With less than 72 hours before the Early Signing Period, Tennessee has 18 commits, with room to sign as many as nine more guys in this class by the first week of February.
Here’s where things stand as of Sunday night…
The Vols feel good about their standing with 5-star tight end Darnell Washington coming off his final official visit. The Las Vegas native’s family, who made both the unofficial trip in October and this weekend’s official visit, really like Knoxville and have bonded well with Brian Niedermeyer and Jeremy Pruitt. Georgia, Alabama, and Miami, are all pushing for the nation’s No. 17 prospect but this has long shaped up to be a UGA-Tennessee battle, with Miami a dark horse team.
The feeling here is interesting in that both Tennessee and UGA have real confidence in landing Washington. Neither have lined up any backup plans should they fail to land the Under Armor All-American. Still, much like the Quavaris Crouch coup a year ago, the Vols are optimistic they will land the 5-star talent.
Elsewhere, Tennessee appears to have held off Kentucky and Florida for 4-star wideout Jimmy Calloway. The Peach State native wasn’t definitive on signing Wednesday, but in talking to folks, that is the expectation.
The Vols have waited longer than they probably preferred for 4-star lineman Tyler Baron, but all intel suggests that Tennessee has locked up the local standout coming off his OV this weekend. Baron will make his college announcement Wednesday at noon.
As for remaining targets, Tennessee remains in a good spot to flip both Kansas outside linebacker Khari Coleman and TCU quarterback Jimmy Holiday, per sources. The Vols are battling TCU’s pitch of early playing time, but Holiday really likes Jim Chaney, Will Friend and the rest of UT’s staff. Baring a change of plans, Holiday is set to make a final decision Wednesday.
Meanwhile, as of now, Auburn DL commit Jay Hardy plans to wait until February to sign, which means the Vols continue to grind and chip away in this one. Hardy continues to talk to the Vols regularly, and so do many in his family, which as of now is good news for the Vols to push this battle into 2020.
Morven Jospeh visited Florida State this weekend, causing some concerns among Tennessee faithful. Although the Vols were aware of the trip, with all the momentum with the 4-star outside linebacker, it was hardly ideal for them that Jospeh, a former FSU commit, opted to take a look at Mike Norvell’s new staff just a week after saying he was down to Tennessee and UF. The feeling among Tennessee is that it has weathered the storm here and still sit in a good spot for the Lakeland native, but when batting for a prospect that’s been committed to multiple schools within a calendar year, anything can happen. This one will be the one to track the day after signing day, with Jospeh signing at noon on Thursday.
Two Tennessee targets are scheduled to make their college choices early Wednesday morning. Len’Neth Whitehead is torn between Tennessee, Carolina and UCLA, but the Athens Academy athlete is definitely a take for the Vols, who preferred Whitehead to other options like Vai Kaho. The question is will Whitehead go through with his 7:30 a.m. plans or wait until later in the day or February? Meanwhile, 6-6, 300-pound lineman Reginald Perry will commit at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, with Tennessee in a great spot.
The Vols had one target come off the board this weekend, with 5-star tackle Tate Ragledge opting to stick with Georgia and sign Wednesday, and another target is trending away from Tennessee. Earlier in the week, the Vols had optimism landing 4-star lineman Octavious Oxendine, but after Mark Stoops’ in-home with the Kentucky native, and then Oxendine opting not to visit Tennessee unofficially this weekend as planned, the ‘Cats regained all the momentum here just three days before signing day.
Of Tennessee’s commits, we expect the following to sign Wednesday:
Harrison Bailey,
Omari Thomas
Jabari Small
Keshawn Lawrence
Dominic Bailey
Bryson Eason
Jalin Hyatt
Cooper Mays
Javontez Spaggins
Doneiko Slaughter
Tamarion McDonald
Martavius French
Tee Hodge
James Robinson
Jimmy Calloway
We’re keeping an eye on what Kyree Miller plans to do, as well as Will Albright and Darion Williamson.
