We begin this edition of the War Room in a different way. The War Room is a collective effort of notes and news gathered throughout the week by Brent, Rob, Austin and Jesse that is located only on the General's Quarters. Jeremy Pruitt and the staff are recruiting coast to coast and current squad is getting settled in with a new strength staff … Now, it's on with the news.
Buckle up, y’all. Inside a week before National Signing Day, Tennessee is set for its wildest finish in years.
The Vols will host three official visitors this weekend — 5-star corner Isaac Taylor-Stuart, former running back commit Jashaun Corbin and former UK baseball signee and Peach State defensive back Trevon Flowers.
There’s no sugarcoating how pivotal a visit it is for ITS and Tennessee. At this point, both parties really need each other. Taylor-Stuart has a spot at USC, but he’s publicly pinned for a chance to play college football outside of California, and Tennessee and Texas A&M are really his only big-time options right now. The Vols locked in the OV with an in-home visit from Terry Fair earlier this week, and as we noted last night, both of Taylor-Stuart’s parents will now accompany him to Knoxville this weekend. His father resides in San Diego, while his mom lives in Phoenix, so it’s a nice get to have both make the visit.
As for Corbin and Flowers, both prospects have become major factors recently. Tennessee has tried to get Flowers on campus for three weeks, with his SEC waiver finally cleared for a trip this weekend. In the time between, Flowers has heard from a number of other schools, getting an offer from Clemson on Monday. He visited the Tigers the last two days. Corbin has reemerged as a Tennessee target, too, as Robert Gillespie visited the tailback three times in the last three weeks — including an in-home with Jeremy Pruitt to secure Corbin’s final OV this weekend. This one is shaping up to be a Tennessee-Texas A&M battle at the end.
Elsewhere, a pair of Tennessee commits — Jordan Young and Anthony Grant — are set to take OVs to FSU this weekend, while top targets Quay Walker (UGA) and Jacob Copeland (UF) are visiting division rivals.
The Vols had almost their entire staff in South Georgia on Thursday, going in-home with Young, Walker and JJ Peterson. All eyes were on the Walker visit and he tweeted himself it was a GREAT visit. After talking to some people, we believe Tennessee is positioned nicely. Both Alabama and Auburn sources have expressed pessimism on their chances, but Tennessee still has one final hurdle to clear. Georgia is going to get the final say with Walker’s OV to Athens this weekend.
Again, with six days to go before NSD, there’s not a single prospect on UT’s board who you can project with any significant certainty to the Vols. And that’s just the truth. The Vols have done really, really well in the last month to get in play for some of the best remaining unsigned prospects in the country, but the way the numbers and board has shaken, they’re looking at a recruiting version of baseball’s three true outcomes: Home run, strikeout or a duck on the pond scenario to simply setup the next class.
Tennessee is in several coin-flip battles, a couple three-legged races and a few Hail Mary’s too. Fluid is the classic buzzword in recruiting, but right now, corners Eddie Smith and Taiyon Palmer are the latest targets off the board for UT, while a bunch of top prospects remain in play.
The rest…
* Quay Walker — Tennessee, UGA and Auburn battle — again, with some sources tonight suggesting this truly boils down to UT-UGA
* Jacob Copeland — Tennessee and UF, unless Alabama has a spot on NSD
* Glenn Beal — Tennessee remains quite optimistic, but Texas A&M and Ole Miss linger, Alabama too (but likely without a spot)
* Tyson Campbell — Vols are in the mix but appear too late to the party, with UGA, Alabama and Miami the real contenders
* Olaijah Griffin — A Tennessee-USC battle, with the Vols’ optimism waning late in the week
* John Mincey — Tennessee and South Carolina. Vols went in-home with Mincey earlier this week, but SC will have had the final OV and in-home before NSD
* Dylan Wonnum — Tennessee and South Carolina again. Gamecocks have long been the favorites here, but the Vols haven’t slowed their pursuit and it isn’t a guarantee right now that Wonnum ends up in Columbia. The 4-star OT will announce a choice Saturday
* Otito Ogbonnia — Tennessee, Texas Tech and Nebraska. Cornhuskers get the final OV
Other targets remain, but aforementioned group (plus official visitors) top the board. Like we said, it’s setting up to be a crazy NSD — one way or another — for the Vols.
