prospect who is more athletic than one would expect for an interior offensive lineman. Lang is on campus practicing with the team.


Jordan Matthews, 6’1” 175 lbs. cornerback, Baton Rouge. Louisiana. Matthews is one of three cornerbacks in this class. I’m most excited to see how fast Matthews can see the field. The best description I can give of Matthews’ skill set is that he looks like a cornerback that would traditionally attend LSU or Alabama. He is also an accomplished track athlete. As a junior,

he was a top five finisher in the state region 5A 100- and 200-meters dashes with personal bests of 10.66 and 21.29, respectively.


Rickey Gibson, 6’1” 175 lbs. cornerback Trussville, Alabama. Tennessee got a steal here in my opinion. Gibson is one of the most under sung recruits in the class. Tennessee bested Georgia, Penn State, and Auburn. Gibson runs a 4.4 forth and has a 41-plus-inch vertical. Much like Matthews he looks like an Alabama or LSU cornerback.


Christian Conyer, 6’1” 170 lbs. cornerback, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Conyer is rated as the #1 prospect in the state of Kentucky. His finalists were Tennessee and Kentucky and the VOLS bested our friends to the north. Conyers is a little taller than Gibson and Matthews, but his skills are every bit as good as both Gibson and Matthews.


Matthews, Gibson, and Conyers are all practicing with the team and will enroll in January.


Nathan Leacock, 6’4” 195 lbs. wide receiver, Raleigh, North Carolina. Leacock is a 4-star prospect and one of the best wide receiver prospects in the country. He exploded this season and by the time other schools tried to recruit him he had committed to Tennessee and shut his recruitment down. He never wavered. Leacock helped his high school team (Millbrook High) reach its first football regional final in school history. As a senior, he finished with 1,703 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns on 82 receptions. He too is a track and field standout. He is also on campus and going through orange Bowl practice with the team.


Cameron “Cam” Seldon, 6’1” 210 lbs. wide receiver/ athlete, Heathsville, Virginia. If Tennessee uses Seldon the way I anticipate Seldon’s presence will be a nightmare for defensive coordinators. I envision Coach Heupel using Seldon all over the field as running back, running the wildcat, slot, and wide receiver. Seldon is the #1 prospect in the state of Virginia, and Tennessee beat Penn State who was the only other serious challenger. Seldon is not practicing with the team but will enroll in January.


Unlike Basilio, I think Tennessee has signed two excellent prospects at the wide receiver position and Tennessee is positioned to add more help at wide receiver through the portal.


Chandavian Bradley, 6’5” 215 lbs. defensive end/outside linebacker Platte City, Missouri. Outside of the cornerbacks, Bradley in my opinion is the bellwether signee on the defensive side of the ball. There are a number of these kids that have similar skill sets as does Bradley. Bradley however has an amazing first step off the line of scrimmage, something you can’t teach, and knows how to use his hands to fend off blockers. Whoever trained him has done an outstanding job getting him ready to compete for playing early at Tennessee.


Jalen Smith, 6’1” 215 lbs. inside linebacker, Grayson, Georgia. Inside linebacker help is on the way. Smith is one of the most under-rated prospects in the Atlanta area in this recruiting cycle.


Smith is a high-volume tackler who had an outstanding senior season that saw him be named Region 6A Defensive Player of the Year. For the season, Smith amassed 154 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. He also has a track background running the 100- and 200-meter sprints and competing in the 110 high hurdles. He committed to Tennessee early on and another prospect who never wavered. Smith is on campus practicing with the team.


Shamurad Umarov 6’6” 310 lbs., offensive line, Alpharetta, Georgia. By the time Georgia decided Umarov was a take for them Tennessee had secured a commitment and locked him down. Again, there is a theme. He committed to Tennessee and never wavered. He is a good athlete with a prototypical tackle frame. He has been coached well in high school and it's clear he understands leverage. He also plays through the whistle a bit which is a quality you love in offensive linemen. He needs to get stronger and having him here practicing with the team and enrolling for winter workouts is beneficial.


Tyree Weathersby, 6’5” 250 lbs. defensive end/defensive lineman, Douglassville, Georgia. Full disclosure Part 1. Weathersby is grossly underrated by the recruiting services. Full Disclosure Part 2. Tennessee people didn’t believe Weathersby would make it to signing day without drama. Full disclosure. Tennessee will remain on pins and needles to some extent until his papers are received. Weathersby is an outstanding prospect who had a dominant senior season. Multiple SEC schools are pursuing him and so far, he has stuck with Tennessee. Great evaluation by Tennessee and great job to withstand pressure from other SEC schools who continue as you read this to flip him. His senior highlights show a prospect that looks closer to 220 lbs. than 250 lbs. which tells me his frame will certainly be able to hold an additional 20 to 25 lbs. He runs like a wide receiver and at times he was unblockable. Tennessee can use Weathersby as a strongside defensive end or put some weight on him and move him to a defensive tackle position. Though he doesn’t enroll until the summer, Weathersby has the talent to be an early contributor.


Jeremiah Telander, 6’2” 215 lbs. linebacker, Gainesville, Georgia. This sounds like a broken record but here again another prospect who had an outstanding senior season, committed to Tennessee in the summer and never wavered. He is a “sideline-to-sideline” player and has the potential to be a disrupter in college. For 3 years, Telander attended North Hills high school in Hall County Georgia. Telander transferred to Gainesville Country High School for his senior season and lead his team to a state championship. Telander’s father is a former college coach who worked with Tennessee Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks at Bowling Green in the late 1990s. Telander chose Tennessee over Florida, Louisville, and North Carolina.


John Slaughter III, 6’1-6’2” 200 lb. safety from Southaven, Miss. Slaughter picked Tennessee over Ole Miss, Florida State, and Mississippi State. That doesn’t really tell his recruiting story. He attended an Under Armour camp in January. He was sold on Tennessee early in the recruiting process and never had second thoughts. He also had an excellent senior season on the football field. He is ranked as the 10th best football senior prospect in Mississippi. He will settle in at safety at Tennessee.


Trevor Duncan, 6’6” 280 lbs. offensive/defensive line/athlete, Knoxville Catholic. Duncan is not highly rated by the recruiting services, but he is perfect for Tennessee. Perfect in that he has the frame to grow into an offensive tackle and the physicality to play on the defensive line Tennessee is planning to practice him on the defensive line as a freshman. He committed early to the hometown school so there wasn’t much drama to his recruitment.


Ayden Bussell 6’5” 290 lbs. offensive lineman, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He is rated as a top 15 prospect in Tennessee and the first thing that strikes me about Bussell is he looks bigger than his listed height and weight. That is a big kid. He projects as an interior offensive lineman though he may grow into an offensive tackle. The 2023 in state class features 10 offensive linemen who are signing with power 5 football programs. Bussell is at the top of that list. Of that group, Tennessee identified him early as a target and made him a recruiting priority.


Nathan Robinson, 6’5” 270 lbs. defensive end, Greenbrier, Tennessee. Signees like Chandavian Bradley and Caleb Herring are the headliners of this class as pass rush specialists/ defensive ends. Do not forget about Nathan Robinson. Robinson is ranked as a top 40 edge rusher in the country and a top 15 prospect in the state. This season that just concluded he recorded 79 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. Whereas Bradley and Herring need to add weight, Robinson at 270 lbs. is physically ready to compete and he is one of the more physically ready to play signees in the class.


