'October is a month that I’m really indifferent about when it comes to recruiting . I don’t get overly concerned if recruiting seems slow nor do I get terribly upbeat if Tennessee seems to have a fair amount of momentum this time of year.
The traditional view is a kid picks a college because of the school, the environment and the academics. We all realize this isn’t correct. Kids pick colleges because of relationships built with head coaches and assistant coaches. The proliferation of head coaching and assistant coaching changes in both college and professional football have simply made recruiting especially this time of year - more uncertain than ever.
Personal thoughts aside. Tennessee have reason to feel optimistic. Tennessee has and is continuing to position itself for a nice close to its 2017 class. Tennessee has 25 prospects publicly committed. The class now is rated a one of the top ten in the country. Tennessee can do better though.
At literally every position, Tennessee has a very real opportunity to upgrade its 2017 talent compared to the talent of the kids currently committed. Unfortunately, that means parting ways with kids that have pledged their commitment to your program. Tennessee is back to becoming relevant again in college football. Frankly, cutting committed kids where you can upgrade is just one of those spoils of success.
Tennessee hosted a couple of official visitors for the Florida game but Alabama weekend is the first major official visit weekend of the 2017 recruiting cycle for Tennessee.
Tennessee is scheduled to host five official visitors and a highly touted group of unofficial visitors. Saturday will see many 2017 committed prospects on hand as well.
A thumbnail sketch of each official and unofficial visitor is provided below.
Lamont Wade , Cornerback. Right off the top you star gazers will love this. Lamont Wade is a five-star prospect. The consensus across all recruiting services is Lamont Wade is the top high school cornerback in the country.
Tennessee doesn’t recruit to recruiting service ratings but there is little doubt Lamont Wade is the top defensive back target on their board. He is smaller than most defensive backs Tennessee has been recruiting of late standing only 5’10”. However, he possesses exceptional ball skills, tremendous speed and is he is an explosive athlete. Rivals at last check has Wade rated as the overall 9th best prospect in the country.
Tennessee is in great shape with Wade. Tennessee has to withstand an official visit Wade has scheduled to Alabama later this season. Wade is from Clairton, PA. While distance doesn’t appear to be a concern, ensuring the parents are comfortable with distance issues could be a prevailing factor in his decision. Wade has already been on campus for the Appalachian State and Florida games as an unofficial visitor.
Chris Henderson, defensive back Miami, Florida. Henderson recently decommitted from Miami and re-opened his recruitment. Though most Florida analysts believe he ends up at the University of Florida, Henderson’s relationship with Vol assistant Larry Scott has gotten Tennessee’s foot in the door. Henderson is a tall, lean and long cornerback. Henderson has been timed in the forty at 4.35. He has offers from the likes of Alabama, FSU, Miami, LSU, Southern California, and too many more names to mention.
DJ Matthews, 6’0” 180 LB wide receiver /athlete from Jacksonville, FL. Matthews committed to Florida State well over a year ago but right now Matthews seems to be trending toward Tennessee and away from Florida State. Matthews is rated as a 4 star prospect and a top 100 prospect in the country. He is a playmaker with the ball in his hands and you can see why schools like FSU, Alabama, LSU and others are recruiting him.
Jerry Drake, offensive lineman. Drake is a 6’6” 315 lb. offensive line prospect from Palm Beach Gardens. Tennessee has been working on getting a visit from Drake since the summer and their efforts have finally paid off. The recruiting services have mixed feelings about Drake as a prospect. Some service shave him rated as a 3 star prospect. Others rated him as a 4 star. I go by offer lists. The fact that Drake has an offers from SEC west powers like Alabama and LSU tell me all I need to know.
Jonathan Garvin, defensive end. Garvin stands 6’4” 225 lbs. from Lake Worth, Florida. I believe Tennessee is in process of remaking its defensive end targets for the 2017 class. Jonathan Garvin is another Florida prospect Larry Scott has Tennessee involved with. Garvin is a big bodied prospect who can easily add more weight. Garvin is an explosive rush end and will be a handful to deal with if he maintains his speed as he is gaining weight. Garvin holds 20 plus offers and I would expect him to receive more.
I think you are beginning to see a theme emerge. Tennessee is significantly invested in maintaining its presence in Florida.
Unofficial Visitors:
The list of unofficial visitors is impressive. Some of these kids are making their way back to campus - at their own expense - for the third or fourth time since the summer.
