National Analyst Picks Henry To'o To'o as Top 5 SEC Linebacker

Henry To'o To'o made a monumental splash for the University of Tennessee’s 2019 recruiting class when he surprisingly committed to the Volunteers over Alabama and Washington on National Signing Day. He was viewed as one of the nation’s top recruits, with dozens of highly prestigious teams pursuing him — earning offers from Notre Dame, Southern California, Georgia, Florida, and many others.

In the days leading up to  To'o To'o's decision, Alabama was considered to be the front-runner — with a multitude of recruiting gurus and analysts predicting the California native to end up in Tuscaloosa, which is why it came as such a shock when he announced that he would join Jeremy Pruitt’s 2nd recruiting class in Knoxville. During his first season at Tennessee, To'o To'o made a massive impact, quickly becoming a fan favorite for his relentless defensive mentality. The freshman ended up finishing with 72 total tackles, and he is now viewed as one of the SEC’s top returning linebackers.

According to Cole Cubelic, a national analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, To'o To'o will be the 5th best linebacker in the SEC — joining Alabama’s Dylan Moss, Missouri’s Nick Bolton, Auburn’s K.J. Britt, and Georgia’s Monty Rice as some of the SEC’s top players on the defensive side of the ball. Cubelic also rated Trey Smith as the SEC’s top offensive guard and Wanya Morris as the SEC’s 5th best offensive tackle for 2020.

To'o To'o made the SEC-All Freshman team last season and was praised as a freshman All-American by various news outlets. He played in all 13 of Tennessee’s games and started in all but one of them — as a result, you should expect the sophomore to already be adjusted to the SEC waters this season without much of an adaptation process.

Henry To'o To'o's sophomore season will begin on September 5th when the Vols will face off against the Charlotte 49ers in Neyland Stadium, Tennessee will then travel west of the Mississippi River for a heavyweight battle with the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman on September 12th. With Daniel Bituli, Nigel Warrior, and Darrell Taylor all now playing on Sundays, it will be up to the young linebacker to take more of a leadership role this season as his team looks to take a big step forward in year 3 of the Jeremy Pruitt Era on Rocky Top.