Buckle up, y’all. Inside a week before National Signing Day, Tennessee is set for its wildest finish in years.
The Vols will host three official visitors this weekend — 5-star corner Isaac Taylor-Stuart, former running back commit Jashaun Corbin and former UK baseball signee and Peach State defensive back Trevon Flowers.
There’s no sugarcoating how pivotal a visit it is for ITS and Tennessee. At this point, both parties really need each other. Taylor-Stuart has a spot at USC, but he’s publicly pinned for a chance to play college football outside of California, and Tennessee and Texas A&M are really his only big-time options right now. The Vols locked in the OV with an in-home visit from Terry Fair earlier this week, and as we noted last night, both of Taylor-Stuart’s parents will now accompany him to Knoxville this weekend. His father resides in San Diego, while his mom lives in Phoenix, so it’s a nice get to have both make the visit.
As for Corbin and Flowers, both prospects have become major factors recently. Tennessee has tried to get Flowers on campus for three weeks, with his SEC waiver finally cleared for a trip this weekend. In the time between, Flowers has heard from a number of other schools, getting an offer from Clemson on Monday. He visited the Tigers the last two days. Corbin has reemerged as a Tennessee target, too, as Robert Gillespie visited the tailback three times in the last three weeks — including an in-home with Jeremy Pruitt to secure Corbin’s final OV this weekend. This one is shaping up to be a Tennessee-Texas A&M battle at the end.
Elsewhere, a pair of Tennessee commits — Jordan Young and Anthony Grant — are set to take OVs to FSU this weekend, while top targets Quay Walker (UGA) and Jacob Copeland (UF) are visiting division rivals.
The Vols had almost their entire staff in South Georgia on Thursday, going in-home with Young, Walker and JJ Peterson. All eyes were on the Walker visit and he tweeted himself it was a GREAT visit. After talking to some people, we believe Tennessee is positioned nicely. Both Alabama and Auburn sources have expressed pessimism on their chances, but Tennessee still has one final hurdle to clear. Georgia is going to get the final say with Walker’s OV to Athens this weekend.
Again, with six days to go before NSD, there’s not a single prospect on UT’s board who you can project with any significant certainty to the Vols. And that’s just the truth. The Vols have done really, really well in the last month to get in play for some of the best remaining unsigned prospects in the country, but the way the numbers and board has shaken, they’re looking at a recruiting version of baseball’s three true outcomes: Home run, strikeout or a duck on the pond scenario to simply setup the next class.
Tennessee is in several coin-flip battles, a couple three-legged races and a few Hail Mary’s too. Fluid is the classic buzzword in recruiting, but right now, corners Eddie Smith and Taiyon Palmer are the latest targets off the board for UT, while a bunch of top prospects remain in play.
The rest…
* Quay Walker — Tennessee, UGA and Auburn battle — again, with some sources tonight suggesting this truly boils down to UT-UGA
* Jacob Copeland — Tennessee and UF, unless Alabama has a spot on NSD
* Glenn Beal — Tennessee remains quite optimistic, but Texas A&M and Ole Miss linger, Alabama too (but likely without a spot)
* Tyson Campbell — Vols are in the mix but appear too late to the party, with UGA, Alabama and Miami the real contenders
* Olaijah Griffin — A Tennessee-USC battle, with the Vols’ optimism waning late in the week
* John Mincey — Tennessee and South Carolina. Vols went in-home with Mincey earlier this week, but SC will have had the final OV and in-home before NSD
* Dylan Wonnum — Tennessee and South Carolina again. Gamecocks have long been the favorites here, but the Vols haven’t slowed their pursuit and it isn’t a guarantee right now that Wonnum ends up in Columbia. The 4-star OT will announce a choice Saturday
* Otito Ogbonnia — Tennessee, Texas Tech and Nebraska. Cornhuskers get the final OV
Other targets remain, but aforementioned group (plus official visitors) top the board. Like we said, it’s setting up to be a crazy NSD — one way or another — for the Vols.
