It didn’t take long for McCallie School coach
Ralph Potter to see that
Carson Gentle was likely to develop into a high-level college prospect, particularly given his family’s history on the football field. But since the end of his sophomore season last year, Gentle has continued to show that he might have an even higher ceiling than Potter initially thought.
Gentle, a Class of 2024 defensive lineman from Chattanooga, Tenn., announced Saturday morning that he has committed to Tennessee, choosing the Vols over early scholarship offers from a half-dozen other schools, including Stanford, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. He picked up an early offer from Tennessee more than a year ago and has participated in three of the Vols’ camps since last year.
Potter said the 6-foot-3, 241-pound Gentle burst onto the scene as a freshman at McCallie and played an even bigger role for the Blue Tornado last season, helping them complete an undefeated season to win their third consecutive state championship.
“He ended up starting most of the year as a freshman, as a defensive lineman, because we had a couple of injuries up front. And he ended up being probably better than the guys he replaced,” Potter said of Gentle, who’s ranked the No. 413 overall prospect and No. 34 defensive lineman in the 2024 class and the No. 7 rising junior from Tennessee, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“That didn’t surprise us. We knew he was going to be a really great player. But his freshman year, in 2020, was a bit of a surprise to us. You could tell that he was sort of on that pathway of being a great player, if you’re watching him develop and that sort of thing.
“But I think it was especially over the last nine months where you go from going, ‘Yeah, I mean, he’s going to be a really good college prospect,’ to being, ‘If he stays healthy, he can be a Sunday player one of these days.’”
Gentle impressed Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s staff with his offseason growth and development when he participated in the Vols’ Night at Neyland camp on June 4.
Potter said it also helps that he’s the younger brother of Harvard offensive linemen
Austin Gentle. His father, T.J. Gentle, also played football at Middle Tennessee before going to law school at Tennessee.
“He comes from a football family,” Potter said of
Carson Gentle. “T.J. played for Marion County, played for MTSU, and I think he’s a great dad in terms of guiding and directing and keeping Carson grounded. Then, his brothers, Austin and Jack, are both at Harvard. Both of them have different body types than Carson. But I think both of them are really great football players and have a good future.
“Carson is a different type in terms of body. The thing with him is that I think, just (from) the genetic upside standpoint, he’s almost unlimited. Just the way that he’s improved physically over the last two years is amazing, and I don’t see that stopping.
“I see him getting stronger and more flexible, faster and bigger to be able to really, if you look forward at him three, four years from now, I think he’s a top player in the country in college.”
Gentle’s approach on and off the field, Potter said, makes him “a culture-definer, program-definer kind of player.”
“The biggest thing, as a coach, is that he’s got a great attitude,” Potter said. “He’s going to work hard. He’s a good teammate. You always know what you’re going to expect from him. You never have to wonder whether he’s going to give you a 75-percent effort. He’s always going to show up. He’s always going to be there — very conscientious.
“He wants to do well. He wants to win, and he wants to help his teammates win. So I can’t say enough good things about him in terms of what Tennessee is going to get.”
Gentle said he has added about 25 pounds since the end of his sophomore season. He primarily played linebacker on defense last year as a sophomore, and Potter said he “was definitely one of our best players on defense last year on that 13-0 team.”
“Definitely had a great year last year,” Potter said of Gentle. “I mean, you would forget that he was a sophomore. But over the last nine months, since the season’s been over, he’s just really grown by leaps and bounds. He’s gotten stronger and probably added 20, 30 pounds, and there’s not an ounce of fat on him. He’s probably going to end up being more of a defensive end.
“He played linebacker last year. He’s probably going to be more of a defensive end, defensive-lineman type guy. I can see him being a real force at 250, 260 and being extremely fast, being able to be a physical presence, but also a speed presence.”
Potter said Gentle also played tight end last year and will continue to help on offense this season.
“The thing about it: It just depends on what kind of rotation we get with other defensive linemen and how much we use the tight end,” Potter said, referring to Gentle’s possible role on offense this year. “He can also play our ‘C,’ our H-back kind of guy. So Carson is one of those guys that, if you put him at split end, he’d probably be one of the best split ends. If you put him at guard, he’d be the best guard. If you put him at nose guard, he’d be the best nose guard.
“We’re going to move him around. The thing that you really have to be careful about is, a guy like that, you overuse him early especially. But I think we’ll have enough depth where he doesn’t have to overextend early in the year. But he’ll definitely be the first option on both offense and defense.”
♂
