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. Tournament basketball is in full-swing and the Vols are fully relevant, plus spring practice is a just over a week away. Now, it's on with the news.
As spring practice opens, it will be interesting to see where some guys work as this staff experiments with various positions changes and looks to get the best 11 players on the field in new offensive and defensive schemes. As we noted a few weeks back, Carlin Fils-Aime is going to get an extensive look at cornerback this spring along with converted wideout Tyler Bryd. One position where plenty of guys will get looks in Pruitt's defense is the STAR/nickel spot. Shawn Shamburger, Marquill Osborne, Baylen Buchanan, and Theo Jackson could all get a look there.
As of today, the team has completed mat drills or the “4th quarter drills.” The Vols are on spring break, and when they return a week from Sunday, it will be game on for spring practice. Tennessee will have Pro Day on Monday before spring ball starts on that Tuesday. As we have noted, the winter work is said to have gone well. Tennessee has marketed the work more the last couple of weeks. Overall, this team has gotten bigger — which was a major focal point. But they have also had their mental toughness tested in a big-time way. Conditioning work — physically and mentally — has been a heavy focus the last couple of weeks, as the new staff clearly believes it’s something that the program has lacked recently.
The grind has been a wakeup call for a good portion of this team having not worked as hard under the previous strength staffs at Tennessee. Their grind several days of the week is called "4th Quarter" just like it's called at Alabama and people around the program say the players who have bought in during the last three weeks have really seen the benefits.
Additionally, there have been positional meetings where players were asked to take tests and some of those test were in excess of ten pages in length.
Tennessee added one new staffer this week, with former Alabama special teams assistant Carter Blount joining Ryan West with the Vols in a similar capacity. The Vols did lose Nate Ollie, who took a job at Eastern Kentucky after serving as a strong recruiter for Tennessee as a GA the last few year. Also, Tennessee has an opening in the recruiting office now, as director of recruiting Eric Josephs has taken a similar job at Baylor.
Quick note on Butch Jones and Alabama. Obviously, he's going to be an analyst for Nick Saban. The only hold up in a formal announcement is the SEC approving the hire because of Jones recruiting current and potential future Alabama players the last couple of years. Sources say Jones may have had a similar opportunity with Ohio State, but elected to go to Alabama instead.
RECRUITING
Tennessee wrapped up its second Junior Day of the spring last weekend, hosting more than 50 prospects on campus. Many were recruits without offers yet, as the Vols hope to continue to expand their board during the spring evaluation period.
With spring break, the Vols will not host any visitors this weekend, as the staff will also be out of town. Look for Tennessee to get lots of prospects on campus around the start of spring practice, though. March 17 is slated to be a date with plenty of visitors, including top priority DL Bill Norton.
Of the big-name visitors last weekend, it was huge that Tennessee even got Clay Webb on campus. The 5-star OL from Oxford, Ala., is considered by some a lock to stay in-state and play for either Alabama or Auburn, but Webb is taking a very open approach to his recruiting process. He’s visited Georgia, Clemson, UF and others in the last year, and now the Vols are in the mix for the nation’s No. 12 overall prospect. Make no mistake, Tennessee’s depth chart is its biggest selling point for Webb, who plans to return to Knoxville again in the fall. It may be a longshot, but Tennessee is going to take a big swing here.
As for another top offensive lineman in the 2019 class, the Vols definitely made a move for Wanya Morris last weekend. Morris, along with 4-star linebacker Owen Pappoe, actually came to town on Friday and left on Saturday before much of the Junior Day festivities had taken place. This allowed both prospects to get ample attention from the staff.
While the Vols currently trail Georgia and Auburn for Pappoe, Tennessee is right at the top for Morris, the nation’s No. 19 prospect. The Grayson (Ga.) OL is down to UT and Auburn, and plans to announce his college choice in early May. Morris is expected to visit both schools at least one more time before he make his decision. Again, Tennessee’s depth chart (or lack there of) is a huge plus here.
In addition to Morris, Tennessee looks to be a in battle for several top targets with Tigers moving forward. TE Sean Brown hasn’t officially announced a top list yet, but Tennessee and Auburn are his favorite schools currently. Blue-chip wideout Ramel Keyton has both the Vols and Tigers among his leading schools, too.
