It's been a busy week in recruiting, and I guess I should start off with Tennessee's three newest commitments, Tanner Antonutti, Trey Dean, and Matthew Flint.
Antonutti is a 6-5, 260 pound offensive tackle from Nashville who is making the move to offensive line from tight end as he continues to outgrow his old position. Antonutti is very much a guy the staff took because of what he can become rather than what he is now. He lacks the athleticism to play tight end collegiately, but he brings great athleticism to the offensive line along with a good mentality for blocking and plenty of ability in that regard. He shows flashes as both a run and pass blocker in dealing with defensive ends and linebackers, and although he is a project he's a project schools were becoming increasingly interested in taking on as evidenced by offers from Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, and Missouri among others. Tennessee had previously been hesitant to accept a commitment from him, but once it became increasingly likely that he would land with another SEC team if he wasn't in Knoxville, they needed to bring in the life-long Vol fan or risk dealing with him for four years.
Trey Dean was a player who had at least been offered by many of the big name programs, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, and on and on. His commitment wasn't necessarily one people were expecting at this time, but it does sound like some programs may have been slow-playing things with Dean while Tennessee was all in with him. Dean plays a lot of corner in high school, but he projects as a safety in college. He is a long player at 6-2 and is a rangy safety who is likely to project as a free safety long-term. He doesn't have particularly soft hands, so he tends to pile up break ups rather than interceptions. He is a strong tackler who can deliver big hits at times. He could also be a candidate to play nickel and maybe even boundary corner in a pinch.
As for Matthew Flint, Tennessee has been interested in him for quite a while. A natural athlete, Flint plays both wide receiver and outside linebacker/inside linebacker/safety for his Madison County High team, performing fairly well at both. In fact, Flint recorded 85 tackles, five sacks, and three forced fumbles last season on defense while he also caught 28 passes for 437 yards and nine touchdowns. He ran an electronically timed 4.57 forty at The Opening regionals and he reported that he ran a sub-4.5 forty during a trip to Ole Miss. He has the speed and ability to excel in coverage, is a solid yet unspectacular tackler, and performs better in the box than in the open field. He uses his speed to make plays for negative yardage. He does have some weaknesses, of course. At 6-0.5 and 213, he will obviously need to add weight and it's currently unclear how that added weight will impact his speed long-term. He also needs to add pop to his tackling. Despite his five sacks, he hasn't been asked to blitz much at this point, so that is a skill set he will have to develop. All-in-all, he's not that dissimilar from Jalen Reeves-Maybin coming out of high school, although he is obviously lacking the fanfare of the current Detroit Lion.
So where does that leave the class? At this point, it appears that Tennessee will only be able to take 23 this cycle, and the additions of Antonutti, Dean, and Flint bring the Vols to 20 in the class. How they will use their remaining three scholarships will be worth watching. Tennessee is still very much interested in adding another corner to the class, specifically Jaycee Horn. I was also of the belief that they would like to add another defensive end and they are definitely set on adding another wide receiver. However, the staff could have a decision to make if Jerome Carvin or even Jordan Davis want into the class. Are they willing to burn someone already in the class to do that? If they can land Horn, Carvin, and Davis will they be content to only take two receivers? Is Carvin still a take at this point or do the coaches believe there are bigger needs? I don't have the answers to that just yet, but perhaps I will next week when I do my next recruiting wrap.
At present, the 2018 Vols recruiting class consists of the following:
2 quarterbacks
2 running backs
2 wide receivers
1 tight end
3 offensive linemen
5 defensive linemen
1 linebacker
4 defensive backs
Of Tennessee's current 20 commitments, 9 currently plan to be early enrollees and at least a few others are exploring the option. There's a chance that half or more of the Vols signing class next year will already be on campus come January. Here's hoping for a drama-free signing day with a near top ten class coming on board.
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