Before I jump into football, which will have its early signing period beginning in a little over a month starting December 19th, a quick note on basketball, both men's and women's, as well as all other sports to a lesser degree. Basketball's early signing period begins tomorrow, and as of right now all three of the men's basketball commitments are presently planning to sign early and shut down their recruitments, which ends the option of sending Drew Pember to a prep school for a year and ends the cycle for the Vols barring any transfers after the season. Along with Pember, a 3-star power forward with a nice shooting stroke, the Vols will also be adding long-time commitment Davonte Gaines, a 3-star small forward who has been committed to the Vols since July 1, 2017, and their most recent commitment, 5-star guard Josiah James.
Speaking of early signings, all three of the Lady Vols current commitments are also expected to sign, including a pair of 6-5 posts in Emily Saunders and Tamari Key and a 6-1 guard in Jordan Horston. Horston is the #2 overall player in the class of 2019. All other sports except football open up their signing periods on November 14th as well, but they have an open signing period that allows them to sign anytime between then and August 1st of 2019.
I say those first because my guess is you clicked on this hunting for football recruiting news, and so here all that goes. Tennessee has firmly put themselves in the mix for a number of big names. First, one most everyone knows is Darnell Wright (5-star OT), and nothing at present has changed mine or most people's minds that he is leaning Tennessee. Wright doesn't seem likely to decide for a bit, maybe the Under Armour All-American Game at the earliest, but he could easily end up waiting until National Signing Day. Currently, the Vols hold 60% of the Crystal Ball predictions and it's continued growing over the last week.
Quavaris Crouch (5-star ATH) made a stop in Knoxville for the Kentucky game and the Vols reminded him why they were an early favorite for his services. In fact, he named them as one of the top three teams for his services along with Michigan and Clemson. The Tigers have the lead and have continued to grow that lead on the Crystal Ball, however he won't be deciding until January 5th at the All-American Bowl on NBC. If the Vols can get him back on campus, that may bode well for their chances.
John Emery Jr. (5-star RB), a Vol legacy, made a visit for the Kentucky game and had his expectations exceeded. In fact, his expectations were so exceeded that he has given the indication that he will return for an official visit in December with his whole family. Emery grew up in Louisiana and beating LSU for his services certainly won't be an easy task (he just committed to LSU today), but if any school can do it right now it might just be the Vols. Remember that he was also committed to Georgia before, so I don't think this one is done until the NLI is signed.
Jadon Haselwood (5-star WR) has recently named the Vols as a team he's planning to consider, even though he hasn't made the trip to Knoxville recently. There is plenty of competition for his services too, chief amongst those other contenders being Miami. Georgia and Oklahoma are also in that mix. He's used two of his official visits, and the Vols will need to earn one of his remaining three in order to have a realistic chance at landing the #1 receiver in the country.
Let's jump from the #1 receiver in the cycle to the #1 player in the cycle, Nolan Smith (5-star WDE). Yeah, that's right. The Vols are set to host the top player in the class of 2019 for a visit this weekend against Missouri. He's making the trip with his teammate and current Vol commit Chris Akporoghene. Smith would fit with the Vols as a likely outside linebacker and has drawn comparisons to Khalil Mack. The Vols aren't a threat to flip the Georgia commit going into the visit, but that could change this weekend.
Owen Pappoe (5-star OLB) has become a very real possibility to flip to the Vols from his Auburn commitment. The problematic status of Gus Malzahn has certainly hurt the Tigers here, and his teammate Wanya Morris being committed to Tennessee hasn't hurt them one bit. In fact, he may not be the only Grayson player who could flip to the Vols. Pappoe isn't planning to sign early or enroll early, so the Vols will have time to do work here, but there is also always a chance of things changing when there are about two and a half months of recruiting action to take place.
Henry To'oto'o (4-star OLB) is a guy the Vols really won over with an earlier unofficial visit, but since that time Alabama made a huge move with the California native. Washington is another strong contender here. He's only used one official visit, and the Vols will make every effort to get him back on campus and remind him why he liked them in the first place.
Justin Eboigbe (4-star SDE) is committed to Alabama, and as everyone knows flipping a guy from the Tide is no easy task. Adding in that Eboigbe is a top 5 strongside defensive end this cycle makes it even more unlikely that the Tide would let him flip without a fight. That said, he's made the trip to Knoxville twice and has yet to make that trip on an official visit. The Vols will make the push for one of those three remaining OVs, and if they do get one that may prove dangerous for the odds of Alabama holding onto him.
Bill Norton (4-star SDE) hails from Tennessee, but he's been committed to Georgia since the spring. Even so, he hasn't ruled out the possibility of making an official visit to Knoxville. He won't be easy to flip, but he does seem at least open to other programs after making a couple of unofficial trips to Oxford to check out Ole Miss.
Kenyatta Watson II (4-star DB) is another Grayson player the Vols are hoping to add. Watson has been committed to Texas since May 1st but also hasn't stopped considering all his options. He checked out the Vols in September for an unofficial visit, and it's distinctly possible he could be back for an official visit within the next month, or in January if he doesn't sign early. He represents one of the best possibilities for the Vols to add another defensive back, and he can probably play corner or safety.
Eric Gray (4-star APB) probably represents the Vols best chance to land a true running back this cycle, although they have one possible running back committed in athlete Aaron Beasley. Gray plans to sign and enroll early, so the long-time Michigan commitment will be making his final choice sometime in the next month or so. Tennessee and Ole Miss have positioned themselves as the top competition to Michigan here, but I think it will take Tennessee at least one more visit out of season for them to have a chance.
Khafre Brown (4-star WR) is seemingly down to Tennessee and North Carolina, and despite what the Crystal Ball says on this one I fully believe that the Vols sit in the driver's seat for him. He has been back on campus frequently, and despite UNC being the home team and his brother playing there I think the opportunity and relationships in Knoxville make them the team to beat.
As for other guys who could get looks, here are a few names that either aren't as big or as likely: Kristian Williams (4-star DT), Khris Bogle (4-star WDE), Jalen Curry (4-star WR), Jammie Robinson (4-star S), Jamie Pettway (3-star ILB), Nick Figueroa (3-star SDE), Zion Logue (3-star SDE), JaVonta Payton (3-star WR), Zykamren Robinson (3-star RB)
The bottom line is that the run to the early signing and NSD is going to be pretty interesting for the Vols the way things are shaping up right now.