Elsewhere, Tennessee continues to trend positively for in-state corner Woodi Washington, who made his second visit to see the new staff Sunday. The Vols are also serious contenders now for OL Triston Miller, DT Patrick Lucas, ATH JaDarious Martin and WR Kalani Norris.
Intel has been tough to come by on 4-star tailback Sampson James, but it sounds like the Vols are at least in the conversation for the Indiana native after his visit Saturday. Midwest schools Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are considered the frontrunners for James, but keep an eye out here if the tailback opts to take an official visit to UT this spring.
Similarly, LSU running back commit Tyrion Davis said he remains “loyal” to his hometown Tigers after his UT visit, but a future flip remains in play because Davis talked glowingly about the opportunity with the Vols and already plans to take an official visit to Tennessee in the fall.
Tennessee’s quarterback board is still just starting to take shape — targets Sam Howell, Tauli Tagovailoa and Travis Mumphrey have all visited this spring — but a couple new names to watch are Lance Legendre and Cade McNamara.
McNamara recently decommitted from Notre Dame, and the Vols are pushing for a visit from the Nevada native. Legendre is committed to Kansas but picked up a FSU offer this week and is still taking visits after seeing Tennessee over the weekend.
Finally, a couple prospects to keep an eye on moving forward are Alabama cornerback Jaydon Hill, who visited last weekend and could be on the verge of an offer from UT, and Lausanne corner Cameron Sims, a 6-foot-2 defensive back who has started to pickup interest from Power 5 schools.
Similarly, we’ve previously mentioned DE Zion Logue and RB Da’Joun Hewitt, and both in-state prospects could be on the precipice of blowing up this spring. Hewitt is close to 200 pounds now, with interest this week from Florida and Oklahoma State. Some believe Hewitt is very underrated and may be the best running back in the state.
Offers this week included…
CB Marquis Wilson
DB Nick Cross
OL Malasela Aumavae-Laulu
OL Caleb Etienne
OT Jaelin Humphries
LB Bryton Constantin
WR James BlackStrain (2021)
As spring practice opens, it will be interesting to see where some guys work as this staff experiments with various positions changes and looks to get the best 11 players on the field in new offensive and defensive schemes. As we noted a few weeks back, Carlin Fils-Aime is going to get an extensive look at cornerback this spring along with converted wideout Tyler Bryd. One position where plenty of guys will get looks in Pruitt's defense is the STAR/nickel spot. Shawn Shamburger, Marquill Osborne, Baylen Buchanan, and Theo Jackson could all get a look there.
As of today, the team has completed mat drills or the “4th quarter drills.” The Vols are on spring break, and when they return a week from Sunday, it will be game on for spring practice. Tennessee will have Pro Day on Monday before spring ball starts on that Tuesday. As we have noted, the winter work is said to have gone well. Tennessee has marketed the work more the last couple of weeks. Overall, this team has gotten bigger — which was a major focal point. But they have also had their mental toughness tested in a big-time way. Conditioning work — physically and mentally — has been a heavy focus the last couple of weeks, as the new staff clearly believes it’s something that the program has lacked recently.
The grind has been a wakeup call for a good portion of this team having not worked as hard under the previous strength staffs at Tennessee. Their grind several days of the week is called "4th Quarter" just like it's called at Alabama and people around the program say the players who have bought in during the last three weeks have really seen the benefits.
Additionally, there have been positional meetings where players were asked to take tests and some of those test were in excess of ten pages in length.
Tennessee added one new staffer this week, with former Alabama special teams assistant Carter Blount joining Ryan West with the Vols in a similar capacity. The Vols did lose Nate Ollie, who took a job at Eastern Kentucky after serving as a strong recruiter for Tennessee as a GA the last few year. Also, Tennessee has an opening in the recruiting office now, as director of recruiting Eric Josephs has taken a similar job at Baylor.
Quick note on Butch Jones and Alabama. Obviously, he's going to be an analyst for Nick Saban. The only hold up in a formal announcement is the SEC approving the hire because of Jones recruiting current and potential future Alabama players the last couple of years. Sources say Jones may have had a similar opportunity with Ohio State, but elected to go to Alabama instead.
