KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee was named one of the “Winners” of the 2019 Early Signing Day by 247Sports and vaulted into the top 10 of the Rivals National Team Rankings at No. 9 following an impressive haul of 21 signees on Wednesday during Day 1 of the Early Signing Period.
“We’re really excited about the guys that signed with us today,” Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “We have 21 signees. This has been a long road. When you think about when we first got here two years ago, we started recruiting a lot of these guys two years out. We’ve built a lot of relationships with them. I think it says a lot about the men on our staff, the people that work in our recruiting department, everybody associated with our program, from administration, to the weight room, nutritionists, athletic training, to the staff over at the Thornton Center in academics, and everybody across campus. When you talk about recruiting, it’s a team effort. We have used all the resources here at Tennessee, from – to start with, our Chancellor – to some of the deans in certain departments. Everybody’s been bought in and has done everything they could to sell this program. Our players, our current players – I can’t say enough about what they’ve done, in the interactions when these guys come to campus and building relationships.”
Ten of the Vols’ signees hail from the state of Tennessee, including the state’s top-rated player according to 247Sports Key Lawrence, a defensive back from Nashville who is also ranked fourth in his position and 66th overall nationally. Additionally, the Vols signed six of Tennessee’s Top 10 players in the 2020 Class. Tennessee added five players from Memphis, two from Knoxville, one from Maryville, one from Nashville and one from Greeneville to next year’s roster.
“I believe these 10 guys from this state have a lot of pride in the University of Tennessee, they wanted to represent their home state,” Pruitt said. “They have goals for how they want their next four years to turn out. They’ve really taken it upon themselves to recruit each other and recruit other guys out there. I’m excited to have these guys here. They all have great character, their leaders, and they’re guys that I want to be attached to and (guys) that we want in our program and the guys on our team wanted them in our program. I really believe that these guys will help continue to lay the foundation for years to come.”
A total of nine signees are ranked in the top 15 in their respective states which include Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina and Maryland, while eight are ranked in the top 10 in their positions.
The Vols’ incoming class also features four players that recently won state championships including offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins (Class 6A) from East Saint Louis, Ill., who led his team to an undefeated season. Quarterback Harrison Bailey (Marietta, Ga./Class AAAAAAA), receiver Jalin Hyatt (Irmo, S.C./Class 5A), and standout running back from nearby Maryville, Tenn., Tee Hodge (Class 6A) also capped off their scholastic careers with a state title.
A trio of linebackers from Memphis – Bryson Eason, Martavius French and Tamarion McDonald – who played together in high school, each signed with the Vols as well on Wednesday and were selected to play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game on New Year’s Eve.
Also coming from Memphis are high school teammates from Briarcrest Christian Academy – defensive lineman Omari Thomas, who was named Tennessee’s Mr. Football (Division II-AAA) and is one of seven UT signees in the ESPN 300, and Jabari Small, the No. 11-rated all-purpose back.
A consensus top-five player in the state of Tennessee, Tyler Baron will join the Orange and White as an outside linebacker, while his teammate Cooper Mays, one of the state’s top 10 recruits, will join the Vols offensive line along with James Robinson (Montgomery, Ala.).
UT’s backfield will be joined by Georgia’s eighth-ranked player Len’Neth Whitehead (Athens, Ga.), who was a three-time state champion in the shot put, while the receiving corps added Jimmy Calloway (Morrow, Ga.), who earned Region 4-6A Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 and is the ninth-ranked athlete in the country.
Defensive back Doneiko Slaughter (Roswell, Ga.) comes in with first-team all-region honors, while RJ Perry (Fairfield, Ala.) who was all-state in football and basketball, and Dominic Bailey (Baltimore, Md.) who will participate in the 2020 Under Armour All-American Bowl, will join the Vols defensive line.