Jack Luttrell, 6’1” 180 lbs. safety/star Moultrie, Georgia.

Luttrell grew up in east Tennessee and is a product of a family that is about as pro Tennessee as you could find in the state of Georgia. He committed to Tennessee in July of 2021, worked to build the class, and keep the class intact. He’ll likely be a steady player at Tennessee and have an opportunity to play special teams immediately. He strikes me as the type of player who if he is on your team, you adore him but if he plays for the opponent, he is a most unlikeable figure. Luttrell is on campus and practicing with the team


Signing Day Surprises????

The good ole recruiting days of recruiting meant coaches and geeks alike got no sleep between the night before signing days. In those days, football recruiting really started when that last 3-day non-contact period began. This is when middle of the night deals were done and you literally did not know where a prospect was signing until the early hours of signing day.


Now, “out recruiting". the competition means putting together the most lucrative NIL deal. In other words, the deals that were being done in the middle of the night have now been legalized.


15 of Tennessee 24 “commitments” are practicing with the team. No drama there. The other commitments have announced signing times on their social media accounts and seem solidly committed to Tennessee.


Want some drama? Along with Tennessee’s coaching staff, I will be anxiously awaiting the receipt of Tyree Weathersby’s signed papers. I don’t expect any drama with Daevin Hobbs, Cam Seldon, or Chandavian Bradley. All three seem solid to Tennessee but those are elite prospects and schools will call them up to the very last minute their papers are signed.



The Curious Case of DeSean Bishop’s Recruitment

The recruitment of DeSean Bishop by Tennessee is, well, complicated. Bishop is a local prospect who attends Karns High School here in Knoxville. Bishop had an amazing career at Karns High School. He was available and carried the ball when his number was called. It was called a lot, sometimes 30 or 40 times a game. He also returned kicks and my recollection is that he never missed time with injury.


The detractors suggest Bishop put up the numbers that he did against questionable competition. Those who questioned his athletic ability were a bit stunned when he camped at Tennessee and earned a scholarship offer. Bishop has taken unofficial visit after unofficial visit to Tennessee. He doesn’t live his life on social media and just when things seemed to be trending well with Tennessee Bishop commits to Coastal Carolina. Jamey Chadwell resigned from Coastal Carolina and accepted the job at Liberty. Bishop decommitted from Coastal Carolina. Now Bishop is expected to choose between Tennessee and Appalachian State today. Hmmmm. Nothing Bishop chooses to do today would surprise me at this point. With the NIL deals, maybe he gets a preferred walk on opportunity at Tennessee that is supported with an NIL. Who knows.


Tyler Scott Maybe Tennessee seems to have gotten caught a little by surprise that Sylvester Smith from Alabama decommitted and immediately committed to Auburn over the weekend. Smith’s father played at Auburn, and I always felt like Smith reserved a spot at Tennessee while waiting to see if Auburn would screw up the head coach hire. When Auburn retained Cadillac Williams on the new staff, my suspicion was Smith’s decommitment was just a matter of time. This decommitment seemed to catch Tennessee off guard which is a tad bit surprising. Tennessee is now circling back with a safety prospect from Georgia named Tyler Scott who has visited Tennessee multiple times. Tennessee wasn’t ready to take Scott’s commitment in October and it appears Scott has moved on and is no longer an option.


Recruiting ---- Things That I Find Interesting


The Good

Tennessee signed the #1 rated prospect in the state of Virginia (Cam Seldon)


The #1 rated prospect in the state of California (Nico)


The #1 and #4 rated prospects in the state of North Carolina (Hobbs and Leacock)


The #1 rated prospect in Kentucky (Conyers)


The #1 and #2 rated prospects in Tennessee (Herring and Carter)


The #4 rated prospect in Missouri (Bradley)


The #9 rated prospect in Louisiana (Matthews)



The Not So Good Hard to find fault with the recruiting class BUT


The running back and offensive line recruiting is average. Coach Heupel has shown that his offense can thrive with average recruiting. Tennessee is fortunate to have one of the best developmental offensive line coaches in the country. However, as Tennessee fans, we should be curious what type of numbers the offense could produce with elite talent at those position groups


Tennessee is losing two tight ends to graduation, and one is in the transfer portal. The returning tight ends are walk-ons who have done their time and been placed on scholarship. Tennessee signed one tight end in this class. He is an outstanding prospect but his availability for the season is uncertain because of recovery from surgery. Tennessee added a transfer to the tight end room through the transfer portal and hope that his skills transfer from a lower level of west coast football to the SEC.


19 of the players on scholarship now are defensive backs. That seems disproportionate.

If you are likely to project roster leakage, you may want to pay attention to that position after the bowl game. Tennessee is in dire need for depth at other positions. I don’t see how you sustain a roster in this league with almost a quarter of your roster spots accounted for by such an underperforming position.


The portal. What a difference a year makes. One year ago, Texas A&M was the talk of the NIL world.

A recruiting class for the ages. A year later there is dissension amongst the ranks, injuries galore, a losing record, player suspensions, dismissals, and BOOM something on the order of 26 players off that roster have entered the portal.


Florida is not far behind with something like 20 of their players entering the portal. This comes a year after double-digit defections when Billy Napier was named head coach. The portal will give these teams an opportunity to field formidable offensive and defensive first units, but depth is where these teams see the impact from the portal.


The Defensive Scheme. The defensive coordinator has suggested he prefers experienced secondary players because they understand the defense and can get younger players aligned properly. So, you play more experienced players because they can line up while their ability to defend the pass and contain the run over a 2- or 3-year window hasn’t improved and has regressed.


Tennessee signed an exceptional group of defensive prospects. The defensive backs signees collectively may be one of the best in school history. No question that through recruiting the athleticism of that group is improved. Find a way to simplify the defense to get the more athletic kids on the field. In this age of the NIL and the portal, highly sought-after signees aren’t going to sit for a year while learning the scheme. Play them or replace them.



The Future

The following are eight "national" recruits that Tennessee is in play for.


Ryan Wingo a 6’2” 200 lb. wide receiver from St. Louis, Missouri.

Wingo is a 5-star prospect and the number 4 wide receiver prospect in the country. He is a dude. Wingo has a track background that includes a 10.55 in the 100-meter dash as a sophomore and a 21.31 200. His skills are like Cam Seldon in that he could play a hybrid role as a running back because of his speed or a wide receiver because of his pass-catching ability. He too could return punts and kickoffs. He is an offensive threat and scoreboard changer at the next level no matter how he touches the ball.


Kam Pringle who checks in at 6’8” 340 lbs. is four-star offensive tackle from Dorchester, South Carolina. Currently, Pringle is rated as the top offensive tackle recruit in the country. Everybody wants Pringle. He has been to Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina State and Clemson multiple times. His recruitment is wide open.


Sammy Brown is a 6’2” 225 lb. linebacker from Jefferson, Georgia.

Rated as the top linebacker in Georgia and a top twenty type prospect nationally. Has offers from all the elite college programs in the country. He is a unique three sport athlete in high school in that he is a prototype linebacker position, an elite track and field athlete who also competes as a wrestler. I don’t know if he ends up at Tennessee, but he was on campus multiple times during the summer and the season. Tennessee is shooting its shot with him.


