SNAFU
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Tennessee is rolling
Jeremy Pruitt is well aware of what it takes to win at the highest level in college football, having been an assistant under Nick Saban before taking the head coaching job at Tennessee. He knows a roster without a bunch of elite-level talent will get swallowed up really fast in the SEC.
Don’t look now, but Tennessee is making moves.
The Volunteers started off this week with a bang by going into Alabama and earning a commitment from five-star weak-side defensive end Dylan Brooks of Roanoke (Ala.) Handley, the consensus No. 18 overall player in the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 1 weak-side defensive end in the 2021 class.
The next day, Pruitt secured a commitment from four-star safety Kamar Wilcoxson of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, the No. 266 overall player and the No. 14 safety in the country.
And then on the next day, Tennessee landed four-star wide receiver Julian Nixon of Roswell (Ga.) Centennial, the No. 238 overall player and the No. 42 receiver in the county.
So in three days, starting with Brooks’ commitment Sunday, Tennessee picked up three players from different Southern states — none of which were in-state talents — and moved up to No. 5 overall in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. That’s quite a week already.
Though the two four-star commitments are certainly important — especially the one from Wilcoxson, who was verbally committed to Florida on two separate occasions before landing at Tennessee — earning a commitment from Brooks was the most influential. Obviously any five-star commitment is important, but doing so by going into Alabama and taking the No. 1 player in the state from Alabama and Auburn was quite the move, especially during a time when Saban’s class is off to an awfully slow start and the Crimson Tide are in a position to lean on in-state talent.
Brooks is Tennessee’s first five-star commitment since Darnell Wright and Wanya Morris signed in 2019. It’s still April, though, so Pruitt is going to have to recruit Brooks like he never committed because you can bet Saban and Gus Malzahn are losing sleep over this. Auburn especially is a school to track in this recruitment moving forward.
Jeremy Pruitt is well aware of what it takes to win at the highest level in college football, having been an assistant under Nick Saban before taking the head coaching job at Tennessee. He knows a roster without a bunch of elite-level talent will get swallowed up really fast in the SEC.
Don’t look now, but Tennessee is making moves.
The Volunteers started off this week with a bang by going into Alabama and earning a commitment from five-star weak-side defensive end Dylan Brooks of Roanoke (Ala.) Handley, the consensus No. 18 overall player in the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 1 weak-side defensive end in the 2021 class.
The next day, Pruitt secured a commitment from four-star safety Kamar Wilcoxson of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, the No. 266 overall player and the No. 14 safety in the country.
And then on the next day, Tennessee landed four-star wide receiver Julian Nixon of Roswell (Ga.) Centennial, the No. 238 overall player and the No. 42 receiver in the county.
So in three days, starting with Brooks’ commitment Sunday, Tennessee picked up three players from different Southern states — none of which were in-state talents — and moved up to No. 5 overall in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. That’s quite a week already.
Though the two four-star commitments are certainly important — especially the one from Wilcoxson, who was verbally committed to Florida on two separate occasions before landing at Tennessee — earning a commitment from Brooks was the most influential. Obviously any five-star commitment is important, but doing so by going into Alabama and taking the No. 1 player in the state from Alabama and Auburn was quite the move, especially during a time when Saban’s class is off to an awfully slow start and the Crimson Tide are in a position to lean on in-state talent.
Brooks is Tennessee’s first five-star commitment since Darnell Wright and Wanya Morris signed in 2019. It’s still April, though, so Pruitt is going to have to recruit Brooks like he never committed because you can bet Saban and Gus Malzahn are losing sleep over this. Auburn especially is a school to track in this recruitment moving forward.
