Tag: Tennessee football recruiting

2021 recruiting: Tennessee fans, stop bragging. Georgia fans, stop panicking.

Looking at the 2021 recruiting class, Tennessee Vols fans should stop bragging and Georgia football fans need to stop panicking.

Georgia football’s 2021 recruiting class is as follows (all rankings via 247Sports)

5-star QB Brock Vandagriff: No. 2 QB, No. 12 overall

4-star OT Micah Morris: No. 9 OT, No. 61 overall

4-star ATH David Daniel: No. 4 ATH, No. 78 overall

4-star RB Lovasea Carroll: No. 7 RB, No. 117 overall

4-star SDE Jonathan Jefferson: No. 13 SDE, No. 145 overall

4-star WDE Elijah Jeudy: No. 10 WDE, No. 170 overall

3-star DT Marlin Dean: No. 28 DT, No. 447 overall

Right now, this is the nation’s 20th ranked class. Given the fact that Georgia has only seven commitments, being ranked No. 20 is just fine. It’s clear that Georgia is going for quality over quantity in this class, with its commits carrying an average rating of 94.52, which is third in the country.

For comparison purposes, Tennessee has the No. 2 class in the nation. But Jeremy Pruitt is certainly going for quantity in this class. With 23 verbals, Tennessee commits carry an average rating of 89.84. That’s the lowest in the top-five.

(Fun fact: Florida, which has the nation’s No. 7 ranked class, has an average rating of 87.41, which is the lowest in the top-10 and the second-lowest in the top-15).

Georgia commits, fans and coaches all know that Kirby Smart has plenty of time to work his magic and climb the rankings by the time the early signing period rolls around in December. Maybe enlisting a little help from current players and commits on Twitter is what it takes to expedite that process, which is something we’ve seen a lot of this month. 5-star quarterback commit Brock Vandagriff has led the surge, tweeting at a number of top players in the 2021 class recruiting them to Georgia.

It’s too early to start doing two things: Bragging and panicking.

Look at Alabama. Nick Saban currently has the nation’s No. 46 raked class for the 2021 cycle. Nobody thinks for a second that the Tide will finish outside of the top-five when all is said and done. There’s just too much time and too many elite players remaining.

And let’s stick with Tennessee for a moment. The No. 2 class is nice, but in the end I’d prefer a class of around 22 players filled with elite commits than a class consisting of 30+ players where a majority of them are three-stars.

Tennessee’s 23 commitments broken down by star rating:

  • One 5-star
  • Nine 4-stars
  • Thirteen 3-stars

Georgia has plenty of highly ranked uncommitted recruits still on its board, not to mention the ones that Kirby will try to flip to UGA.

NEXT…Georgia’s top remaining targets in the 2021 class

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Top Georgia TE picks Vols

2021 3-star TE Miles Campbell committed to Tennessee in an announcement on Twitter. Details here.

The Tennessee Volunteers receive another 3-star commitment, this time from Miles Campbell, one of the top tight ends in Georgia.

All rankings via 247Sports:

This brings the No. 2 ranked Vols 2021 recruiting class to 21 total commits with an average player rating of 0.8962, less than the 0.8992 average of the Vols 2020 No. 10 ranked recruiting class.

Campbell (6-3, 234) plays at South Paulding High School in Douglasville, Georgia, and is ranked as the No. 37 player in Georgia and the No. 20 TE overall. Campbell holds 32 offers, including one from Georgia, Florida, Miami and Auburn, but chose the Vols in an announcement on Twitter.

The Bulldogs currently sit at No. 18 in the 2021 recruiting class rankings with an average player rating of 0.954 and only seven commits. The low number of hard commits so far should tell you that Georgia coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs staff are only getting started — after all, Georgia is coming off of three No. 1 classes in a row.

Georgia target, top JUCO prospect picks commitment date

The University of Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee and more made the top schools for top rated JUCO recruit De’Jahn Warren.

The Georgia Bulldogs are in the running for another elite recruit. The University of Georgia has already made De’Jahn Warren’s initial list of top schools.

Warren is a junior college prospect, who will enter the major college football world as a member of the junior class. He plays for Lackawanna Community College in Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes, fans of The Office TV show, it’s that Scranton). 247Sports rates Warren as a four-star prospect. He is rated as their top JUCO prospect in the class of 2021.

Now, Warren has set his commitment date of December 14th. He will be taking an official visit to Georgia three days before he commits. That’s a good sign for Bulldog fans.