Hevin Brown-Shuler, 6’4” 290 lb. defensive tackle Atlanta, Georgia.

Brown-Shuler is one of the top prospects in Georgia in a recruiting cycle that seems loaded with excellent defensive line prospects.


Ethan Calloway, 6’7” 300 lb. offensive tackle from Mooresville, North Carolina. Tennessee will be active on both lines of scrimmage in this recruiting cycle. Tennessee just recently extended an offer to Calloway. He has the prototypical build for a tackle, and I expect Tennessee to make Calloway a priority.


Johnathan Echols, 6’4” 220 lb. athlete who attends the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Florida. There is a lot to like about Echols. He is one of the top athletes in the country. He is being recruited as a defensive end and as a tight end by colleges. He is rated a 5-star prospect and he is committed to Tennessee. At 6’4” 230 lbs. he has been timed at 4.7 in the 40-yard dash, a 120-inch broad jump and a 34-inch vertical jump. He also has an 81-inch wingspan. Good grief. As a pass rusher he has an explosive first step much like 2023 signee Chandavian Bradley and has good technique in getting low while running the corner.


Kamarion Franklin is a 6’4” 265 lb. strongside defensive end from Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. Franklin is rated as the top prospect in Mississippi and a top 100 prospect nationally. Like many of these prospects, he is a multi-sport athlete. He excels as a basketball player. His future is as a defensive lineman.


David Stone is a 6’4” 290 lb. defensive tackle from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He is originally from Oklahoma, and many assume he is destined to his home state to play college football. With both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in turmoil right now and frankly heading in the wrong direction, Stone seems to be as open to attending another school than at any time during his recruitment. Stone visited Tennessee multiple times during the 2022 season.


I'll be on with Tony, Sean and the family today ...

Enjoy Signing Day

'X'



Smoothie King
12/6/2022
'X' Says:Tennessee Football Report 'X' 12/6/2022
'How time flies. Josh Heupel took over a Tennessee program in complete disarray in January of 2020. Tennessee was long suffering and downtrodden. A laughingstock as a program with a dysfunctional culture behind the scenes. Coach Heupel inherited a roster that from a talent perspective was at the very best average. Before he gets to spring practice, he loses a total of between 20 and 30 players through the portal or by opting out of the national letters of intent. And the university had just fired the entire football staff and every soul in the recruiting department.


The absence of a recruiting staff may have been a blessing in disguise.

In an odd way, it was a sign Tennessee was starting over. A new start, with a new message delivered by new faces. Recruiting and in particular in state recruiting was broken. The deep-rooted issues had seemingly been passed down from one coaching regime to the next like a 4 by 100 relay team passing a baton. There were things like arrogance, personality conflicts, broken promises, hurt feelings, lack of attention, and philosophical differences.


The ascent to simply get Tennessee back on equal recruiting footing with other programs in state has been slow but steady. Recovery from years of recruiting malfeasance takes commitment, perseverance, and time.


The first year, Coach Heupel’s first recruiting class at Tennessee, he signed two in-state prospects. This cycle Tennessee is poised to sign 5 possibly 6 in-state prospects.


Tennessee’s messaging has been well-received. Coach Heupel is a relational recruiter. It’s about relationships, fit, feel and culture. And for these reasons I anticipate Coach Heupel to be successful with in-state recruiting in 2024 and beyond.


The 2024 Class:

Over the last 4 to 6 weeks, I started prepping for 2024 recruiting in earnest. This is a great year in the state. Those prospects the recruiting services rate as the top prospects would have the opportunity to play in any conference and literally every team in those conferences in the country. Great athletes. So-so along the lines of scrimmage and sneaky good quarterback prospects. My initial thought was Tennessee would have a great opportunity to sign close to ten or more prospects in 2024. I have rethought this honestly and now believe Tennessee will sign between 6 and 8 in state prospects. It’s not because Tennessee has dropped the ball or done something wrong. Far from it. Thinking about the following factors that all play into recruiting numbers and roster management.



The Transfer Portal:

The current rules for the transfer portal that allow student athletes liberal freedom of movement have forever changed college football roster management. The unintended consequence of this is there is no such thing as rebuilding a roster through signing high school or junior college prospects, rather, it's replenishing or improving the roster through the transfer portal. Schools now face different but tough decisions on how many scholarships to allocate to the portal and these spots are at the expense of high school/junior college prospects. Tennessee is one of those schools facing tough decisions. A coach, with his livelihood on the line, is more apt in many cases build through the portal than through traditional recruiting.



Roster Needs

This is one of my reports where readers “should pay close attention“ to the heights, weights, and positions of the prospects listed below because that information is relevant to the next point. Many of the top-rated prospects in Tennessee in 2024 are similar physically, play the same positions, and talented enough to play in the SEC. In other words, 2024 is a deep year for defensive backs, receivers, and athletes. Tennessee will sign a few but can’t sign all of them. One of the very best cornerbacks in the state is committed to Tennessee. Tennessee leads for a couple of others. With other positional needs and the fact the state historically does not produce a huge volume of linemen, Tennessee is going to need to go out of state to fill its other needs.


Success:

A 10 and 2 season, exciting game day environment, and having fun doing so catches the fancy of kids who may not have had prior interest in Tennessee. Winning opens eyes and doors. Success has enabled Tennessee to expand its reach into other recruiting areas that had been walled off before.


Here is the first pass at 2024 prospects in the state of Tennessee. There is another group of prospects not on this list whether because they were injured last season, ineligible because of relocation, or simply beginning to devote more time to football that I will be watching and can move onto this list by the summer. 20 prospects are separated into 4 groups. My comments are on each group not individually.


Prospects:

Group 1

Edwin Spillman, 6’2” 220 lbs. Lipscomb Academy, Nashville. Outside Linebacker


Kaleb Beasley, 6’1” 180 lbs. Lipscomb Academy, Nashville , Cornerback (Committed – Tennessee)


Boo Carter, 5’11” 180 lbs. Brainerd High School, Chattanooga, Defensive Back/Athlete


Mason Curtis, 6’4” 195 lbs. Ensworth High School, Nashville, Linebacker (Committed – Michigan)


Jaylen Thompson, 6’0” 175 lbs. Riverdale High School, Murfreesboro, Cornerback


X’s Comments:

I looked at multiple recruiting sites. These five prospects seem to be the consensus top five prospects in Tennessee. All have scholarships offers from schools ranging from coast to coast. Spillman, whose brother Nate will be a member of Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, is one of the top linebacker prospects in the country. Beasley is a true cornerback and if he continues to develop may end up as one of the best in the country. Carter will be able to choose his school and the side of the ball he wants to play (Tennessee and LSU lead for Carter). Curtis never gave Tennessee much of a shot to recruit him. Thompson is choosing later this month and I don’t see him putting on an Orange and White cap.



