National Analyst Shares Tennessee Volunteers Signee Darryl Rivers Evaluation

Here is what the analyst had to say about Tennessee Volunteers signee Darryl Rivers.

Darryl Rivers on his Tennessee Volunteers official visit prior to committing to Tennessee. | Darryl Rivers

The Tennessee Volunteers have done a great job in recent years at many different positions, as they are always looking for ways to improve and level up. What better way to try and do that than by recruiting the top guys and recruiting the guys that you want on your team, regardless of the ranking.

One of the position groups that continues to get better is the defensive line position group. The defensive linemen in the SEC are entirely different, as this is a different breed of football. This is what makes guys like Rodney Garner (defensive line coach for the Vols) so important. The Vols have the chance to be the best defensive line in the country every season because of their group of talented athletes and their legendary coach. This means it is worth trusting his judgement with recruiting. One of the better players in the class is a defensive lineman. He may not have the most intriguing ranking, but he is a guy who has a lot of key traits.

That guy is Darryl Rivers. Rivers is one of the better players from the state of Georgia, and is a McEachern defensive lineman who has a lot of positives going on in his high school career. He is a college-ready frame with a lot of positives in his pass rush. What will the Vols be getting out of him? National analyst Hudson Standish shared an honest statement on what the Tennessee Volunteers will be getting out of a guy like Rivers, as he shared a direct evaluation. Here is what he said.

Darryl Rivers Evaluation

McEachern High School star and Tennessee Volunteers commit Darryl Rivers following his season opener in the 2025 season | Darryl Rivers

"Massive interior defensive line prospect with favorable measureables hovering around 6-foot-4.5, 270 pounds with 35-inch arms. Still figuring out hand-to-hand combat on an every-snap basis, but showed plenty of positive flashes rushing the passer as a junior. Primarily works as a five-technique and 4i at the prep level, but likely slides inside to 3-tech at the next level. Shows some suddenness in the trenches and has the mass required to take on double teams at the next level. Possesses initial knock-back strength and can use his long levers to hold offensive linemen in place before discarding. Some stiffness in the hips, but makes up for it with a hot motor and better-than-expected redirection for a player his size. Owns the physical tools to develop into a potential multi-year contributor and possible impact player."

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