WHO ARE THE COMMITMENTS?
Terrence Lewis, LB, 6-1, 200 - The final of the commitments during that run is also the highest-ranked of the bunch as he is the #9 player in the country in the 247Sports composite. Lewis can read, recognize, react, and close quickly, a skill set that has made him such a ridiculously productive high school player over the last two years. 207 tackles, 50 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles in two seasons has honestly just been a taste of what Lewis is capable of. Within Tennessee's 3-4 defensive scheme, he likely projects as an inside linebacker despite having played a lot of outside linebacker in high school, but he should still be incredibly disruptive from the inside linebacker spot.
Dylan Brooks, LB/DE, 6-5, 240 - Brooks is an athletic freak who has play from both a 2-point and 3-point stance in high school as he piled up 120 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks over the last two seasons. He's fast with good bend as a pass rusher, making him difficult to block for high school tackles, but he's not playing at a very high level of high school ball in Alabama and will see a significant jump in competition in the SEC. The good news here is he's also fairly strong, and his athleticism has been used in high school as a receiver from the tight end and wideout spots. His first season or two may prove developmental, but somewhat similar to former Tennessee outside linebacker Darrell Taylor, once he settles in and develops he should be a force.
Aaron Willis, LB, 5-11, 207 - Safety size and speed in a big-hitting package, it's hard to say for certain exactly where he'll fit for the Vols, but early bets would have him lining up at weakside linebacker and seeing periodic use as a nickel linebacker. He plays quick and is a heat-seeking missile on the field. Reminds me a bit of Kevin Simon, the former Tennessee star linebacker. The frame can still hold more weight and it's not inconceivable that he could ultimately get to the 230-pound range despite being on the shorter side for the position. Additional weight shouldn't negatively impact his athleticism in a meaningful way. Likely has the athleticism to play safety if needed, but will likely outgrow the position relatively quickly once in a college strength and conditioning program.
Cody Brown, RB, 6-0, 227 - A big, bruising back who is already bull-strong and sports a mean stiff-arm. A consensus top 15 running back in the class, the biggest knock on him at this point is a lack of top-end speed. Long runs that he gets away with in high school will be much more difficult to manage in the SEC as even at the high school level he shows the ability to be run down from behind, but he's not exactly slow. Off the power of his running, his team only lost two games last season, one to state title runner up Lowndes and the other to state champion Marietta, led by Tennessee freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey. He's run a healthy 8.2 yards per carry for his high school career so far, and he's scored a touchdown for every 8.5 carries he's had so far, so speed isn't necessarily his game to begin with. If you want to bring Brown down, you'd better wrap him up and bring every ounce of force you can to bear because he's capable of tossing defenders off of him.
KaTron Evans, DT, 6-4, 320 - Evans won't necessarily live in the opponent's backfield, but he's a big, strong young tackle who can shed blocks, beat double-teams, and hold up at the point of attack. Evans is a natural 1-technique/nose tackle interior defensive lineman who is a good finisher on the tackle. Explosiveness isn't his primary skill set as his strength and ability to defeat blocks with strength and rush moves belies the need to use quickness to beat blockers. Like most young defensive linemen, he can get too high and give up leverage to the blocker. That hasn't generally been a problem at the high school level, but in the SEC that's going to be an issue to get fixed. Probably lacks the skill set to play as a 3-4 end, but in a pinch likely could be a fit as a 3-technique tackle in the nickel look. Similar to former Vol Justin Harrell.
Julian Nixon, WR, 6-3, 230 - Nixon is a big-bodied receiver who isn't going to be mistaken as a burner by anybody. He's a bit reminiscent of former Vol receiver Marquez North, who used his size and body control to overwhelm defensive backs and box them out like a basketball center going after a rebound. Nixon can high-point the football and pluck it out of the air over defensive backs, and he will out-physical the vast majority of defenders who would potentially be covering him. As a bigger wideout, he could potentially grow into a tight end, but it's unlikely that the Vols are eyeballing that future for him as they have targeted several big, long tight ends this cycle.
