Tennessee has potentially six spots to fill in their class, with two of those spots currently filled with commitments that remain unsigned as of right now following the decommitment of Lakia Henry. Tennessee is in a rebuild, so the best answer as far as needs are concerned is that they have needs pretty much everywhere. Of course, that's not how recruiting works anymore with oversigning a thing of the past for the most part. What will the Vols do with their remaining scholarships? Will the current unsigned commitments end up being Vols? Who might fill the remaining open spots? Let's dive in.
Offensive playmaker: The Vols clearly have added some potential offensive playmakers with Eric Gray at running back, Ramel Keyton and Jerrod Means at wide receiver, and a pair of big tight ends in Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown, not to mention a pair of athletes who will get their first looks on defense but could ultimately wind up playing at running back themselves. That said, Keyton and Means both had injuries as seniors and it's worth wondering what they can immediately provide from the wide receiver position, and another sure-fire running back might not go amiss. Realistically, the Vols aren't currently actively pursuing any running backs that I can see, but wide receiver is at least somewhat a different story. Jadon Haselwood is off the board as he will be enrolling early with Oklahoma following his commitment at the All-American Bowl. Arjei Henderson, who recently committed to Florida, could be an option but the Vols weren't among the four finalists he had announced so there would be work to do there. Perhaps the Vols could make a play at Demariyon Houston, a top prospect from the state of Oklahoma, but at the moment his wide-open recruitment doesn't feel like one that the Vols are likely to push their way into as the programs he's considering mostly have a Big Ten/Big 12 feel for now. TJ Jones is one the Vols could have a shot at if they choose to press for him. He's got a nice mix of size and speed, but his recruitment is one that should have taken off more than it seems to have. The way things stand, the Vols will probably put most of their focus into George Pickens for now as they try to get the big Auburn commitment on campus for a visit and see if they can't flip him. JaVonta Payton is also very much an option for the Vols here. The JUCO standout originally from Nashville has always been high on the Vols and could potentially flip him from Mississippi State if they do push for him. Dywan Griffin is maybe the emergency option for the Vols. He's been very productive and is garnering a fair bit of attention now. He is the brother of Speedy Noil, but he's a fair bit longer than Speedy. I'll go ahead and predict that the Vols will manage to add another wide receiver just to ensure they will have at least one healthy and ready to play for the season opener as a security blanket in case of injuries. As far as who it might be, there are a lot of options and it's hard to say who they land at this point.
Offensive tackle: This is an obvious need after the offensive line's struggles the last two seasons. They cannot right the ship without fixing things in the trenches, and after signing four offensive linemen during the early signing period, there is really only one target on the board: Darnell Wright. The top offensive tackle in the class is the lone offensive line target they are focusing on heading towards national signing day. They have been a top school for him the entire cycle and that remains unchanged. There doesn't appear to be any backup plan. It's Wright or bust, and I don't think they'll go bust here. Look for Wright to become the top signee in the class come February.
Defensive end: I wish I could tell you there is a long list of targets here as the Vols look to replace Kyle Phillips, but there really isn't. In fact, there's really just the one name as far as I can tell at this juncture. The good news is that one name is the #9 strongside defensive end in the 2019 class and has already said he plans to visit the Vols. The bad news is Charles Moore is currently committed to Mississippi State and has indicated that Auburn may currently be the team with the best chance of flipping him. Tennessee may have a bit of an uphill battle to land him, but he has visited the Vols four times since late 2017. He has left the door open to flipping, and he has a good relationship with the Vols coaches, so although I will lean toward this not happening I will say it absolutely could.