The Vols will add more depth in its play-calling group, also signing quarterback Jimmy Holiday (Madison, Miss.) who participated in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. The lone signee from Florida was outside linebacker Morven Joseph who helped lead his team to Class 6A district title this year.
Rounding out the class was the nation’s fifth-ranked long snapper according to ESPN and 247, Will Albright (Greeneville, Tenn.), who was one of four signees selected for the All-American Bowl.
Overall, the 21 incoming student-athletes hail from eight states (Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, Florida) and 18 led their teams to playoff appearances in their senior seasons.
——————————
Jeremy Pruitt Signing Day Press Conference Transcript
Opening Statement:
“To start with, we’re really excited about the guys that signed with us today. We have 21 signees. This has been a long road. When you think about when we first got here two years ago, we started recruiting a lot of these guys two years out. We’ve built a lot of relationships with them. I think it says a lot about the men on our staff, the people that work in our recruiting department, everybody associated with our program, from administration, to the weight room, nutritionists, athletic training, to the staff over at the Thornton Center in academics, and everybody across campus. When you talk about recruiting, it’s a team effort. We have used all the resources here at Tennessee, from – to start with, our Chancellor – to some of the deans in certain departments. Everybody’s been bought in and has done everything they could to sell this program. Our players, our current players – I can’t say enough about what they’ve done, in the interactions when these guys come to campus and building relationships.
“If you look at our recruiting class, I think you’ve got to start at home base, which is in this state. We have 10 guys that signed with us from this state and they’re from all across the state, from Memphis to East Tennessee. I’m just glad to keep guys here at home.
“When you talk about needs, I think offensively you’ve got to start at the quarterback position. We signed two guys in Harrison Bailey and Jimmy Holiday. Probably, the two guys couldn’t really be any more different when you look at them as football players. Harrison’s a big guy that has a live arm. He really does a lot of things from within the pocket. He actually just led his team to a state championship. He’s a guy that really has anticipation throwing the football. He’s a great leader, captain of his football team. Jimmy Holiday’s a guy that’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s kind of one of these guys that you’re seeing that’s changing the game in pro football right now with his versatility of how he can run the football, different types of run games that he can do. He’s a guy that anytime he has the ball in his hands, has a chance to go the distance for a touchdown.
“At running back, a local guy here in Tee Hodge is a guy that we targeted early on. He came to one of the first camps that we had here. Again, another guy that’s part of a state championship team. He’s a big guy, loves Tennessee and wanted to be here. He’s been a core guy in this class to help recruit. He committed and never wavered the whole time. Len’Neth Whitehead from Athens Academy in Athens, Georgia, is a guy that’s a big athlete. He’s probably 235 pounds but throws the shot (shot put) 69 feet, so that tells you a little bit about his athleticism. Unfortunately, he had an injury this past year and didn’t get to finish, but his high school team has been to the state championship a couple of times over the last few years. Athletes, Jabari Small is a guy from Briarcrest that can play tailback. He can play in the slot. To me, he’s a guy very similar to a guy we signed last year in Eric Gray. He’s used to winning and he’s a guy that can get out of the backfield and create mismatches, a rocket sweep guy, return guy.
“At wide receiver, Jimmy Calloway. Jimmy’s a guy that played a lot of quarterback in high school, a little bit of wildcat. He’s a kick return guy, extremely fast. He has tremendous upside. Any time he touches the ball, he has a chance to score. He really played both sides of the ball in high school, but he’s a guy that we’ll focus on at wide receiver. He’s a very instinctive guy. Jalin Hyatt, from Columbia, South Carolina, is a guy that – I think I saw his record, he’s 51-1-1 as a high school player – so a guy that’s used to winning. He won his fourth consecutive state championship this past year. When you talk about fast, the guy runs a 10.4 in 100 meters. He’s a really good route runner, a guy that committed to our class back in the summer and never wavered the entire time. I don’t think he took another visit. We’re extremely happy about both of those guys.”