Julian Nixon, WR, 6-3, 230 - Nixon is a big-bodied receiver who isn't going to be mistaken as a burner by anybody. He's a bit reminiscent of former Vol receiver Marquez North, who used his size and body control to overwhelm defensive backs and box them out like a basketball center going after a rebound. Nixon can high-point the football and pluck it out of the air over defensive backs, and he will out-physical the vast majority of defenders who would potentially be covering him. As a bigger wideout, he could potentially grow into a tight end, but it's unlikely that the Vols are eyeballing that future for him as they have targeted several big, long tight ends this cycle.
Kaidon Salter, QB, 6-1, 185 - Tennessee added big-armed pocket passer Harrison Bailey and speedy dual-threat Jimmy Holiday last cycle. This cycle, they decided to find a signal-caller who splits the difference between the two, and Salter certainly fits that bill. While he's definitely not as fast as Holiday or built like the prototypical passer the same way Bailey is, he's a capable runner with a big arm and the ability to make plays both ways. His accuracy is still a work in progress, as is his comfort level in the pocket, but since he's now on his third high school in three years, it's possible there could be a big jump for him next season with that consistency. He was expected to be a quarterback on the rise before the start of this bizarre offseason.
Kamar Wilcoxson, CB, 6-1, 183 - Although initially rated by various services as a safety, his primary high school position, Tennessee will look to utilize this long, versatile defensive back as a cornerback. Tennessee hasn't been hurting at corner, but they have been trying to add size and length to that mix, and Wilcoxson certainly brings that to the table. Wilcoxson has been timed in the high 4.4 to low 4.5 range, which is plenty quick enough for the corner position. A big hitter with coverage skills, he could land at safety too, but as long as he doesn't lose any athleticism as he adds to his frame, he's likely to remain at corner.
Kamar Wilcoxson, CB, 6-1, 183 - Although initially rated by various services as a safety, his primary high school position, Tennessee will look to utilize this long, versatile defensive back as a cornerback. Tennessee hasn't been hurting at corner, but they have been trying to add size and length to that mix, and Wilcoxson certainly brings that to the table. Wilcoxson has been timed in the high 4.4 to low 4.5 range, which is plenty quick enough for the corner position. A big hitter with coverage skills, he could land at safety too, but as long as he doesn't lose any athleticism as he adds to his frame, he's likely to remain at corner.
Colby Smith, OT, 6-7, 295 - Smith is a big, surprisingly athletic lineman who showed himself to be a productive defensive tackle in addition to his work at offensive tackle. His upside on defense is a bit limited by his length, but his upside on offense is plenty high, especially if he can manage to drop his pad level and continue to add muscle to his still relatively lean frame. He's quick enough to get to the second level and could probably pull if needed, and his length and athleticism would suggest that he could probably play left tackle. That said, he's a bit more of a run blocker at this point than a pass blocker, and there have been moments where his hand placement and assignments are off. When at his best, he's a dominant force at tackle. He's likely to need time to fill out his frame and clean up some habits once getting to college, but he could become a high-end offensive lineman with solid development.
De'Shawn Rucker, S, 5-10, 170 - Speed is the first thing that jumps out about Rucker as he can close in a hurry on the ball or ballcarrier, allowing him to make plays even if initially caught out of position. He's on the small side for safety, but he still has room to grow and could fit nicely into the Star position, the hybrid safety/nickel position within Pruitt's defense. Rucker is also a special teams demon, both as a returner and on kick coverage. A quick look at his junior highlights shows him returning a kick, blocking a punt, and crushing returners. He has the speed to attack at and behind the line of scrimmage from his safety spot, and he displays good coverage instincts. His speed has been honed on the track, as well as an elite leaping ability displayed through the long jump event.
