Vols have nation’s No. 14 class

The Tennessee Volunteers played 12 football games from early September through late November, winning eight and losing four.

What didn’t they do during that time? Land a commitment.

The Vols have slipped in recent weeks to No. 14 in the 247Sports.com recruiting rankings entering Wednesday’s start to the 72-hour early signing period. Tennessee has four prospects ranked in the top-100 nationally — edge rusher Jordan Ross (No. 11) of Birmingham, receiver Mike Matthews (No. 28) of Lilburn, Georgia, receiver Braylon Staley (No. 78) of Johnston, South Carolina, and tackle Bennett Warren (No. 90) of Sugar Land, Texas — with Ross committing on Aug. 21.

Tennessee didn’t add a commitment after Ross until Sunday, when the Vols received a pledge from defensive lineman Jamal Wallace of Sierra College in Rocklin, California.

“The perception of this class is going to be largely viewed as just OK for the most part for a lot of fans, and I don’t know if that’s totally fair,” 247Sports analyst Ryan Callahan said Tuesday. “I understand why they’ve gotten to that conclusion, because here in the past few months, Tennessee hasn’t had many wins.”

Two of the more notable misses were four-star linebacker Chris Cole of Salem, Virginia, who committed to Georgia in September, and five-star tackle Jordan Seaton of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, who committed to Colorado earlier this month.

Georgia has the top-rated class of commitments, with Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State and Texas rounding out the top five.

“I think Tennessee has a good class, and in the era of the transfer portal, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t sign 25 or 30 good players,” Callahan said. “It’s a class that has quality at the top, which Tennessee classes haven’t always had, and I think it’s better than that No. 14 ranking might suggest.”

Of Tennessee’s 21 commitments, 10 are already on campus as early enrollees, including the Bradley Central duo of