“Upfront, starting with a local guy Cooper Mays, a guy that we saw when we first got here. Was playing center, guard and a little bit of defense, but you talk about toughness, knows how to play the game instinctively. Plays with the right leverage up front, a guy that we think has tremendous upside, a guy that could come in here and contribute right away.
“James Robinson from Montgomery, Alabama, is a guy that came to camp this past year so we had a chance to see him work. He played right tackle on his high school team but is a guy that would probably end up being a guard for us. A guy that has power, he’s 6-3 320 pounds and he came here at camp and probably took 60 or 70 reps of one-on-one in about an hour. He took rep after rep which tells you a little bit about his competitive spirit.
“Javontez Spraggins from East St. Louis is another guy that was a part of a state championship team and probably 6-2, 338 pounds. A guy that is extremely athletic and has really good balance and body control and is probably as excited about having a chance to continue his football career in college as anybody I’ve been a part of in recruiting. A guy that is hungry and ready to get here, he’s already been calling today wanting to get the playbook, wanting to get the next workout. He’s a guy that’s used to winning.
“On the defensive side I think you have to start upfront. The first scholarship that we got in today was Omari Thomas out of Briercrest. A guy that can play anywhere up and down the line of scrimmage, he’s 6-4, 300 pounds, a guy that could play defensive end all the way to nose guard. A guy we’ll probably start outside and work our way around but is a guy that can play all three downs. A very good basketball player, also plays tennis, so that tells you what kind of athletic ability he has there.
“Dominic Bailey is a guy that’s been committed to us for a long time out of St. Francis Academy in Baltimore, Maryland. I went and watched these guys practice and I thought it was the Pittsburgh Steelers out there at practice their high school team was so big. The guys he’s practiced against every single day are all guys that are probably going to college, so he’s going to be used to the wear and tear when he gets here. Again, a guy that’s used to winning and was sold on UT from the first day that he got here.
“RJ Perry out of Birmingham, Alabama, is a very unique athlete, he is 6-6, 305 pounds and has 35 inch arms. He played tight end some in high school, played left tackle, played defensive line and also played a little bit of wide receiver. That’s kind of an unusual combination. You go watch him play basketball, a very good basketball player, but a guy that we felt like was exactly what we were looking for when it comes to the defensive side of the ball.
“Tyler Baron, a local product here, is a guy we targeted early on two years ago and we felt like is one of the best players in the country. He has a unique blend of size and speed, is 6-4, 265 pounds that could play all four downs, could probably play up and down the line of scrimmage. He is a guy we see as an outside linebacker. For us, when we are looking for that, we are looking for 4-3 defensive ends, guys that can come off the edge and a guy that can play all three downs.
“Martavius French to me is a guy that can play all four positions. When is comes to linebacker he can play inside or he can play outside. He’s from Memphis, we signed a couple of his teammates and all of these guys, I think in the last two years they’ve only lost two ballgames, but when you talk about hardnose, loving the game and when you go watch this guy play you can see before the ball snaps he knows what play is really coming from the offensive side of the ball. You can tell he studies the game, he knows how to play the plays on defense and is a guy we’re excited about.
“Morven Joseph, we just got his commitment in, is another guy that can play all four spots at linebacker. He has unique ability to rush off the edge, could actually play inside, and will be a great special teams player. He has length, range and is probably going to grow a lot if you look at his build. Has wide shoulders, length, big arms and big hands, so a guy that probably going to add some weight. A guy that can play all four spots, is a playmaker, so when it gets to third down and you’re trying to decide how you are going to play this guy, are you going to rush him off the edge or is he going to be a guy that plays inside and playing on the better running backs in our league?
“When you talk about inside linebackers, (you start with) Bryson Eason. (He’s a) 6-2, 270-pound guy, large man, big hands. You’re talking about a bumping guy that is instinctive and can run from sideline to sideline. Played a lot of ball, had a chance to go watch these guys play this past fall and he’s all over the field. Him and French played on the same high school team and they were tough to get any yards against.