RECRUITING
Tennessee wrapped up its second Junior Day of the spring last weekend, hosting more than 50 prospects on campus. Many were recruits without offers yet, as the Vols hope to continue to expand their board during the spring evaluation period.
With spring break, the Vols will not host any visitors this weekend, as the staff will also be out of town. Look for Tennessee to get lots of prospects on campus around the start of spring practice, though. March 17 is slated to be a date with plenty of visitors, including top priority DL Bill Norton.
Of the big-name visitors last weekend, it was huge that Tennessee even got Clay Webb on campus. The 5-star OL from Oxford, Ala., is considered by some a lock to stay in-state and play for either Alabama or Auburn, but Webb is taking a very open approach to his recruiting process. He’s visited Georgia, Clemson, UF and others in the last year, and now the Vols are in the mix for the nation’s No. 12 overall prospect. Make no mistake, Tennessee’s depth chart is its biggest selling point for Webb, who plans to return to Knoxville again in the fall. It may be a longshot, but Tennessee is going to take a big swing here.
As for another top offensive lineman in the 2019 class, the Vols definitely made a move for Wanya Morris last weekend. Morris, along with 4-star linebacker Owen Pappoe, actually came to town on Friday and left on Saturday before much of the Junior Day festivities had taken place. This allowed both prospects to get ample attention from the staff.
While the Vols currently trail Georgia and Auburn for Pappoe, Tennessee is right at the top for Morris, the nation’s No. 19 prospect. The Grayson (Ga.) OL is down to UT and Auburn, and plans to announce his college choice in early May. Morris is expected to visit both schools at least one more time before he make his decision. Again, Tennessee’s depth chart (or lack there of) is a huge plus here.
In addition to Morris, Tennessee looks to be a in battle for several top targets with Tigers moving forward. TE Sean Brown hasn’t officially announced a top list yet, but Tennessee and Auburn are his favorite schools currently. Blue-chip wideout Ramel Keyton has both the Vols and Tigers among his leading schools, too.
Elsewhere, Tennessee continues to trend positively for in-state corner Woodi Washington, who made his second visit to see the new staff Sunday. The Vols are also serious contenders now for OL Triston Miller, DT Patrick Lucas, ATH JaDarious Martin and WR Kalani Norris.
Intel has been tough to come by on 4-star tailback Sampson James, but it sounds like the Vols are at least in the conversation for the Indiana native after his visit Saturday. Midwest schools Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are considered the frontrunners for James, but keep an eye out here if the tailback opts to take an official visit to UT this spring.
Similarly, LSU running back commit Tyrion Davis said he remains “loyal” to his hometown Tigers after his UT visit, but a future flip remains in play because Davis talked glowingly about the opportunity with the Vols and already plans to take an official visit to Tennessee in the fall.
Tennessee’s quarterback board is still just starting to take shape — targets Sam Howell, Tauli Tagovailoa and Travis Mumphrey have all visited this spring — but a couple new names to watch are Lance Legendre and Cade McNamara.
McNamara recently decommitted from Notre Dame, and the Vols are pushing for a visit from the Nevada native. Legendre is committed to Kansas but picked up a FSU offer this week and is still taking visits after seeing Tennessee over the weekend.
Finally, a couple prospects to keep an eye on moving forward are Alabama cornerback Jaydon Hill, who visited last weekend and could be on the verge of an offer from UT, and Lausanne corner Cameron Sims, a 6-foot-2 defensive back who has started to pickup interest from Power 5 schools.
Similarly, we’ve previously mentioned DE Zion Logue and RB Da’Joun Hewitt, and both in-state prospects could be on the precipice of blowing up this spring. Hewitt is close to 200 pounds now, with interest this week from Florida and Oklahoma State. Some believe Hewitt is very underrated and may be the best running back in the state.
Offers this week included…
CB Marquis Wilson
DB Nick Cross
OL Malasela Aumavae-Laulu
OL Caleb Etienne
OT Jaelin Humphries
LB Bryton Constantin
WR James BlackStrain (2021)