Group 2
Carson Gentile, 6’4” 245 lbs. McCallie School, Chattanooga, Defensive End, Linebacker (Committed Tennessee)


Markeis Barrett, 6’0” 185 lbs, Webb School, Knoxville, Wide Receiver/Athlete


Kumaro Brown, 6”0” 185 lbs. Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering , Memphis , Safety


Amari Jefferson, 6”1” 190 lbs. Baylor School, Chattanooga, Wide Receiver/Athlete


Marcus Goree, 6”1” 170 lbs, Cleveland High School, Defensive Back/Athlete


X’s Comments: This group is full of top end football talent. Gentile is a defensive end with athleticism to play in space. He is coming off an excellent junior season and won’t receive the acclaim he should by recruiting services because he committed to Tennessee early in the process. Barrett is an explosive athlete who will have a chance to play either offense or defense. Brown is a safety or star in college (Tennessee or Ole Miss for Brown. Jefferson is likely the most athletic and explosive athlete in the state. He is an accomplished baseball player who plays wide receiver. He has only recently started to show out on the football field (Tennessee and Georgia here). I personally think Goree is the second or third best defensive back prospect in the state. The question is where he falls on Tennessee’s recruiting board




Group 3
Kison Shepard, 6’6” 310 lbs. Fayette-Ware High School, Somerville, Offensive Tackle /Defensive Lineman


Ace Meadows, 6’7” 285 lbs. Peabody High School, Trenton, Offensive Lineman.


Steven Soles, 6’2” 220 lbs. Powell High School .Knoxville, Linebacker


Nigel Maynard 6’0” 170 lbs. Stewarts Creek High School, Smyrna , defensive back.


Brandon Heyward, 5’10” 165 lbs. Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, Wide Receiver/Athlete



X’s Comments: With Shepard and Meadows, Tennessee will play the long game with both. You can’t coach size and both kids are massive physically. Shepard has Texas A&M , Florida, and Ole Miss have made Shepard more of a priority. Meadows is a little lesser-known prospect than Shepard, but he has been on Tennessee’s radar and been a visitor to Tennessee. From Tennessee’s perspective both prospects' development and performance at camps this summer will be important to see where each fall on Tennessee’s recruiting board. The recruitment of Soles is interesting. A disruptive force as a defensive end, Soles at times is unblockable. He is not big enough to play defensive line in college. Spring and summer camps will be important as to what schools emerge as his leaders. Tennessee is interested and will likely work him out at pass rush end and outside linebacker positions to see how comfortable he is in space. Maynard is another defensive back that is quietly shooting up recruiting boards of many a school. Heyward has been one of the best athletes in east Tennessee since he starred as a freshman at Oak Ridge. You hope he turns the athleticism into becoming a more productive player during his senior year.



Group 4

Ondre Evans, 6’0” 185 lbs., Christ Presbyterian Academy, Nashville, Wide Receiver / Athlete


Dion Stutts, 6’3” 250 lbs. Memphis University School, Memphis defensive line


Kavian Benton, 6’3” 230 lbs. Southwind High School, Memphis defensive end


Crews Law, 6’1” 210 lbs. Christ Presbyterian Academy, Nashville Linebacker


Jordan Ward, 6’4” 205 lbs. Kingsbury High School , Memphis Wide Receiver/Athlete



X’s Comments: Each of these prospects is talented. With growth, maturation, and improvement any of the 5 could become one of the more coveted prospects in the state IN 2024. Evans is talented and athletic. He stands out on film but has a lot of work to do at learning how to be a wide receiver. Stutts and Benton are probably headed to SEC west teams. Both are nice players Tennessee hasn’t seemed to get much traction with either. Law is an SEC talent in my opinion. Tennessee continues to evaluate him. Ward is just now beginning to grow into his body. He has a lot of work to do but the athleticism is there.


Things That May Only Interest Me (And That’s Okay)


Kadoos to Tennessee for the Orange Bowl invitation. Bowl practice begins soon. Tennessee is expecting 16 members of its 2023 signing class to participate in bowl practice.

Tennessee expects a total of 18 January enrollees. This is a really good sign to me.


How does a staff manage 1,000 players entering the portal in a single day?


Wouldn’t it be fascinating to watch or read an account of a day in the lives of the group in charge Tennessee’ transfer portal activities? Tennessee has been ramping up for this but 1,000 players ON DAY ONE!!!!!


2 players who entered the portal interest me. Ryan O’Keefe wide receiver from Central Florida and Jaheim Bell tight end athlete from South Carolina.

Coach Heupel recruited O’Keefe to Central Florida so there is a connection. In watching O’Keefe at Central Florida, I was impressed on the many different ways he got the ball in space. I did not need to watch film on Bell after what he did to Tennessee three weeks ago. My point on both players. Their skills open up the playbook for Coach Heupel if you can imagine creating more headaches for defensive coordinators. Defenses have to account for O’Keefe as a running back or receiver, or maybe running the wildcat. Same goes for Bell. And Tennessee does need receivers in the portal. I’m of the opinion you can never have too many playmakers and allow competition to cull the herd.


Thanks for reading


'X'



Smoothie King
11/28/2022
'X' Says:'Daevin Hobbs publicly announced his commitment to Tennessee on Friday afternoon. Hobbs is the second commitment in the last week for Tennessee which continues to build solid recruiting momentum as the early signing period draws closer. Hobbs is the 23rd commitment to the class. With Hobbs’ commitment, Tennessee now has the 5th best recruiting class in the SEC.

Hobbs is a big pick up both literally and figuratively. Hobbs physically stands 6’4 – 6’5” 265 lbs. He is going to be moved around the defensive line here, probably seeing most of his time at defensive tackle and strongside defensive end. Too, Hobbs is a pickup that improves your roster. Hobbs could have gone anywhere in the country to play football. He chose Tennessee over Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, North Carolina, and LSU.

Hobbs to Tennessee was far from a certainty in the summer. He planned a summer commitment with Georgia and Alabama being the front runners. Though from Jay M Robinson High School in Concord, North Carolina, until the summer, Tennessee had very little contact with Hobbs. Tennessee invited Hobbs for an unofficial visit and made a favorable initial impression on Hobbs. Favorable enough to delay his commitment until November. He visited Tennessee multiple times this fall to see both the Florida and Alabama games. Give Tennessee its due here, Tennessee did an excellent job of recruiting Hobbs as well as his entire family. Hobbs is an honor student, who comes from a family of athletes. He is also an early enrollee. By my last count 14 of Tennessee’s 23 commitments are early enrollees.



Hobbs the Prospect

The recruiting services are fairly in lock step in their assessment of Hobbs. He is a consensus high, 4-star prospect. The On3 recruiting service has Hobbs rated as a 5-star prospect and one of the top 75 prospects in the country. He is also a very accomplished basketball player. How accomplished? He was the teams’ leading scorer as a junior averaging 15 point per game on a team that won the North Carolina 2A state championship. He was also named MVP of the state tournament. As mentioned, Hobbs is an early enrollee, but he will continue to play basketball until he reports to Tennessee in January. Even with his prowess on the basketball court, his future is football. He played defensive end, tight end, and H-Back in high school but colleges recruited Hobbs as a defensive lineman/strongside defensive end.


What is noticeable from film study on Hobbs is at this point in his career he is more accomplished as a tight end than a defensive lineman. It bears pointing out that Hobbs’ potential as a defensive lineman just jumps off the screen and is undeniable. First, he has such long arms (an eighty-inch wingspan).

He changes the line of scrimmage. The last two seasons he has recorded double digit tackles for loss and quarterback hurries. Too, he is fast, quick, and disruptive. Rodney Garner will love coaching Hobbs because with this kid you do not have to coach effort.


From film study you can also see that Hobbs is far from a finished product. He needs to get stronger, and he needs to learn to learn to use his hands better so he can disengage from SEC linemen.