Tiyon Evans, RB, 5-9, 225 - This is a young man whose ranking will only go up as long as he remains healthy next season. He's a load at running back, where his bowling ball build makes tackling him a nightmare. Built similarly to 3rd round Bills draft pick Zack Moss, he could prove equally productive after a JUCO freshman campaign in which he averaged 8.8 yards per carry and had 9 touchdowns on his 61 carries, and he was second in rushing yards behind quarterback Mark Wright (Western Carolina University signee) and was the leader in rushing yards among the five members of the committee of backs, which includes former Vol Trey Coleman. With only Coleman back to compete for carries, Evans is poised for a big sophomore campaign that should continue to solidify his top spot in the JUCO running back rankings. He lacks top-end speed, but he has great explosiveness to pair with his powerful running style.
HOW DID IT COME TOGETHER?
One of the key factors here was peer recruiting and coordination among the recruits as they had been all talking to each other and planning this run of commitments amongst themselves. That's not necessarily why the players committed, but it's how the first week ended up happening for sure. Julian Nixon was one of the ringleaders, and he has acted like a Tennessee commitment since long before he took it public, and he and Wilcoxson were very active in communicating on social media, and those were just the public messages. Brooks had skipped other opportunities the last weekend of the 2019 season in order to watch Tennessee's win over Vanderbilt. Originally, it sounds like the trio of Nixon, Wilcoxson, and Brooks were the planned commitments, but as the momentum grew, the ball was rolling and it was hard to stop the momentum, leading to Evans and Lewis joining the mix. From there, it simply continued to snowball as the enthusiasm spread.
WHAT'S DRAWING THEM TO KNOXVILLE?
Tennessee's staff did a great job early on of adapting to the necessary changes in recruiting, rapidly adopting digital means of recruiting. This helped them to gain an edge in recruiting that really showed up over this two-week stretch, but the university also laid the groundwork for another potential reason for a run on commitments. Over the last several months, the social media team has been making a point of showing off their branding and promotion of players, which has become a very relevant bit with the pending changes in NCAA policy concerning profiting off of personal likeness. Many states have multiple major programs, but Tennessee has the advantage of a mostly clear landscape for the Vols to be the predominant figures for in-state collegiate promotion of players as Vanderbilt and Memphis, the other FBS teams in the state, lack a similar profile on the state and national stage.
Tennessee has also made a point of building a staff of recruiters and a relatively young staff at that. Tennessee's staff changes dropped the average age of the staff by 2 years and now the only staff member over the age of 50 is offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. That youthful staff makeup helped as far as enthusiasm recruiting is concerned as well with the embracing of digital recruiting tools. This early adoption and adjustment to the new normal have allowed the staff to do a great job of building and maintaining relationships with recruits despite the unscheduled recruiting dead period.
One of the major things that the staff under Pruitt has preached since arriving was the importance of building relationships, and this is where those rewards are really able to be reaped as the staff has been established long enough to build those relationships with the recruits. Having the trust of the recruits and their families can't be overstated as no parent is willingly send their child to spend 3-5 years with a staff they don't trust, and no player is willingly going to commit to coaches who haven't earned a degree of trust as well.
CAN IT BE MAINTAINED?
Anytime you see a run like this, you have to ask yourself if it's possible to not only keep the momentum going but also to keep that class together when the excitement begins to wane. As for the run, Tennessee probably has a chance to keep the momentum going, and in fact, they have some top targets set to commit over the next month and a half. However, if this momentum does continue, sooner or later some tough decisions will have to be made to get the numbers to work as there are currently 21 commitments in the class with a presumed 25 spots available.
Keeping the class together may be a bit harder as this was done while recruits have been unable to take visits. Situations can always change as recruits take official visits, and it's probably reasonable to assume one or more decommitments are likely. However, if the bulk of the group from this run can be held onto, the class should have a strong chance at being another top ten haul to go with last cycle's top ten group.
Right now, this looks to be momentum and a class built to last because it's driven by the players in the class as much as the guys on the team and the coaches helming the show. It's that general unity among the players, coaches, and recruits that should keep this thing held together and keep the ball rolling in building one of the top classes to land in Knoxville in the last two decades.
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