Tennessee Football: Middle schooler commits to the Vols

Jeremy Pruitt has been working hard on the recruiting trails trying to get the best future college football players he can find, even if they’re 14-years-old.

Tony Mitchell is the most recent recruit to commit to the Vols, but he won’t be apart of the 2020 class; instead, he will be apart of the 2023 class. Mitchell visited campus over the weekend and met Pruitt and seemed to be impressed.

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The incoming freshman is out of Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama, and announced his verbal commitment to Tennessee on Saturday.

Tennessee doesn’t have a 2021 or 2022 commit yet, and Mitchell is the first player to commit in the 2023 class. Mitchell also has offers from the likes of Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas A&M.

It doesn’t happen often, but when a kid as young as Mitchell announces his commitment to a school, it always seems kind of weird. He hasn’t even taken a high school course yet, and we don’t know what he can do on the field against opponents that are as good or better than him.

Either way, Mitchell is six-foot, 176 pounds as an incoming freshman so if he keeps growing he will gain more attraction from even more programs. He is a defensive back and wide receiver and we know Pruitt’s history with defensive backs. If Pruitt can get them on campus, he can develop them into dominant defenders.

The defensive back position group is Pruitt’s specialty. When Pruitt joined the Vols, the football Twitter account put a graphic out bragging on his history with defensive backs and developing them into NFL talent.

As you can see there, Pruitt has nine defensive backs in the NFL on that graphic. Recruited, trained, and developed is what Tennessee’s focus was there and Pruitt can do all three of those at an extremely high level with corners and safeties.

If this kid lives up to the hype and Pruitt can keep him for the next four years he could have a bright future with the Vols. But we have a long way from then, and Pruitt doesn’t need to lose sight on the 2020 class and this upcoming season.

You know what coaches always say; the most important game is the next one. Pruitt needs to stay focused on the upcoming “game” with the 2020 recruiting class and the 2019 season.