Just In: Vols Commit Dylan Brooks Ranked 18th Overall in Inaugural SI99 Football Rankings

Sports Illustrated All-American has continued to rank and evaluate prospects for months on end, and today, the inaugural reveal of the SI99 took place. SI's

Sports Illustrated All-American has continued to rank and evaluate prospects for months on end, and today, the inaugural reveal of the SI99 took place. 

SI's Director of Recruiting, John Garcia, had this to say about the release: 

“Our ranking of the top 99 reflects where the game of football is going. We’ve refined position groups. We’ve eliminated the outside linebacker position, because those guys in today’s game are more edge rushers, and added the nickel position. We’ve broken receivers and tight ends into two groups each -- slot and wide receivers, and traditional (Y) and hybrid (H) tight ends. 

“But one part of the game that hasn’t changed is the focus on protecting and destroying the quarterback. Our top five players illustrate the point -- two are defensive ends and one an offensive tackle.”

Tennessee has four commitments on the list of elite prospects, but we start with the highest-ranked prospect in Dylan Brooks. 

Brooks comes in at No.18 on the full list of players, and he has the potential to continue to climb. Brooks was recently ranked as the nation's number four edge rusher, which was still good for 18th overall on the SI99 list. 

SI's Edwin Weathersby wrote on Brooks: 

Brooks is another player that is high on both our Edge board and overall board. He combines ideal length with solid activity with his mitts, including a chop and a powerful longarm stab. After he routinely reduces ground quickly on blockers, the long-framed Brooks shows enough ability to bend at entry points, before using a long stride to close and finish. With his length, Brooks can be a nightmare for passers trying to manipulate throwing lanes, as his arms and mitts present difficult obstacles. The future Vol also can be productive in the run game, showing solid scheme-read traits and mental processing, plus quick-shed ability versus tight ends and running backs. Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt is defensive-minded at heart and Brooks has the skill set to be a cornerstone defender on the edges in Knoxville.

We will have continued coverage on the Vols prospects and commits to make the elite SI99 list.