Vols recruiting took off with ’21 class
BJ Ojulari gave Tennessee football a joyful day on Aug. 16, 2019.
The Marietta (Georgia) product committed to the Vols on that Friday afternoon, bringing Tennessee’s 2020 recruiting class to 14 commitments. Ojulari, who ultimately signed with LSU, was the fifth four-star commitment in Tennessee’s class in the 247Sports Composite when he announced for the Vols.
A year later, Tennessee football is recruiting at a different level: The Vols have 24 commitments with nine fourstars and a five-star.
The dead period
Tennessee has the No. 6 class in the nation a year after the class ranked No. 22 on Aug. 16. But in early March, the class was small and moderately regarded.
Tennessee has added 18 of the 24 members of its recruiting class since March 12, when the NCAA instituted a recruiting dead period, suspending all official or unofficial visits as the sports world responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vols got immediately to work. “You have to take the University of Tennessee to them,” coach Jeremy Pruitt said on a Zoom call in early April.
Pruitt described a social media effort and reliance on already-made evaluations to build the class. The Vols were in constant communication with 2021 prospects, which quickly paid off.
“I don’t think every school knew how to approach it,” 247Sports’ Tennessee recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan said. “But I think some schools like Tennessee saw the uncertainty and turned up the heat on some guys and made their already strong relationships even stronger by talking to them all the time. …
“I think it helped them land some guys that might have waited longer to make some decisions.”
Callahan said nationally there was a trend of commitments in April and May that eclipsed a typical year.
The Vols added 16 commitments between March 30 and May 22, including eight of the nine highest-ranked commitments. Top-ranked outside linebacker Terrence Lewis committed on April 30.
The right things to sell
Tennessee has capitalized on the bizarre sports scene in 2020, but the Vols also had some key factors working for them in building the 2021 class.
Pruitt has been the Vols coach for more than two years, during which he has established his recruiting presence as a head coach.
“Jeremy Pruitt has the lay of the land and developed relationships with guys,” Callahan said.
“When you get to that point and get past that, you can start recruiting as normal. I think we have seen that pay off. A lot of guys they landed early this year were guys they started recruiting a long time ago.”
Tennessee also showed major progress in the back half of the 2019 season after a rough start, giving the Vols onfield momentum to sell on the recruiting trail. UT closed on a six-game winning streak, including a comeback victory in the Gator Bowl.
“You can sell what Tennessee is building right now,” Callahan said. “I think a lot of people are buying into it. … I think they were ready to take a step up.”
Pruitt also dialed up a recruiting focus amid staff turnover this offseason. The Vols have four new on-field assistants.
Two of UT’S new position coaches rank among the SEC’S top 10 recruiters in 247Sports’ rankings.
“(Tight ends coach) Joe Osovet and (running backs coach) Jay Graham have had a lot of success this year and that has played a big part in what they have done so far,” Callahan said.
How does it finish?
Tennessee’s 2020 class finished No. 10 in the nation thanks to strong closes to the December early signing period and February’s national signing day. UT added 10 players after Dec. 9, including five four-star prospects.
The 2021 class also could end with a splash — an opportunity aided by an impressive spring and summer stretch.
“Tennessee will have a chance to upgrade,” Callahan said. “They have a chance to land some highly rated guys. They are in a position because of having so many commitments where they can go over some big names. They can cherry pick and go after some big-name guys.”
Tennessee is still in the mix with players such as five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims, five-star linebacker Smael Mondon, four-star cornerback Nyland Green and four-star defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-dawkins.
“That is going to be the big question: How much better can this class get?” Callahan said. “It is a good class right now, but they still need to fill some needs and land some big names if this will be a Top 5 type of class.”