Getting Hobbs on campus in January for conditioning and spring practice will expedite getting him in the defensive line rotation in the fall of 2023. Hobbs is the type of prospect that you sign with the expectation of him working his way into the defensive line rotation in game 1.



What’s Ahead?

A lot. Big recruiting weekend upcoming for Tennessee. We’ll have information on the visitors toward the end of the week. The early signing window is less than a month away. Then, there is the transfer portal, By all accounts the portal is going to be analogous to the NFL’s free agent frenzy on steroids. And we will be taking a first look at the 2024 in state targets. December will be wild indeed.


All is coming up over the next few weeks. Right here

I need to get in and 'X' Cast soon with Basilio

How 'bout it Tony B?


Stay tuned ...

'X'



Smoothie King
11/21/2022
'X' Says:'Tennessee Football Recruiting Update: Tennessee got its running back for the 2023 class on Sunday afternoon when Birmingham, Alabama, native Khalifa Keith publicly announced his commitment to Tennessee.


Keith’s commitment gives Tennessee 22 commitments, good for 11th nationally. In the SEC with 4 weeks until the early signing window opens, Tennessee’s recruiting class is just kind of middle of the pack. He is the 4th Alabama high school prospect to commit to Tennessee in this recruiting cycle.


Tennessee has been looking for a bigger, between the tackles type running back. Tennessee was bad at short yardage situations last season. This season, using smoke and mirrors, they have been better. At 6’1” 220 lbs., Keith fits that profile and fills a void in the roster.


Rivals ranks Keith as the 35th best prospect in the state of Alabama. Keith is a composite 3-star prospect and in the top 40 running back prospects nationally. Keith was a Kentucky commitment but recently backed off that commitment. He had accumulated some 20 offers. His finalists were Tennessee, South Carolina, Miami, Florida State, and Mississippi State. Keith reminds me of a bigger version of Jabari Small. He had an excellent junior season rushing for 1800 yards and 30 plus touchdowns. His senior season he dealt with a nagging ankle injury and split running back duties which limited him to 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. The naysayers will point to the fact that Keith did not have an offer from either in state SEC school which is a fair argument. Too, he isn’t a game breaker. Speed is not his game. He may run over SEC defensive backs, but he isn’t going to outrun them.


I suppose Tennessee’s recruiting strategy is to fill its most glaring offensive needs through the transfer portal. They certainly haven’t done that in this recruiting cycle.

The committed quarterback and wide receivers are nice pickups. The aforementioned Khalifa Keith and the offensive linemen committed to Tennessee are nice prospects and an okay start but nowhere near the infusion of athleticism and speed needs at those positions necessary.


In fairness, Tennessee has done a nice job recruiting talented players on the defensive side of the ball. And, if Daevin Hobbs, a highly sought-after defensive lineman chooses Tennessee on Friday over Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, the defensive staff should be commended for what they have been able to accomplish on the recruiting beat.

Stay tuned. The first week of December, we’ll have our first look at the in-state class of 2024


'X'



Smoothie King
11/9/2022
'X' Says:Tennessee's newest football commitment is offensive lineman Vysen Lang from Pike Road High School in Pike Road, Alabama.

Lang becomes Tennessee’s 22nd commitment to the 2023 class which is hovering at the 10th best class in the country. It’s been a minute between 2023 commitments. Before Lang, you must go back to August 15 for Tennessee’s last 2023 commitment. Hopefully, Lang’s commitment will serve to jump start recruiting again as the early signing window opens in 7 weeks.


Physically, Lang checks in at 6’5” 320 lbs. He is a big, thick-legged athlete who carries a lot of weight in his legs and mid-section. His problem at Tennessee won’t be gaining weight. Rather, his issue will be weight management. Lang was rated as the number 26th best prospect in the state of Alabama. He is the third commitment from Alabama in this class joining defensive backs Sylvester Smith and Rickey Gibson.


The recruiting services are all over the board on their evaluations of Lang. RIVALS rated Lang as a 4-star prospect while 247 and ON3 both rate Lang as a mid-level 3-star prospect. I believe the divergence of these evaluations is due to the uncertainty with respect to the position he projects to play in college. RIVALS and 247 project Lang as a tackle. On3 projects him as an interior offensive lineman. Unless he has something on tape that I haven't seen, he doesn’t appear to have the quickness to be a down in and down out tackle in the SEC. He reminds me of current Tennessee linemen Jerome Carvin and Javontez Spraggins. I believe he is an interior lineman at Tennessee.


For those who look at offer lists and not stars, Lang had amassed some 26 scholarship offers including 12 of the soon to be 14 SEC schools. He chose Tennessee over Auburn, LSU, and Texas. He is a solid addition to the class.


Commentary

With the commitment of Lang, Tennessee has 3 offensive linemen committed. I like the 3 commitments. However, there seems to be an issue with offensive line recruiting that goes all the way back to the off season.

Tennessee swung and missed in the spring and summer on most of its high value offensive line targets. Vysen Lang is the only offensive lineman Tennessee has been able to gain any traction with since going through that bad summer stretch where offensive lineman after offensive lineman spurned Tennessee.


I do know that Tennessee was able to host 3 of the top offensive line prospects for 2023 during junior days in January and early February . A couple of the kids were from North Carolina and the other was from Georgia as I recall. Tennessee whiffed on all 3. In fact, none of the 3 never made it back to campus and committed to other schools shortly after visiting Tennessee.


There are some people I have talked with that believe Tennessee was too fast in making their decisions to move off in state offensive lineman this recruiting cycle. 8 of the top 35 prospects in the state this recruiting cycle are offensive lineman. 6 of the 8 are currently committed to Power 5 programs (including one to Tennessee). 3 of the 8 are committed to SEC programs not named Tennessee. And 2 of the 8 are consensus top 10 prospects in the state and neither chose Tennessee.


Other offensive tackle targets will emerge. Right now, there are two, offensive tackle "targets" of note 1) Stanton Ramel from Alabama who spurned Tennessee for Michigan State in August . Ramel is a true offensive tackle, and he continues to talk with Tennessee. Personally, I believe Ramel is waiting to see what happens with the Auburn coaching situation before he makes a college decision. Too, I get this feeling he just isn’t all that into Tennessee.


The second target albeit a long shot is Tavake Tuikolovatu from Fontana, California. He is another true offensive tackle. He looks way more imposing than his listed height 6'6" and weight 300 lbs. He is visiting Tennessee in December. Tennessee has relationships here that may help. However, you do wonder if a single trip to the south in December is enough to convince a young man and his family to attend college at Tennessee.


Otherwise, Tennessee must continue to look for late bloomers or maybe circle back to prospects that committed elsewhere but because of events are willing to give Tennessee a second look.


Thanks for reading

Go Vols

'X'




Smoothie King
10/19/2022
'X' Says:'What A Difference 16 Months Can Make: Do you remember about 2 years ago when you used your platform to express your disdain over Tennessee’s in state recruiting? I do. You said something to the effect that it would be unconscionable if Tennessee didn’t land any of the top 10 in state recruits. In fact you said that you would be happy if Coach Heupel / Kevin Steele or whoever was in charge when Fulmer/Pruitt were canned would land only 1 of the 10…. The trainwreck within the football program made meeting that threshold quite the challenge


What a turn of events….. sure, I’m looking 14 months ahead, which I hate to do, to the 2024 recruiting class.