Defensive tackle: The Vols signed three defensive linemen early, and all three project as defensive tackle/nose guard/3-4 end types of bigger bodies, so why would the Vols still see this as a priority? Depth is the short answer, as they had to ride 4-5 defensive linemen harder than they would have preferred last season. They have a fourth committed currently in LeDarrius Cox, but Cox has at least been keeping his options open and could take further visits, so keeping Cox in the fold remains important. For now, I'll lean toward them holding onto him as he's been quiet but relatively solid with the Vols up to this point. However, if he did flip I think the Vols would make a run at Jared Harrison-Hunte, who looks more the part of the 3-4 end/4-3 defensive tackle than Cox, who has a bigger frame. Harrison-Hunte is high on the Vols and if the Vols come calling they would represent his best chances of playing in the SEC. Otherwise, it tentatively looks like an Ohio State-Penn State battle for his services. Mami is also a player there. Ideally, Cox sticks and the Vols won't have to work on landing anyone. Sometimes it's easier to keep what you have rather than trying to identify and secure what you don't.
Linebacker: Things here have been a good news/bad news deal of late. The good news is signee Quavaris Crouch will start his career at linebacker and if Aaron Beasley doesn't work out at safety he might be an option at inside linebacker at 6-1, 220. The bad news is top OLB target Khris Bogle has picked Alabama, top linebacker commitment Lakia Henry has now decommitted after not signing early, and the Vols top remaining uncommitted target Henry To'oto'o is considered an Alabama lean. Now, that said I've also heard promising things regarding Tennessee and To'oto'o and I think landing him is still a realistic possibility. The Vols also have two underrated but very athletic linebacker targets left to pursue in Christopher Russell and Eugene Asante. Russell is an in-state linebacker with good size at 6-2, 220. His ranking doesn't reflect the opinions of coaches of Russell's talent as Tennessee is competing with Auburn, Arkansas, and Texas A&M for him as things stand and new names could easily pop up in his recruitment. Asante is similar in that he has good size (6-1, 212) to go with great athleticism and his recruitment has taken off, with Virginia Tech, Maryland, UCLA, Baylor, Miami, Nebraska, UNC, and TCU among the names the Vols will be competing with for his services. I think the Vols only add two here if they miss on Moore. Russell looks like the most likely addition here, but I won't rule out the possibility of being the landing spot for To'oto'o as Alabama is beginning to run low on space and has those spaces filled with other highly-ranked players at positions of need.
Secondary: The staff may disagree with me, but this may be the position of least need as they have Beasley starting out at safety along with signees Jaylen McCollough, Tyus Fields, and Warren Burrell. Still, unsigned commitment Anthony Harris is an increasingly hot commodity as programs look at the safety position so the Vols will have to fight to keep him in the mix. If Harris were to flip to another school, it's probable that the staff would turn most of their attention to Jammie Robinson and Jamal Hill, but that would only be if they elect to take that third safety this cycle. They could also work at flipping a corner from someone, with Travis Jay maybe representing one of the better chances to do so if he can be flipped from Florida State. Texas-based Shilo Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders, is perhaps another option at corner. UNC might represent the biggest threat to flip Harris, a long-time Tennessee commitment. I'll tentatively guess the Vols hold onto him, but if they do lose him the Vols may have a difficult time replacing him as I wouldn't consider them in the driver's seat for any of the targets mentioned.
Tentatively, I'll guess at them holding onto LeDarrius Cox and Anthony Harris, adding JaVonta Payton, Darnell Wright, Christopher Russell, and either adding one other player or holding the spot for potential transfers. I think they'll manage to work the numbers somehow to still take 25 plus Aubrey Solomon rather than 25 with Solomon. I just can't predict what that last spot amounts to right now. The one thing that seems certain is that barring a massive collapse down the finish, the Vols will finish with their best average recruiting grade for their commitments since 2009, and if they somehow pull off a magical finish with Darnell Wright, George Pickens, Henry To'oto'o, and Charles Moore to go with LeDarrius Cox and Anthony Harris, they will finish with a top ten class and one that would have the highest average grade since the 2005 class with a average commit ranking in the Alabama/Georgia/Clemson territory. As far as the class ranking, it would fall somewhere from as high as 5th to no lower than maybe 8th assuming that spectacular, magical class close. The bottom line is the Vols have a few needs, but at least some of those can be addressed by holding onto the two commitments they already have and other than Darnell Wright it's all just about icing the cake on a strong class.
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