On the offensive line, the plan for some months had been to take several more developmental guys along with Ryan Johnson. Marcus Tatum was an early offer and they beat out Florida straight up for him.
And that's something that's a little underrated here. You're talking about a kid an hour from Gainesville that had only been to Knoxville twice before he committed compared to numerous times for the Gators.
And if anyone tells you he wasn't a priority for Florida that's not true. Four Florida assistant coaches showed up at his school the week after he committed to Tennessee to try and convince him to visit. He had a teammate that was committed to the Gators as well.
Credit goes to the trio of Larry Scott, Don Mahoney and Gillespie for keeping him settled and in the fold. Throw in Jashon Robertson as well. The two bonded over the last few months and Tatum was back up in Knoxville last weekend for an unofficial and spent most of his time with Robertson.
Now, he has the longest ways to go of any of the three offensive linemen signed but he's bought in to getting bigger in the weight room recently and has already added some good weight.