“When you look at defensive backs, Tamarion McDonald is a guy who played again at Whitehaven there in Memphis. One of the Tennessee guys. To me, this is a guy that can play safety, he can play STAR, he’s 6-2, 205 pounds. Big bone density and a guy who can possibly grow into a linebacker, but we will start him off at safety. He will be a phenomenal special teams’ player because he’s a runner, he’s a hitter, has really good ball skills and he’s used to winning.
“Keshawn Lawrence is a guy from Nashville at Ensworth. To me, he’s a guy that can play all five positions. He reminds me of a few guys that I’ve coached over the years that now play in the NFL. He has length, he has great ball skills. When you watch his tape, everything he does is with instincts. He’s a great punt returner, kickoff returner and he’s a guy that committed early in our class and has really been a big part in recruiting the other guys.
“The last guy here is Doneiko Slaughter. We had him in camp this past year, we didn’t offer him at camp, we really thought that he had some unique ability in his cover ability. His hips, his movements is everything were looking for and we wanted to watch his senior tape. He had a phenomenal senior year. He had four defensive touchdowns, was all over the field, a guy who kind of played in the slot like a STAR. He can cover, he has range in the backend, he’s instinctive, he’s a ballhawk and we are excited to have him.
“Last but certainly not least, Will Albright. Will is a guy who played inside linebacker on his high school football team. He’s a long snapper who came to camp two years ago and we felt like he was the best guy at our camp. As a long snapper, we are going to need one next year and he’s a football player. When you look at our class top to bottom, we are excited about them. The guys are used to winning, they are close, they have a group text message going amongst them, and these guys are excited about being here. I can’t say enough about our current players and what they meant to this recruiting class. They’re our best recruiters and they will continue to be that. I’m excited about the foundation of these guys and I can’t wait to get them here and get started with them.”
On how much emphasis is put on pure size and speed when it comes to recruiting:
“Well, there’s critical factors for every position. If you’re talking about a defensive back, you’re going to talk about how you play the ball in the deep part of the field and how you tackle in space, and how do you play man-to-man. You have to have a plan for what that size and speed that you’re looking for. Football players come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, there are exceptions to the rules, but we would like the bigger, the longer, the faster guys that we can find. As we go through that, size and speed matters, but to me how you play on the field matters the most. And the next thing to me is what kind of make-up do you have? What kind of intangibles do you have? Are you a captain on your high school team? What do the people in your school say about you? How do you effect your teammates? That’s important when you’re building a team.”
On recruiting guys who can play multiple positions:
“When we recruit our guys, we are going to recruit them for a certain position. All these guys know exactly what they want to play, and we are going to let them play exactly what they want to play. It doesn’t do us any good to recruit somebody, tell them one thing and play them at another position. We are going to play these guys at the positions that they want to play. Over the years I have seen that change. When Bryce Thompson got here, he was a quarterback in high school. When we recruited him, we said, ‘Listen, we are going to recruit you as an athlete. Probably be a wide receiver.’ When he got here, he asked if he can try defensive back. He made that decision. Alontae Taylor was a guy who was a high school quarterback, so when he gets here, he works the first half of spring as a wide receiver and the second half as a defensive back, and from there he decided what he wanted to play. We let the players decide.”
On how the early signing period has affected the senior seasons for high school players and how much stock he puts into the senior seasons for players:
“You want to sign guys that are playing their best ball the last part of their career. Most guys, when you look at them, they’re going to be better players their senior year than they were their freshman year. The same thing will happen in college. And if you find guys that aren’t playing their best ball their senior year, than you better figure out why. We feel like the guys we signed today all were playing their best ball their senior year.”
