Tennessee picked up commitment 19 for the 2014 season on Sunday evening when JUCO wide receiver Eric Lauderdale from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California pledged his commitment to the Vols.
Lauderdale, who is considered the top-rated junior college prospect according to JCFootball.com, measures 6-foot-2 and weighs in at 190 pounds. Both Rivals and 247 rate him as a 4-star prospect.
I’m Officially Committed to the University of Tennessee #WRU #Volsnation
— Eric Lauderdale (@e_lauderdale) July 15, 2013
“It’s Wide Receiver U,” Lauderdale told Rivals.com. “And, they’re running a no-huddle offense this year. I saw what they did at Cincinnati, they threw the ball a lot and they’re going to do the same thing. They’ll probably have three or four receivers in the game and he said they want to get up to 90 plays a game.”
The talented receiver had initially planned to be an early enrollee, but reportedly had some issues with online classes and won’t enroll at Tennessee until summer of 2014. He will have three years to play two seasons.
Lauderdale is originally from Fayetteville, GA, but after his mother passed away during his senior year in high school, he wasn’t able to qualify academically. Hargrave was the next stop before ending up at Saddlebrook, but the hefty price tag was too much of a burden on his family.
Last season, Lauderdale caught 60 passes for 916 yards and seven touchdowns.
Primarily recruited by Zack Azzanni, Lauderdale received an offer from Tennessee in early April and after watching the Orange and White game, believes he can compete for playing time right away. He visited Knoxville on June 13th.
Tennessee now has the top-ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com.
Butch Jones, who can’t specifically comment on individual recruits, tweeted following Lauderdale’s commitment.
Great way to start #FoundationWeek, just added another brick to the 2014 foundation! #BrickByBrick the #Vols are #R
— Butch Jones (@UTCoachJones) July 15, 2013
Eric Lauderdale Video Highlights:
Eric Lauderdale highlights on Hudl – http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1516831/highlights/31743386
Eric Lauderdale highlights on YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ9zimoqDqI
Eric Lauderdale highlights on PrepForce – http://www.prepforce.com/video/4172