Gibbs lineman Lane commits to UT
When Ollie Lane received a scholarship offer from Tennessee almost two months ago, he admitted he was a “huge Tennessee fan” and he was “astonished” to have the opportunity to play for the Vols. In the end, it was too tempting for him to pass up. The three-star junior offensive lineman from Gibbs High School announced Wednesday morning that he has committed to Tennessee, choosing the hometown Vols over offers from nearly 20 other schools, including Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
Lane gave Tennessee its third known commitment for the 2018 class, joining a pair of fellow in-state prospects: five-star offensive lineman Cade Mays of Catholic and Top247 athlete Alontae Taylor of Coffee County Central High in Manchester.
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Lane said at the time he picked up the offer from Tennessee on Feb. 20 that the idea of committing to the Vols on the spot at least briefly crossed his mind, and he has been high on them ever since then.
“I can’t lie: Tennessee is one of those dream schools for a Knoxville native,” he said after learning of his offer from Tennessee.
“It’s just pretty humbling to know that I have the ability to play at such a high level of football.”
Lane has become plenty familiar with Tennessee coach Butch Jones’ staff and the Vols over the past several weeks. He already has visited them a handful of times this year, and he returned to Tennessee three times during its first three weeks of spring practice, most recently attending the Vols’ second spring scrimmage on Saturday.
Tennessee’s coaches made it clear to him during his recent visits, he said, that they “want me here,” and he said last month that he believes he “could become a really great offensive lineman” for the Vols “because I’ve got the drive and the want to do so.”
Lane is ranked the nation’s No. 787 overall prospect and No. 36 offensive guard in the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 class.
While he primarily has played guard at Gibbs, he said first-year Tennessee offensive line coach Walt Wells “sees me playing as a center just because of how athletic I am and how quick I get off the ball.”
“He said that I’ll probably play inside, but he says he really sees me playing at center,” Lane said in February.
Vols on the move: Tennessee moved up in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings with the addition of Lane.
Tennessee jumped nine spots to No. 34 nationally in 247Sports' team rankings, which are based on the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
With a team score of 64.66, Tennessee now is ranked eighth in the SEC, ahead of Mississippi State (No. 35), South Carolina (No. 39), Vanderbilt (No. 43) and Georgia (No. 49). Ole Miss and Missouri still are awaiting their first commitments for the 2018 class.
The Vols also are just 12.07 points behind No. 25 Nebraska, which has four commitments and a team score of 76.73.
Miami, which already has 15 commitments for the 2018 class, currently is ranked No. 1 nationally, followed by Penn State, Notre Dame, LSU and Clemson.