Warren, a talented cornerback, released his top schools via Twitter a month ago:

Among Warren’s top schools: Oregon, Penn State, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Nebraska, West Virginia, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma. Warren has a lot of elite programs to choose from. Will he stay near his community college and go to Penn State, who is favored to land him?

We’ll keep you updated on the progress of his recruitment. Top-rated JUCO prospects are often ready to plug and play, so Warren should make an impact at one of these colleges in 2021. Warren could be the next DJ Daniel if he come to Athens.

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4-star DT and Georgia recruiting target sets new commitment date

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, a Georgia football recruiting target, set a new commitment date.

Last week, 2021 four-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins released a top six of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida State, South Carolina, Penn State and Tennessee.

Prior to revealing his final group, the 6-foot-5-inch, 298-pounder tweeted that he would announce his decision on Sunday, May 17.

Shortly after, he decided he needed some more time to make this life-changing decision.

Ingram-Dawkins now has a new commitment date of June 26, which is his birthday.

“I’m committing June 26th, on my birthday,” Ingram-Dawkins said on Instagram Live.

247Sports has Ingram-Dawkins as the nation’s No. 17 ranked defensive tackle and as the top player in the state of South Carolina.

Per the composite rankings, he is considered the nation’s 408th overall player.

Per 247Sports, South Carolina is viewed as the leader for Ingram-Dawkins, with Georgia close behind.

But Ingram-Dawkins said he does not pay much attention to the crystal ball on his 247Sports player profile.

The crystal ball is their way of  projecting where a recruit will land by having  a few recruiting analysts make predictions for specific players.

Georgia offered him in January and got him on campus in early-March.

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Georgia recruiting target JJ Jones moves up decision date

JJ Jones, a Georgia football recruiting target, has moved up his decision date.

Earlier in May, 2021 four-star wide receiver JJ Jones announced his top five schools on Twitter.

North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia made the cut for the Myrtle Beach High School prospect.

He had planned to announce his final decision on his birthday, August 5, but tweeted on Wednesday night that he will now be committing sometime next week.

Per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Jones ranks as the nation’s 68 wide receiver, No. 3 player in South Carolina and No. 417 overall player in America.

Right now, 247Sports sees North Carolina as the favorite to land Jones, with South Carolina in second place.

In 2019, as a junior, Jones caught 45 passes for 707 yards and 15 touchdowns while being named to the All-Region team and third-team All State.

 

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins delays commitment: Considering UGA, Vols, FSU, more

4-star DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has delayed his decision. He is considering Georgia football, South Carolina, UNC, Penn State, FSU and Vols.

On Monday, 2021 4-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins released a top-six of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida State, South Carolina, Penn State and Tennessee.

Shortly before revealing his final group, the 6-foot-5, 298 pounder announced that he would be announcing his decision on Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m.

However, one day later, Ingram-Dawkins made a tweet saying that he’s decided to give his commitment “a little more thought.”

“I’ve decided to give my commitment a little more thought before making it on Sunday!!,” he said in a Tweet. “This is a life-changing decision that is very important to me!!”

247Sports has Ingram-Dawkins as the nation’s No. 17 ranked defensive tackle and as the top player in the state of South Carolina.

According to SportsTalkSC, Ingram-Dawkins will wait roughly 2-3 weeks.

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4-star Georgia, Tennessee target announces commitment

Katron Evans, a 4-star in the class of 2021, has announced his commitment to the Tennessee Volunteers. He was considered Georgia and others.

The Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers and more made the top eight schools for 2021 defensive tackle KaTron Evans. Unfortunately for UGA, Evans has committed to the University of Tennessee.

Evans has an impressive frame at 6 feet, 4 inches and 320 pounds and he plays high school football at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Dawgs will see him again in the SEC. He announced his commitment via Twitter:

Evan is a four-star recruit and a top-10 defensive tackle in his class. Here were the initial top schools he was considering:

Evans put Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, USC, TCU and Arizona State in his original top eight. Evans can’t currently visit schools due to the recruiting dead period, but decided to commit to the Volunteers anyway.

The Vols are on fire in recruiting at the moment, but will their commits stick? More recruits are committing early this year than previous years. Recruits are always heavily swayed by what they see on the field, so the 2020 season (if played) could cause a number of players to de-commit.

Kirby Smart and UGA have seven commitments in the class of 2021. The Dawgs already have one defensive tackle commit in Marlin Dean, who is an in-state three star talent.