On Harrison Bailey’s senior season and how he’ll improve the quarterback room:
“If you followed Harrison Bailey, his name kind of hit the scene when he was in the eighth grade. The thing that really has attracted me to him and his family is the way the guy never let that affect him. Harrison Bailey was getting offers probably when he was in the eighth grade, the guy continues to improve every single year. If you look at where he was at going into his junior year, he was 6-5, 239 pounds. We met up there in our office and I talked to him about how we wanted him here at Tennessee, but I also talked to him about some things I thought he could improve his game on. The next year, going into his senior year, he’s lost 20 pounds, he’s probably gone from a 5.2 40 (yard dash) to a 4.8 40 (yard dash). The guy takes pride in the way he plays and the way he prepares. He’s like a gym rat, he’s always trying to improve his game, and if you watch him, he has improved tremendously over the course of his high school career.”
On David Johnson being able to recruit Memphis so well and if there is part of the state that they will focus on for the February signing period:
“Dave (David Johnson) along with the rest of the guys on our staff have done a fantastic job, Dave in particular, building the relationships in the Memphis area, kind of laying the foundation. He was involved with other players also, so Dave has done a tremendous job. All of our guys did. Sometimes in recruiting – whether it’s the head coach or a certain guy on the staff maybe gets too much credit or not enough – it really takes everybody, and I think Dave would be the first one to tell you that, that it takes everybody to recruit somebody. They’ve done a tremendous job for us this year.”
On how important the longstanding commits, especially the in-state commits, were in recruiting other guys for this class:
“I believe these 10 guys from this state have a lot of pride in the University of Tennessee, they wanted to represent their home state. They have goals for how they want their next four years to turn out. They’ve really taken it upon themselves to recruit each other and recruit other guys out there. I’m excited to have these guys here. They all have great character, their leaders, and they’re guys that I want to be attached to and (guys) that we want in our program and the guys on our team wanted them in our program. I really believe that these guys will help continue to lay the foundation for years to come.”
On how the early signing period affects programs that are trying to rebuild:
“I do believe it puts pressure on the early signing period on a staff to put together what you want to put together in the first class. Do I think that should change? Absolutely not. I think the early signing period is a good thing. No. 1, for a lot of these guys that know where they were going to go. I guess in the SEC, there’s probably – I don’t know what the number would be – but probably 85 percent of the guys that are going to go to an SEC school probably signed today, and they knew that. They knew where they wanted to go, so it’s over with. The next six weeks they don’t have somebody calling them, they don’t have to meet with people at the school, so it takes a little pressure off of them from that standpoint. It probably does the same thing for the high school coach, so they can continue to improve their own team. I know it gives us as college coaches an opportunity to start recruiting the next class. The recruiting calendar has really just moved up by about two months, so everything has kind of changed and it’s something that you have to adapt to.”
On signees that were committed before the season started:
“I believe the guys in this class that have been committed back out before the season started, they knew why they wanted to come to Tennessee. They believed in the direction we were heading. They believe in our coaching staff, our vision, and they believed in the players that were here. They want to play with good players. We got a chance to do something special here. Kind of like our team, our team really never wavered, they just kept going to work and tried to fix the mistakes we were making. We did that the last half of the year and the guys stuck with us. I think it says a lot about them. It says a lot about their character, their make-up, which to me is almost as important, or it might be more important, than how big and how fast you are.”
On possibly having five scholarship quarterbacks next season:
“It’s a good thing. One thing I figured out a long time ago, you better keep signing quarterbacks until you got one, because if you don’t have one, it’s going to be hard to win a game. So, we’ll have five really good guys on our team and the way we practice, they will all get an opportunity and get the same amount of reps. There will be lots of competition in that room and that’s going to make them all better.”
On recruiting Cooper Mays, even though he has a brother that plays at Georgia:
“Cooper is a guy that really loves the University of Tennessee. He’s a guy that we targeted early on and recruited him. We’re excited about him. Like I said before, he’s hard-nosed, loves the game, tough, plays the game the right way and has been a big part in this recruiting process, helping us bring other guys here.”
-UT Athletics