Any reasonable person looking at the way Coach Heupel has this rolling would not be surprised if Tennessee landed between 6 to 8 of the 2024 Top 10 in state prospects.


I hate to make such a statement because so much can change even in a short time. He truly made in-state recruiting a priority when he took the job and the prospects are paying attention.


'X'




Smoothie King
10/13/2022
'X' Says:Random Thoughts On Upcoming Recruiting Weekend:

Another fall football weekend and all roads in the southeast lead to Knoxville… just like old times.

Props to Danny White and the gameday management staff. I wasn’t sure Tennessee could top the gameday atmosphere of Lane Kiffin’s return to Knoxville last season… then Florida happened. I expect the Alabama gameday atmosphere to be better than Florida if that is possible.



Tennessee has the best, most loyal fan base in the country, and it isn’t even close.


From Memorial Day until August Tennessee recruited about as well as anyone could expect. Tennessee was one of the hottest programs in the country. 11 of their 21 commitments went public with their commitment to Tennessee during that time. A 5 and 0 start and looking good in the process …resonates with recruits.

The early signing window is 10 weeks away and Tennessee is about to hit another hot streak.

A Galaxy Of Stars ... In Knoxville This Weekend ...

You think this is a big recruiting weekend? Counting unofficial visitors for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 recruiting classes, between 15 and 20 5-star prospects and more than 35 4-star prospects will be in Knoxville. (My numbers are conservative)....I said more than 35 ... THIRTY FIVE 4 Star Prospects ...


Two Returners Of Note Will Be In Knoxville: I am taking notice that two, very important 2023 prospects who both took their official visit for the Florida game (Daevin Hobbs and Vysen Lang) are returning on their own dime for the Alabama game. Hobbs is a legitimate 5-star prospect. Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio State are his top schools. Lang is choosing between LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee.


I am watching Tennessee linebacker target Arion Carter from Smyrna. He is scheduled to take an official visit to Michigan. Does he take the official visit or does he travel back to Knoxville unofficially for another Tennessee football weekend? Inquiring minds want to know ...


When Tennessee is at the top of its game, Tennessee can hold its own when recruiting against Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State. And in case you haven't noticed the Vols are trending upwards on the football field.


Five Star Of Note In The House: Speaking of 5-star prospects, IMG Academy tight end/defensive end/athlete Samuel M’Pemba will visit Tennessee officially this weekend. Georgia is the presumptive favorite and weeks ago Tennessee was nothing more than a hat on the table at M’Pemba’s announcement ceremony. That has changed. Tennessee now is positioning itself to make a legitimate shot at landing M’Pemba. The continued improvement of the defensive line play does not go unnoticed.


A Want AD At RB? Tennessee has posted a “help wanted “sign at running back. With a 5 and 0 start you can do that. Two of their targets, both of whom are committed to other schools, are Dante Dowdell from Mississippi (committed to Oregon) and Khalifa Keith from Alabama (committed to Kentucky). Would not be surprised if one or both visited this weekend.


Inside the #'s ... Tennessee has 21 public commitments. Tennessee could sign more than 25 without penalty this cycle. I could see Tennessee sign up to 28 if things fell into place with the rest of the season


Great Things Are Brewing: Something that should not go unnoticed. The majority of the 2023 commitments were in town for the Florida game and will return for the Alabama game. This builds culture and bonds the recruiting class, the current team, and staff. Doesn’t hurt for the 2023 kids to begin forming relationships with the 2024 and 2025 targets as well.


Tennessee’s recruiting needs are AT EVERY POSITION!!!!!!!!! When you consider the roster mismanagement and attrition this program suffered with during the Pruitt tenure and when Coach Heupel took the job, the fact Tennessee is 5 and 0 with its roster limitations is remarkable. Tennessee needs players through any means possible…. High school, junior colleges, and the transfer portal.


Five prospects Committed To Other Schools I'm Monitoring:

Ja’Keem Jackson, Defensive Back. Not a new name if you follow recruiting. Jackson committed to Florida in the summer. Tennessee was the runner up. Jackson is beginning to take official visits. Tennessee continues to recruit defensive backs. Jackson is a top 100 type talent, but will he get back to Tennessee?


Ayden Williams, Wide Receiver. Williams picked Ole Miss over Tennessee, but he has never let go of. He is a top 100 talent. He took an unofficial visit for the Florida game. The question is really whether he is flirting or is serious about Tennessee.


Carnell Tate, Wide Receiver. No need to rehash Tate spurning Tennessee for Ohio State. If he makes it to Tennessee for the Alabama game as reported or even for a game later in the season, Tennessee has a legitimate chance at flipping Tate. Tate would be the cherry on top of another solid wide receiver recruiting class.


Jeremiah Cobb, running back. I mentioned Dowdell and Keith above, but Tennessee loves Cobb who is an Auburn commitment. Cobb was close to choosing Tennessee in the spring but many in his camp are devout Auburn fans. The question is whether the coaching situation at Auburn is concerning enough to the family that he reconsiders Tennessee.


Stanton Ramil offensive lineman. A late push by Michigan State at the end of the summer propelled Ramil to pick the Spartans over Tennessee. Michigan State is having a train wreck of a season. Ramil was a significant loss for Tennessee. He is a true offensive tackle and one they thought was a VOL. Losing Ramil has been a real setback to offensive line recruiting. There are no other true offensive tackles on the recruiting board now who Tennessee has a legitimate shot of landing.


Enjoy the weekend ...


'X'



Smoothie King
9/23/2022
'X' Says: It’s the 2022 edition Tennessee - Florida and for the first time in a few years... I feel comfortable saying if not Saturday then when is Tennessee going to beat Florida? I do remember a 3 to 4 year run during the Butch Jones era where Tennessee clearly had as good if not better roster than Florida. In Tennessee fashion though, the team found ways to lose 3 of those 4 games. Exit Butch Jones and enter Jeremy Pruitt. With the decisions that staff made with the quarterback Tennessee was frankly overmatched against Florida. Tennessee’s roster is admittedly a work in progress, but I will argue from spot 1 through 85 Tennessee has a much better roster than Florida.


This is shaping up to be a potentially impactful recruiting weekend for the Tennessee program. Year in and year out the game day experience at Tennessee for key SEC games is second to none. Last season, the atmosphere during the Ole Miss game was electric. This year is different. Last year, atmosphere was all Josh Heupel could sell. Not any more Tennessee has taken steps. Coach Heupel now has a 16 game body of work to show off, a fun brand of football that people are drawn to, robust NIL program, and a phenomenal atmosphere to sell.


While Tennessee is hosting only two official visitors, both are important to finishing the recruiting class. The unofficial visitor list is literally a star-gazer’s dream. Among confirmed unofficial visitors, I counted 5, 5-star prospects and there are so many 4-star prospects attending that I quit counting. Interestingly, the 5-star prospects are either 2024 and 2025 prospects… and they are legitimate Tennessee targets. Also, the 2024 visitors include many of Tennessee's top in state targets from talent rich areas like Chattanooga and Nashville. I counted 16, 2023, and 2, 2024 commitments who have confirmed their attendance in Knoxville. Getting the commitments together with the team is important for teambuilding and keeping recruiting classes intact.