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Georgia, several SEC schools among top six for 4-star lineman

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for 4-star in-state lineman Dylan Fairchild. Fairchild plays at West Forsyth High School.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for in-state lineman Dylan Fairchild.  Fairchild is a four-star offensive line recruit, who is considered both an offensive tackle and an offensive guard.

Fairchild plays his high school football at West Forsyth in Cumming, Georgia. He’s a key recruit in the class of 2021 and is considered one of the best linemen in the state.

Fairchild released his top schools via Twitter:

Fairchild puts LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee, and Auburn in his top schools. At 6-5 and 290 pounds, Fairchild has the size to compete in the SEC, but wouldn’t be the biggest lineman at UGA.

The Georgia Bulldogs offered Fairchild a scholarship back in March:

 

Fairchild would be a great addition to UGA’s class of 2021. Kirby Smart and the Dawgs are still building up their class of 2021.

Where is Fairchild going to play college football? He’s projected to join the Dawgs! Offensive line coach Matt Luke is an elite recruiter and won’t let many good in-state lineman leave.

It will be tough to top the elite class of 2020. Georgia currently has the 17th ranked class according to 247sports. The Dawgs have seven commitments in the class of 2021.

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4-star Georgia football target announces commitment date

The Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers target Katron Evans has set his commitment date.

The Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, and more made the top eight schools for 2021 defensive tackle Katron Evans. Evans has an impressive frame at 6 feet, 4 inches and 320 pounds. He plays high school football at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.

He announced his commitment date via Twitter:

Evan is a four-star recruit and a top-10 defensive tackle in his class. He released his top schools via Twitter:

Evans put Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, USC, TCU and Arizona State in his top eight. Evans can’t currently visit schools due to the recruiting dead period. Who will he choose.

Kirby Smart and UGA have seven commitments in the class of 2021. The Dawgs already have one defensive tackle commit. Marlin Dean is a lengthy in-state three star talent.

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Tennessee on recent recruiting surge; a look at Vols 2021 class

The Tennessee Volunteers now boast the No. 1 class in the SEC for the 2021 recruiting cycle

Coach Jeremy Pruitt and the Tennessee Volunteers coaching staff have been busy recruiting during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Vols have received 11 commitments in the 2021 recruiting class in the last two months, including six in the last two weeks.

Georgia fans remember Pruitt’s time as UGA’s defensive coordinator (2014-2015) under Mark Richt. Although the relationship did not work out, Pruitt was a very successful recruiter for the Bulldogs.

Fast forward to the 2021 recruiting cycle and Tennessee now has the No. 1 ranked class in the SEC and the 3rd best in the country behind Ohio State at No. 1 and Mack Brown’s North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 2.

Pruitt is a part of the same Nick Saban coaching tree that produced coaches like South Carolina’s Will Muschamp and Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Saban disciples are known for a strong defensive strategy and a knack for signing elite defensive talent. So far, the Vols have received commitments from two of the top defensive players in the country: 5-star outside linebacker Terence Lewis and 5-star weak-side defensive end Dylan Brooks.

Lewis (Opa Locka, Florida) is rated as the nation’s No. 9 overall player and as the No. 1 OLB in the country. Brooks (Roanoke, AL) is rated as the No. 1 WDE and the 29th best recruit overall. Other than Lewis and Brooks, Tennessee holds commitments from 15 more recruits, four of which are 4-stars.

On Sunday, the Vols also picked up a commitment from 4-star running back Cody Brown out of Lilburn, Georgia. A few days prior to that, they received a commitment from Roswell, Georgia native 4-star wide receiver Julian Nixon.

Tennessee’s 2021 class broken down by stars:

Two 5-star commits

Four 4-star commits

Eleven 3-star commits

Tennessee finished with the No. 10 ranked recruiting class in 2020, which unfortunately for the Vols, meant a No. 7 finish in the SEC.

That should prove to be Pruitt’s biggest obstacle while at Tennessee. Georgia, LSU, Florida, Alabama and Auburn are some of college football’s best recruiting programs.

However, if Tennessee can continue to take advantage of the down time and bring in more 5-stars, it may be able to compete for the top spot when the 2021 recruiting cycle comes to an end next year.

As for Georgia, Kirby Smart has the Bulldogs sitting at No. 16 in the country, but we are not nearly close enough to signing day to think about hitting the panic button. Kirby has finished with the No. 1 class for three consecutive seasons now, so it’s safe to bet on the Dawgs turning up the heat as we creep closer to December’s early signing day.