Trey Smith, offensive lineman Jackson, Tennessee. ESPN rates Smith the top prospect in the country at any position. He is top offensive lineman on Tennessee’s board to be sure. Smith is due to take an official visit to Tennessee later in the season. He is set to announce his decision in December and enroll in school in January. I hesitate to call Tennessee Smith’s leader because Alabama, Ole Miss, Ohio State and other schools have been relentless in their pursuit of Smith. But, Tennessee is recruiting Smith as hard as any prospect on their board right now.
Rutger Reitmaier, defensive tackle from Nashville, Tennessee. Reitmaier, a top ten prospect in the state of Tennessee,
committed to Oregon earlier this year much to the dismay of the Tennessee staff. He remains committed to Oregon but Tennessee has never quit recruiting him. The uncertain situation with the direction of the Oregon program has resulted in Reitmaier taking a second look at other schools including Tennessee. There is no doubt Tennessee was disappointed when Reitmaier committed to Oregon. He is higher rated on Tennessee’s defensive tackle than a couple of kids currently on the commitment list at the defensive line position.
Cam Akers, running back. Akers is one of the top running backs in the country. I don’t believe anyone really knows where Akers’ stands in regards to school choices. Generally speaking, the three schools you hear him mentioned with are Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. LSU has a tenuous coaching situation and Ole Miss has NCAA trouble.
Akers is an early enrollee and I believe in mid-October this is a Tennessee -FSU fight.
Darrian Felix, running back Fort Myers Florida. Felix is built more along the lines of Alvin Kamara and Carlin Fils-Aime. He is fast and excellent in open space.
Matthew Butler is a strong side defensive end/ defensive tackle from Garner, NC. I watch Butler’s film and scratch my head why he isn’t more highly sought after. He is a big kid (6’4” and 250 plus pounds), has good speed, aggressive, and plays fast. He is big and fast enough he could move inside to defensive tackle or play on the outside as a defensive end in college. Butler is due to make a decision soon and is yet to take his official visit to Tennessee. Right now, Tennessee is his leader.
TJ Moore, 6’5” 280 lbs. offensive lineman Mallard Creek, North Carolina (Charlotte). This has been one odd recruitment already and we aren’t even through October. Back in the summer, Moore was leaning to Tennessee. He set a decision date in late summer and publicly announced he was committed to South Carolina. The Tennessee camp , feel confident in saying this, believed Moore was going to announce for Tennessee and of course he didn’t. Where this gets odd is between the time Moore committed to South Carolina and last week when he decommitted there had been only minimal discussions between Moore and the South Carolina staff. It will be interesting to see if Moore is still a prospect Tennessee looks to add to the class. He is a dandy of a prospect. Rated a 4 star prospect and the number 6 prospect in the state of North Carolina.
Yusuf Corker . Corker is a rangy athlete /defensive back from Stockbridge , Georgia, who has been on campus multiple times. Corker likely winds up playing for an SEC school. Right now, his top schools seem to be Auburn, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Jedrick Willis, offensive lineman,6 ‘5” 300 lbs. from Lexington, KY. Willis is the
number 1 prospect in the state of Kentucky. Willis has the potential to become an elite offensive lineman. Right now, his top schools are Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. Tennessee has worked very hard to secure an unofficial visit from Willis. Let’s see if Tennessee is able to get him back on campus for an official visit later in the recruiting cycle.
Labryan Ray and Will Ignont. I mention these two prospects together for a reason. Ray is a strong side defensive end and Ignont is a middle linebacker.
Both are highly rated prospects from the state of Alabama. Alabama and Auburn are interested in both kids. Whether the in state schools just out recruit other schools or there is some hanky-panky going on, it is rare that a prospect either of these schools want make it out of the state.
With that said, Tennessee has made an impression on Ray, he has been on campus multiple times and he sees immediate opportunity to play here soon. Same with Ignont. As the season has gone on it is apparent Tennessee lacks SEC quality depth at middle linebacker. Ignont is a highly rated prospect who is a run stuffer first. I don’t hold much hope out either prospect end up at Tennessee though I do find it interesting both appear to have sincere interest in Tennessee
In closing, recruiting never stops and the one constant with recruiting is it changes every day. Expect plenty of changes to the names on the commitment list before the dust settles in February. Expect Tennessee to sign a full class and maybe even a couple beyond that.
Go Vols, Beat Bama
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