Offensive Guard/Tackle:
Possible: Andre Harris (Georgia): Liked Tennessee as a kid and has an offer, but his fan hood will not play a huge role. Lovejoy has been a good place for the Vols, Georgia and Auburn are 2 to watch out for; and Florida is in there strong as well. Was here for Junior Day and I think his recruitment will go all the way to signing day. No clear-cut favorite at this point, but we are in the mix
Possible: Kamran Joyer (Florida): Joyer is one of the most physically impressive kids I have seen this recruiting season. He is around 6-3 320 and really does not have much fat on him. He put up 35 reps of 185 pounds at a combine as a sophomore!!! Which is bordering on insane. He is not a great athlete, and does not have the quickest feet, which is why I see him more as a guard than a tackle. I posted his Sophomore film I the GQ a couple of days ago so if you are interested in watching just search his name that post will come up. His film shows what his numbers imply, that he is a man amongst boys. He absolutely dominated people once he gets locked in and this is as a sophomore. The one negative that his film does show is that he is pretty raw with his technique. He gets by with his strength on the high school level, and he is basically just shoving people out of the way. But if he wants to make it one the college level he is going to have to develop much better technique. But the kid has a mean streak that you just can’t teach, and if he buys in to the coaching he could be a great guard in college. He is by most local’s accounts a Top-50 player in the sunshine state, and has offers from South Carolina and us. Word is that Florida is close to throwing their hat in the ring with an offer, which could change things slightly. But as it stands right now I can say with great confidence that we lead for Kamaran Joyer. We are in really, really good shape here. We were the first team to offer him, and we have not let up since. He came to our Junior Day, which only opened our lead wider. Joyer said that he might want to make a decision in May which is very good news fro us. If his recruitment ended today I have no doubt we would land him. Things are always subject to change, but I think Joyer could be our first high-school commitment.
Possible: Alex Bullard (Tennessee): Alex is a 4-Star prospect and a member of the Rivals-250 list. He is one of the Top instate O-Lineman in a talent rich year. Alex is an important part of this recruiting class. He is being recruited by virtually everybody in the SEC. He is a very athletic offensive lineman, whom will likely have to put on some weight when he gets to the next level. He was here for the Junior Day, and while he does not list a leader, I think we are in good shape. Him and McHaney have talked about going to the same school and we have made a strong move with both of them. Alex is an important part of this recruiting class.
Possible: Courtney Easterwood (Tennessee): We offered Courtney very, very early, which should let you know how the staff feels about him as a prospect. While it is Memphis, we were able to pull Chris Walker out of the same high school with relative ease. He is an excellent athlete for his size and is a top 10 prospect in the state. I think we are in good position early.
Possible: Wesley Johnson (Tennessee): He is a little bit small right now as far as weight, but I have heard very good things about him as a technician and as a player. Being from MBA we are in a pretty good position early. He does not have an offer yet, but depending on what happens with guys such as Bullard and Easterwood he could get one. If he does get an offer, I would expect his recruitment to go very similar to that of Preston Bailey. He will takes some visits, but I would be surprised to see him go anywhere else. Wesley is at the front of the fallbacks line.
Work To do: Xavier Nixon (North Carolina): Is one of the top Offensive Tackles in the country. Not only does he have offers from everyone, but also he is the number 1 target on many schools board. The fact that schools like Georgia, Notre Dame and North Carolina want this kid more than anybody else out there will make his recruitment all the more difficult. Like many top prospect Xavier is sill sorting through his offers and trying to give everybody a look. He has mentioned the fact that he really wants to see Tennessee, so he is a guy to watch as a potential for our mid-April junior day. This kid is very diplomatic about the recruiting process and he does not have any biases. So I can t give you the “Scoop. It is as simple as it should be, Xavier won’t make any type of judgment until he sees us in person. It is a positive that he wants to make it in, but whether or not we get an official will depend on whether or not he enjoys himself.
Possible: Morgan Moses (Virginia): Mammoth out of Virginia has us listed as one of his top 3 teams. He is a 4-Star rivals 250 player. He has good athleticism considering the fact that he is 6-7 330 pounds. I like our chances to get an official visit, even though VT is historically very strong in this area.
Work To Do: Quinton Washington (South Carolina): Has an offer, and appears interested. Is by most accounts a top 10 player in the state of South Carolina. Blessed us with this disturbing quote a couple of months “I haven't visited there or talked to any of their coaches. They have a well-balanced team and their staff is good." To be fair this approach could have changed in recent months, and I would guess it has. Kid is a Kenneth Page (2008) clone down to the chinstrap beard. Just like Kenneth, if the staff does a good job I think we can get an official. It will be very difficult however to get him out of South Carolina
Work To Do: Austin Long (Tennessee): Austin Long is another top player at OT who is a 4-star and Rivals-250 member. The staff nearly put the GQ on cardiac arrest when they were beat to the punch by Georgia, Florida an Alabama in offering Austin. I think we fell behind early due to the exposure he had to those big time programs having visited them. However a solid visit to our Junior Day put us right back in the mix. There are a couple things about Austin that have people worried, he is from Memphis, he grew up a Gator fan, and we got in late. But I can tell you with real confidence that it think we are even with the pack here. Austin is not Barrett Jones; he doesn’t have any real ties to big programs. He seems like a very good kid, with a good head on his shoulders. He is going to go through the process and pick the school that is right for him. He will do this by visiting each school and talking to coaches. We are not in bad shape here; we are going to get a fair shake, just like all of the schools recruiting him. Like many out of Memphis, we will have to recruit him like an out of state kid, but an out of state kid that is interested. This is an old-fashioned recruiting battle that will come down to selling the University of Tennessee.
Work To Do: Jonnie Farms (Georgia): Kid already has offers from all the SEC powers and they got in before us. Originally said that he was favoring Alabama and Florida, But Jonnie really liked his Junior Day visit, and seems to like Fulmer quite a bit. Immediately after his visit to Knoxville he made it clear that Florida and Bama no longer led He is a little bit short at 6-1, but is an absolute monster at Guard. His film is absolutely littered with pancakes, and the kid has a mean streak. Is a national recruit who will take his visits, and i think Knoxville will be one of them.
Wait And See: Patrick Lewis (Louisiana): Liked us a lot early but said the staff has not talked to him in a really long time. Unclear weather or not he has an offer.
Wait And See: Aubrey Phillips (Tennessee):I have not seen any of his film just yet, but unless he is a very good athlete for his size (He is massive) I do not see us making a move there. Look for his recruitment to be similar to Jared Mcgaha (sp). He is not a take right now, in my mind.
Wait And See: David Born (California): Massive offensive line prospect from California, that we don’t know much about right now, except that he has impressed at some combines. Only has an offer from Colorado State, but has listed us throughout the process.
Long Shot: Nick Alajajian (Florida): Has an offer, but many think he is the top O-Lineman in Florida. I expect the big three to eat this guy up.
Long Shot: Marcus Hall (Ohio): Mentions us, but pulling a kid from Glennville away from OSU is near impossible. Has not talked in a while, and getting this kid into visit season would be big. But he is a long shot at this point
Long Shot: Eric Shrive (Pennsylvania): Top 100 player who just recently got an offer. Says he does not know much about the Vols right now, but is hoping to find more out. Looks a lot like Chris Farley.
Long Shot: John Martinez, Xavier Su'a Filo (Utah): Both of these Utah kids sport UT offers but have not mentioned us in articles. I would guess that both of these guys will stay out west.
