Tennessee Football: Early Signing Day Updates for the Volunteers
Today is a monumental day for programs around the country as they look to bring in a new group of recruits for the next season. Check out Tennessee’s latest recruits here!
National Signing Day is finally upon us. December 19th is the date of the Early Signing Period, mainly for players that will be early enrollees on their selective schools. Today is a big day for the University of Tennessee as they look to rebuild a program that was left in shambles two years ago. Now that Jeremy Pruitt has had a full year to put together a class, it will be interesting to see the type of players he lands.
In likely the biggest news of the day, the Volunteers were able to retain head strength coach, Craig Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald received a ton of attention from his alma mater, as Mike Locksley looked to bring him there at the same position. Being able to retain him was huge for the Volunteers as they are able to keep a strength coach for longer than a season.
Early Signees
So far, there hasn’t been many surprises in this recruiting cycle. Tennessee has landed guys they expected to land and have not landed guys that were on the edge.
The Volunteers were able to pick up some key players on the offensive side of the ball. The first signee of the day was WR Ramel Keyton from the state of Georgia. Shortly after, the Volunteers were able to land Jackson Lowe, a tight end also from the state of Georgia. Tennessee landed their second TE of the day, reeling in Sean Brown from Rome, Georgia.
The Volunteers got their quarterback of the class, Brian Maurer from the state of Florida. Maurer’s high school stats were outstanding, so it will be interesting to see what he can do on Rocky Top. In the first surprise of the day, the Volunteers got Jerrod Means, a three-star WR from Georgia.
The Volunteers got stronger in the secondary, picking up four signees to bolster a position of need. Tyus Fields was the first signee in the secondary. Fields is a four-star cornerback from the state of North Carolina. In one of the biggest gets of the day, the Tennessee Volunteers picked up Jaylen McCollough from the state of Georgia. McCollough is a four-star safety and is 14th overall at the safety position.
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The Volunteers also pulled in Warren Burrell, who is a three-star cornerback from the state of Georgia. Lastly, the Volunteers signed Aaron Beasley, who is a three-star safety from Georgi. Beasley is a playmaker who loves to hit.
One of the biggest needs for the Tennessee Volunteers has been on the offensive and defensive line. That has been the main focus of this class and this staff did a good job of making sure to land big guys on the line. So far, the Volunteers have signed seven linemen, including four offensive linemen and three defensive linemen.
On the offensive side of the ball, Chris Akporoghene signed with the Volunteers. Akporoghene transferred to IMG Academy this past season but played just outside of Knoxville before then. They also landed Melvin McBride, an in-state offensive lineman from Whitehaven. The Volunteers also landed Jackson Lampley, another in-state offensive lineman from MBA. Lampley’s father also played at Tennessee. In the biggest get of the day, Tennessee signed five-star offensive linemen, Wanya Morris from Georgia. Morris is ranked at 13th overall nationally and third at his position.
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The defensive line also got bigger, picking up some big guys at the line of scrimmage. Elijah Simmons is a three-star from in-state Pearl Cohn. To go along with him, the Volunteers picked up two JUCO defensive lineman to beef up that side of the ball. Darel Middleton signed to the Volunteers from East Mississippi C.C. but is originally from Oak Ridge. Savion Williams also signed with the Volunteers, picking him up from Lackawanna C.C.
Updates
The Volunteers just picked up Roman Harrison, an outside linebacker from the state of Georgia. The pickup of Harrison makes him the 10th player from the state of Georgia that Tennessee has signed so far.
Possible Pickups
Tennessee still is in the running for a few big-time players. Darnell Wright has been on the top of Tennessee’s list for a while now, but he will likely announce his decision in February at the other signing period. Wright is a five-star lineman and is 10th overall nationally. If the Volunteers are able to add Wright, alongside Morris and possibly Trey Smith, this offensive line will be scary.
Quavaris Crouch is also very high on Tennessee’s list. Crouch is a playmaker on both sides of the ball and might play both sides if he ends up on Rocky Top. He is ranked 39th overall.
Lastly, the Volunteers hope to land in-state running back Eric Gray. Gray is a running back from Lausanne, where he won three straight Mr. Football awards. Gray is set to announce his commitment at noon on Thursday, so all of Vol Nation will be tuning in to see his decision. Gray recently de-committed from Michigan and is very high on the Volunteers.