Official Visitors

Daevin Hobbs a 6’6” 245 lb. defensive lineman/athlete from Concord, North Carolina (that area of North Carolina historically produces a lot of good football players). Hobbs had planned a summer commitment to either Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. Tennessee was late to offer Hobbs though an initial favorable impression on Hobbs made by Tennessee coaches intrigued him enough and he delayed his commitment until November.


He has been to see Tennessee unofficially. The Tennessee- Florida game is his first official visit. He will then take official visits to both Georgia and Alabama in mid to late October. Tennessee has an opportunity to set a really high bar for the other schools to match or exceed.

I see a Tennessee – Alabama battle for Hobbs. Pay attention to the development of Tennessee’s young defensive linemen as the season goes on. The development of former North Carolina high school defensive lineman and former Tennessee Volunteer Matthew Butler is an interesting little nuance to the Hobbs’ recruitment. Coach Garner turned Matthew Butler into a very capable SEC defensive lineman and a 2nd day draft pick by the Oakland Raiders. Hobbs is a consensus 4-star prospect. On3 has Hobbs rated as a 5-star prospect and one of the tops at his position in the country.


Vysen Lang, Offensive Lineman, 6'5" 325 lbs from Pike Road, Alabama. First, he is massive and strikes me as an Alabama offensive lineman.


Alabama is apparently all full at the offensive line position for its 2023 class which is good for either Texas, LSU, Tennessee or Auburn. Those are Lang’s top schools. He plays left tackle at Pike Road. Tennessee is recruiting him as a tackle but I can see him winding up playing the interior (guard or center) in college. My comp for Lang is current VOL lineman Javontez Spraggins though he is leaner than Spraggins. It is important for Lang to have a good visit this weekend and it’s also important for the offensive line coach to pick up the pace as a SEC recruiter. Tennessee has been all sorts of average with its offensive line recruiting so far in 2023. A commitment this weekend or soon who begin to change the narrative on the offensive line coach


Other Notable 2023 Unofficial Visitors

Arion Carter, linebacker from Smyrna TN. The recruitment of Carter is why schools pay recruiting analysts big bucks to watch endless amounts of video and especially senior season tape of prospects who seemed to be overlooked each and every season. In literally 2 weeks, Arion Carter has gone from an unknown high school football player committed to Memphis to arguably one of the hottest high school football prospects in the south. He has offers from schools like Alabama, USC, LSU, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina and many others in the last 2 weeks. Why? He changed positions. Moving from a running back/defensive back to linebacker. On tape, he looks like the best player on the field for every sequence I have watched. Tennessee has a chance to make a good impression this weekend.


DeSean Bishop running back from Karns in Knoxville (his attendance is probable). The understatement of the 2023 recruiting cycle is that the Tennessee – DeSean Bishop recruiting relationship is well complicated. Bishop is a Coastal Carolina commitment. He is an immensely talented player that Tennessee has continued to recruit since he earned an offer at Tennessee’s summer camp in 2021. Bishop’s recruitment has not been played out on social media. Rather, he kept things private which plays into the suspense many see around the relationship. Bishop is one to watch. He is once again off to an outstanding start to his senior season leading the Karns team to one of their best starts in years.


Here are other 2023 targets tentatively planning to attend

Wilky Denaud, Fort Pierce, Florida. Denaud is 6’4” 250 lb. edge rusher currently committed to Auburn (4 stars) (Note to readers… Auburn’s recruiting list is a feeding frenzy for other SEC schools).


Jaren Hamilton Gainesville, Florida, Hamilton is 6’0” 190 lb. wide receiver . Tennessee is in his top 5 with Alabama.


Ayden Williams Ridgeland, Mississippi, Williams is a 6’2” 190 lb. wide receiver. Williams is an Ole Miss commitment and a top 100 player nationally. He seems, though, to be seriously looking at other schools.


I will be watching for……

Though not planned or expected, do Tennessee targets running back Roderick Robinson a UCLA commitment or Carnell Tate an Ohio State commitment show up for the game on Saturday?

Though committed to other schools, both remain targets that Tennessee continues to recruit. Tennessee needs a top flight running back and Robinson is one of the tops in the country and Tennessee has another head football coach that loves to collect wide receivers.


Best

'X'



Smoothie King
8/16/2022
'X' Says: This is such an interesting time to be alive.

Gone are the days of the 1-900 numbers where you pay dollars by minute to listen to fake recruiting news( if you did it raise your hand with me); and, the weekly recruiting updates that were delivered by the mail (that is the US mail not email); and who can forget listening to late night radio just hoping your favorite radio sports show tossed you a nugget of recruiting information from 'insiders' like Forrest Davis, Bill King, Bobbie Burton, or Tom Lemmings.


Now, the information highway is open for business 24 hours a day. Recruiting plays out on various social media platforms. Newsletters and radio hits have been replaced by crystal balls, future casts, locks , and sting factors. Also, today literally anyone with an IP address can boast that he or she is a recruiting expert. And for these reasons what happened yesterday with Tennessee landing Jordan Matthews is so unusual. Literally, not one person not even national recruiting experts saw it coming.


For the non recruiting follower, Tennessee landed another public commitment from a top flight cornerback yesterday when Baton Rouge product Jordan Matthews chose Tennessee over Texas and some 30 other schools. For a program that has had to resort to turning high school quarterbacks, wide receivers and safeties into cornerbacks through the years, Tennessee has landed commitments from 3 of its top 4 cornerback prospects this recruiting cycle. And that is impressive. It is also about time Willie Martinez received his due for getting cornerbacks ready for the NFL.


Matthews is rated higher than Tennessee cornerback commitments Christian Conyers and Rickey Gibson. I personally don’t care because all three pass my eye test. Scanning player rankings from the recruiting services, the consensus is that Matthews is a 4 star prospect and a top 125 prospect nationally. At the cornerback position, he is ranked in the top 15 in the country. In the state of Louisiana, he is a fringe top 10 prospect.


Matthews is built much like Conyers and Gibson. He is about 6’1” 170 lbs. He has long arms, broad shoulders, and possesses track speed (10.6 in the 100 meters). What I like about Matthews, much like Ricky Gibson, he isn’t afraid of contact. Playing the run is one of the strongest parts of his game and he doesn’t shy away from it. He looks to be a fierce competitor and he contests every ball thrown his way.


Matthews is an early enrollee. Tennessee faces a situation where after the season multiple cornerbacks may be leaving. Getting to campus in January gives Matthews every opportunity to play early next season.


I don’t know the circumstances specifically but LSU seemingly got off on the wrong foot when they began recruiting Matthews and the Matthews family. Then, LSU apparently asked for a do-over, the family obliged, and LSU allegedly stepped in it again. This is another one of those recruiting stories spun by LSU Recruiting insiders. There is probably some truth to it. Remember though not only is Matthews’ dad a former player at LSU so is his high school coach. I for one will not feel comfortable until Matthews signs Tennessee scholarship papers.


With the addition of Matthews, Tennessee’s 21st public commitment, the Volunteers now have a top 10 ranked class. The priorities are now crystalized headed toward the December signing period - offensive tackles and interior defensive linemen. Rodney Garner will keep Tennessee involved with some kids committed to other schools that have a change of heart as signing day approaches especially if Tennessee’s defensive line takes another step this season. The offensive tackle position though remains an area of concern.


In closing, this staff who many, even the writer to an extent, questioned their recruiting ability has just capped off a nice stretch. With the Matthews’ commitment Tennessee has added a dozen commitments to its 2023 class and 2 commitments for its 2024 class.




