With a long frame, a quick first step and plenty of athleticism,
Caleb Herring has a skill set that made him a coveted prospect relatively early in his high school career.
Will Kriesky, Herring's coach at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn., believes he’s only going to continue to improve.
Herring, a four-star Class of 2023 edge rusher and top-100 prospect nationally, announced his commitment to Tennessee on Tuesday, picking the Vols over Georgia and scholarship offers from more than 30 schools. He immediately became one of the stars of Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, which was already ranked in the top 10 nationally in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Kriesky, who has coached Herring throughout his high school career, said it’s no mystery why the Vols have made Herring one of their top in-state targets for more than two years.
“You can do a lot of things with him on the field,” Kriesky said of Herring, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 50 overall prospect and No. 6 edge rusher in the 2023 class. “He can come off the edge, or he can play a little bit in space if he needs to. His range is so long and he’s developed.
“He kind of grew so fast, it took him awhile to figure out how to use his body. And he’s really, really now learned how to use his body, so he’s able to be more dominant.”
As a junior, Herring made 66 total tackles — including 24 tackles for loss and seven sacks — while also recording two interceptions and a pair of pass breakups. Riverdale has taken advantage of Herring’s versatility at outside linebacker, but Kriesky said Herring still has plenty of room for improvement, particularly as he continues to focus more of his attention on developing as an edge rusher.
“He needs to keep working on that — with his hands, being able to use his hands more and being able to take on the blockers and defeating the blocks,” Kriesky said. “He’s so long and rangy that he just kind of gets away with things in high school, whereas in college he’s going to have to do a better job with that.”
While Herring still needs to add plenty of weight to his lean, 6-foot-5.5 frame, Kriesky said he thinks Herring is capable of seeing the field early in his college career. He plans to arrive at Tennessee in January as an early enrollee.
“I think he can play early,” Kriesky said. “He’s real conscious, and he’s trying really hard to put on some weight. I think he’ll put on that weight to be able (to play).
“Him and his brother, they love football,” Kriesky added, referring to Herring’s older brother, Vols freshman linebacker
Elijah Herring. “You don’t get many kids that just truly love the game of football the way they do, and he’s going to do whatever he can to get himself on the field.”
Kriesky already has seen Herring develop off the field since the end of his junior season, with his older brother having enrolled at Tennessee in January.
“Caleb’s matured a whole lot,” Kriesky said. “I told somebody not too long ago, with his brother leaving in January, I’ve really gotten to see him take that leadership role. His brother’s always been around, so he relied on his brother. But Caleb has really picked up his leadership qualities.
“I mean, number one, he’s a hard worker. He’s a coachable kid, and he does things the right way.”
