Tennessee Vols Recruiting Gets Answer Today
The Tennessee Vols could get a commitment today from a long sought after 4 star linebacker in Quart’e Sapp. Sapp will announce his decision today at his high school in Georgia. He will choose between Michigan State, Miami, Missouri and Tennessee according to most recruiting sites, with Tennessee being the odds on favorite.
Sapp is a a 6’1″ 198 lb outside linebacker. He is ranked as the 14th best outside linebacker in the country. Rivals has Sapp ranked as the nations 226th best overall prospect, and lists him as the 20th best player in the state of Georgia.
Sapp would fit a need at Tennessee. The Vols need linebackers. Getting Sapp would be huge for Jones and for Tennessee’s resurgent defense. Tennessee already has the best 2015 defensive line commits in the country, but needs a few linebackers in this class. Although the Vols signed 4 star outside linebacer Darrin Kirkland (who I think is going to be an all SEC player by his Junior year) away from Michigan, the Vols only have one other commit at Linebacker. That is 3 star bruiser Austin Smith from Georgia as well.
Sapp and Kirkland will give Tennessee great speed on the outside. These guys are Reeves-Maybin-esque type of players. That is all Vols fans need to know about these two.
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In my opinion, Sapp is a must sign for Tennessee. Tennessee returns a bevy of good linebackers, but many are built to play the interior linebacking spot. The Vols lose leading tackler AJ Johnson of course. Who will take over the middle? Will it be Dillon Bates, Justin King, Jakob Johnson, Gavin Bryant, or Kenny Bynum? I don’t know. I think Chris Weatherd will play on the outside along with Maybin-Reeves on the opposite side. There are a lot of good players here, but the Vols can stand to build depth at the position. Again, Sapp is a must for Jones as Tennessee will be hamstrung in the future if they sign only two linebackers in this class.
As far as the recruiting goes in the last few days there are a few things good and bad that could happen. The recruiting world gurus seem to think that the Vols are putting a big orange bow on the class. There is one person I am concerned about however that could flip. Things have just been too quiet.
One of the steals of this class is Louisiana 4 star running back Kendall Bussey. Bussey is a mean runner with a Travis Henry type of build. Bussey is 5’8 200 lbs. Henry was at 5’9 and about 220 when he left Tennessee. Bussey is being recruited heavily by Texas A&M. They were the front runner at first before Jones and his staff got in on him. They are making a big push for his services, and he is reported to be listening.
Bussey committed to Tennessee in December. The Vols of course have signed now 5 star Alvin Kamara from the Junior College ranks, and last week gained a commitment from running back John Kelly. Kelly is a little different type of runner as he is a little slighter and a little more elusive. But it is another running back for Bussey to compete with. With Hurd and Kamara sure to get the lions share of carries next season, will Bussey have the patience to wait his turn? I hope so. I like this kid a lot. Let’s hope we keep Bussey in the orange fold.
On the good side, there is a little more momentum to the Drew Richmond story. I personally do not believe this guy turns to the Vols and spurning long time favorite Ole Miss. But there is some interesting developments. Khalil McKenzie has long been recruiting Richmond to play at Tennessee with him. McKenzie tweets at Richmond quite frequently to try and persuade the behemoth offensive tackle to stay in his home state and become a legend at Tennessee.
Richmond is ranked the number one player in the entire state of Tennessee. At 6’5.5 and 323 lbs he is the number 2 offensive tackle in the country, and more impressively ranked the 12th best prospect in the United States. Drew is a Memphis kid however. We all know how that usually plays out on signing day. Oxford is a 60 minute drive. Knoxville is 6 hours. It does make a difference to many families.
Richmond is due on campus at Tennessee this weekend. I will just say this now. If this young man wants to play in a National Championship game, he should sign with Tennessee. I truly believe the Vols are in a better situation over the next 4 years than Ole Miss. This is not a cut at Ole Miss. With the SEC west being loaded with, well, every team in the west, I would take my chances playing against the SEC East foes such as Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The Vols will break through to the SEC Championship within these next 4 years, and then anything can happen in that one game. Do you want to battle Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, LSU and Arkansas? Or would you rather take your chances with Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Kentucky every year?
Signing Richmond would be the big orange bow to wrap around this class. It would propel Tennessee to possibly be ranked the number one signing class in the Nation. Take that for what it is worth. But just know that his signing a Ole Miss does not propel the Rebels any higher than their present day 18th ranking. 18th isn’t bad, but it’s not Tennessee! It is a long shot for sure, but the State of Tennessee would probably have an earthquake from the jumping up and down of fans if he flips. As the saying goes “it can happen”.