The Nico Watch: I am one of those football degenerates who stayed up late Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning to get a glimpse of 2023 quarterback and Tennessee commitment Nico Iamaleava’s first high school game of the season. The game was played in Hawaii and the stream, while free, was grainy at best. Here are my thoughts. Tennessee should keep its fingers crossed that Nico gets through this season without a significant injury that keeps him from being a full participant in spring practice. The kid is very skinny. He simply can’t absorb too many hits. What is more problematic is the offensive line he plays behind is not good. Maybe it was first game jitters by that group as a unit but they were bad. I watched only the first half but there were many plays that broke down as he received the snap because the offensive line was so porous.


The positives wow’ d you. He made two or three throws under duress that many college quarterbacks can’t make. He also has a knack of knowing when to throw his fastball and when to put some air under his throws. Again, this is something many college quarterbacks struggle with. He seems to process information quickly ( I guess you get used to that when you are constantly being pursued by defensive linemen). I loved his quick release and accuracy throwing the football. It's hard to judge the competition level of the opponent but athletically there wasn’t a doubt he was the best player on the field.


Thanks For Reading ...


'X'



Smoothie King
8/15/2022
'X' Says: Tennessee added a key piece to its 2023 recruiting class Sunday afternoon. Rickey Gibson, a product of Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama, announced his commitment to the Volunteers. Gibson is the second true cornerback committed to Tennessee this recruiting cycle (Christian Conyers being the other). It has been awhile since you could say that. In fact, I don’t recall the last recruiting class where Tennessee had 2 prospects of this caliber whose true position in college projected to be cornerback.



Gibson, much like the aforementioned Conyers, looks like an SEC cornerback. He has really long arms to go along with an athletic frame and speed. I have watched a lot of film on Gibson. You can tell he has been well coached and probably by a coach or trainer who has played football at a fairly high level. He isn’t afraid of contact and he uses his hands effectively to bump receivers off their routes or to strip the football from ball carriers. What I liked the best is after 5 yards from the line of scrimmage he plays the receiver without the incessant hand fighting that draws penalties more times than not (unless of course you play for Alabama).


In all the film that I watched Gibson played cornerback virtually the entire time. He moved inside to cover slot receivers a couple of times. Tennessee could lose as many as three cornerbacks after this season. There is a real opportunity for Gibson to see playing time at cornerback next season. Gibson is also one of the fastest prospects in Tennessee’s recruiting class to date. There are reports that he was timed at sub 4.4 in the forty yard dash in camps over the summer.


For those who are concerned about “ stars”, Gibson is rated as a 3 star prospect but expect him to get bumped to a 4 star the next time the recruiting services push out a ratings update. What you should care about is Gibson held over 30 scholarship offers at the time he committed to Tennessee and he picked Tennessee over Georgia and Penn State.


Ultimately, I believe the reason he chose Tennessee over Georgia is that his pathway to playing time is much faster at Tennessee. It also doesn’t hurt to have a position coach in Willie Martinez that year after year after year puts players in the position to be drafted by the NFL.


Tennessee now has 20 prospects committed but there is major work still to be done before this class can be judged. Personally, I think one more cornerback is needed and Tennessee is recruiting a number of cornerbacks committed to other schools. Too, uncommitted Louisiana cornerback Jordan Matthews announces his college decision on Tuesday. It’s down to Tennessee and Texas. It’s a toss up right now as to whether Matthews picks the Volunteers of the Longhorns. Honestly it’s hard to think LSU won't have a say in Matthews’ recruitment before signing day.


In terms of the recruiting class, offensively Tennessee needs tackles. Defensively, while Tennessee is off to a good start at most positions, there is clearly a void in their interior defensive line recruiting. I’m working on a piece that will provide some new names and updates at both positions

I'll be back tomorrow with some thoughts and observations on Nico with what I'm calling 'The Nico Watch. It happens tomorrow right here..

Thanks for reading


'X'



Smoothie King
8/9/2022
'X' Says:Impressive

Brady Hart, who oversees the Tennessee Fund, has been elevated to Executive Associate Athletics Director for Development. Under Hart's leadership, the Tennessee Fund set an all-time record for fundraising total ($80,759,936), cash receipts ($68,568,453) and total donors (18,859) in 2021-22.


Not Impressive

Tennessee's offensive line recruiting. Woof!!! Even the most positive Tennessee football fans would have to say offensive line recruiting is concerning.


How Bad Has Tennessee's O Line Recruiting Been?

Tennessee hosted 7 offensive lineman prospects during the spring/summer official visit window. 1 of the 7 committed to Tennessee.


Tennessee chose not to get involved with two, in state offensive line prospects, Luke Brown and Joe Crocker, who committed to Arkansas and Mississippi State respectively.


Tennessee did try and recruit Chattanooga Baylor prospect Brycen Sanders. Sanders committed to Ole Miss. I don’t even think Tennessee was the runner-up to Ole Miss. I have followed recruiting long enough to know when a kid is looking for any reason not to attend a school that seems to make a lot of sense otherwise.


I don’t place a ton of stock in star ratings though Brown and Crocker are rated 4- star prospects and Sanders is Ole Miss’s highest rated prospect committed to the Rebels to date. I do place stock in the following and these concern me.


1) Brown, Crocker, Sanders ALL can play offensive tackle.


2) Offensive line and in particular offensive tackle may be the most important position of need for the program ;


3) Brown, Crocker, Sanders are committed to SEC programs. None of those programs are named Vanderbilt.


4) All three schools play up tempo offenses similar to Tennessee; and,


5) Brown, Crocker, Sanders are ranked as top 10 prospects in the state for the 2023 recruiting cycle.


But Wait..There's more .... There are two offensive lineman that play for Alcoa High School, one of the premier high school football programs in Tennessee, that is maybe 10 minutes from campus.

Let’s give Tennessee some credit here, Tennessee evaluated both but chose "to go in another direction" and never seriously pursued either one.


Bubba Jeffries is committed to Indiana


Lance Williams is committed to Virginia Tech


The decision not to recruit Lance Williams is a bit puzzling. He offers flexibility with his ability to play guard or tackle. After a couple of off seasons struggling with conditioning, Williams looks to be in the best shape of his high school career. I think Tennessee may have made a hasty decision concerning Williams.


And…..To be fair and balanced Tennessee does have a commitment from one in-state prospect Ayden Bussell from Mt. Juliet. He is a nice prospect and will probably contribute at Tennessee. For a point of reference though, Bussell is rated lower than Luke Brown, Joe Crocker, Brycen Sanders, Bubba Jeffries, and Lance Williams by RIVALS’ /Tennessee instate prospect rankings.


The in state evaluations are concerning but the issue seems larger. Two of the top offensive lineman on the offensive lineman board at the beginning of 2023 were North Carolinians. Both showed up on-campus for a junior day last winter. Both never returned to campus. Tennessee was eliminated from consideration by both prospects early in the process.


Tennessee isn't exactly getting beat by elite schools. Michigan State and Florida State bested Tennessee for prospects Tennessee believed were committing to them.


And, call me crazy, but an in-state offensive lineman who can play for an SEC school that plays a similar style offense and that school isn’t named Vanderbilt, is a prospect Tennessee should give strong consideration.


Thanks for reading


Go Vols

'X'




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