Who is Left and Who is Next on the Recruiting Trail for Tennessee?

Tennessee's recent recruiting tear has sent shockwaves through the college football community. Jeremy Pruitt's team is red hot, but now the Vols 2021 class is currently crowded with 21 total commitments, and other top targets remaining on the board. So, it raises the question of who is left and who is next for Tennessee on the recruiting trail.

For Tennessee, even with 21 current commitments, the Vols are not anywhere close to being done in the 2021 cycle. There will be attrition as Tennessee continues to add and recruit key pieces, but that will happen in due time. For now, let's focus on who is next and who is left for Jeremy Pruitt.

The next target scheduled to make a decision is 2021 three-star Tight End, Miles Campbell. Campbell will decide on May 18th, and Tennessee has a major need at the position. The Vols are battling Florida State, N.C. State, and Georgia Tech, for his services. Campbell has bulked up to 240lbs and has not lost any speed. He is a guy that teams can use as an inline tight end or flex into the slot. You can view Campbell's full commitment decision preview with VR2 on SI here.

Top-100 Junior Colson is still set to make a late May decision. Tennessee's linebacker room is suddenly crowded, but Colson could still have a spot. He will decide in May, but with the way Tennessee has stacked linebackers into this class, and Colson's family ties to Michigan, it appears the Ravenwood (TN) prospect is more likely opt for the Wolverines, as things stand now.

Three-star Athlete Trinity Bell remains a viable target for the Vols. Bells's size and athleticism is what makes him so desirable to college coaches. He has a top list of 5schools, and the 6'7, 250lbs prospect told me that he was being recruited as a tight end pretty evenly. Tennessee views him as a tight end, and he can definitely open things up in the red zone for the Vols. He hinted that Tennessee could be close to the top in his recruitment, and it appears he is eyeing a decision later this month.

Tennessee remains in the race for elite five-star Offensive Tackle Amarius Mims, and the Vols will always have a spot for the South Georgia prospect. He recently told VR2 on Sports Illustrated that Tennessee just needed to continue recruiting him the same way. The current Tennessee commitments are peer recruiting him heavily, and he is open to the prospect of playing with them. He is set to make a decision in October, but we will see if that timeframe moves up when the world opens back up.

The missing piece to Tennessee's already elite LB class appears to be Smael Mondon. The Vols want Mondon in the class in a bad way, and they continue to swing heavily. Mondon recently opened on his recruitment with VR2 on SI, and you can read that here. Since that interview, Monton has hinted at a June decision, but he could also opt to take more visits. For what it is worth, it does appear the process is weighing on him.

On the defensive line, Tennessee seems to be back in the picture for coveted defensive lineman Payton Page. Page is down to UNC, Clemson, and Tennessee. It appears the big man could leave the Tarheel state, but is Clemson a viable option at this point? We will see, but Tennessee definitely remains a factor. Page was looking at a Summer decision, but he had plans to take his official visits leading up to that. We will see if his timeline is altered, but the defensive line remains a major need for Tennessee. Other targets across the front include Jahvaree Ritzie and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Both have Tennessee on their list of favorites, and the Vols are high on both. Ingram-Dawkins will commit to a school this weekend, while Ritzie has announced a mid-June decision.

Tennessee remains in the picture for two elite Cornerbacks in five-star Tony Grimes and top-100 prospect Isaiah Johnson. Grimes recently included Tennessee in his top list of schools, a noticeable shift from his two lists of favorites before that. Tennessee is now in the race and cannot be discounted with Derrick Ansley leading the recruitment. Johnson has kept things quiet, but he could be on the verge of releasing his finalists. Tennessee is expected to make the cut for the talented West Virginia Star.

Hudson Wolfe has gone quiet since the COVID-19 shutdown, but sources around the talented tight end indicate that Tennessee is factoring back into the race. The Vols have never been the lead school, in my opinion, but they have always been right in the thick of things. Jeremy Pruitt has actively been involved in this recruitment, which only helps Tennessee's chances. Ohio State and Alabama have both had momentum at different points, and the Buckeyes appear to be close to, if not the top in this one.

On the offensive line, outside of Mims, Tennessee is still recruiting Dylan Fairchild, Diego Pounds, William Griffin, and Dietrick Pennington. Tennessee is on the shortlist of favorites for the first two, while Pennington and Griffin have yet to release any favorites, but the Vols remain a factor for the in-state prospects. No decisions appear to be imminent among this group.

All of the prospects mentioned above would all likely have a spot if they wanted it, which makes this class extremely difficult to navigate. When they want in, when and how attrition occurs will certainly play a factor in how the remainder of this class shakes out for Jeremy Pruitt.