Notes, What We are Hearing From Tennessee's First Scrimmage and the Recruiting Trail
We spent practically all day on the road on Friday, leaving early that morning before 4 AM, and the last one of us making it in for the night past midnight. We spent time in three states, and we have a collection of notes, plus some intel that we are hearing from Tennessee's first 11-on-11, scrimmage/team type setting on Saturday.
2021 Elite Offensive Tackle Amarius Mims- Spent a good bit of the morning with Mims, and he opened up on his recruitment. Tennessee and Georgia are the two teams who appear to be at the top with Auburn, Alabama, and Florida State running behind. Mims spent time with Tennessee commits, Dylan Brooks and Cody Brown, a few weeks ago in Knoxville, and then, he returned for another look last weekend with his mother. He is building relationships with the players, and that effort is being led by Brian Maurer. The two have hit it off, and they relate well. Mims does plan to return to Tennessee again before making a decision. It appears he returned to Athens this weekend, and he has a strong relationship with QB commit Brock Vandagriff. There is not a school recruiting him harder than Tennessee from what we were told at Bleckley Co. (not directly from Mims), and he is receiving double-digit calls from multiple schools each day. Shelton Felton and Will Friend are leading the charge with Jeremy Pruitt checking in at least twice a week. Mims talks to the head coaches at other schools at least once a week. He remains firm in the mid-October timeline.
2021 CB Target Nyland Green- All smiles from Green, as always. He has intended to keep his visit schedule quiet, but a weekend trip to Tennessee did happen, and Green went live on Instagram last night to confirm it. No indication of where he could go next. Pruitt and Ansley are heavily involved here, as is Shelton Felton. Green and his family are impressed with what Tennessee has to offer, especially Pruitt and Ansley's history with DB's. Felton has impressed with his relatability. He is unsure of a timeline, but the longer this one goes, the more realistic it gets for Tennessee. Green is going to keep everyone guessing as much as he can, and he does not do interviews often. He is focusing on recruiting, but he is also impatiently awaiting a decision on his high school season. Green's family is going to be a big factor in this decision, something we believe will help Tennessee. The family had an itinerary to work through during their self-guided trip of campus.
2021 ATH Commit Trinity Bell- Bell passes the eye test, and he flashes freak athleticism in multiple phases. He is up to 6-9, 265 pounds, and he is playing WR for his high school team. That speaks volumes to his athleticism. He isn't the most talkative guy out there, but you will hear from him later in the week in an interview. He is continuing to communicate with Tennessee consistently.
2021 WR commit Walker Merrill- Merrill continues to show growth on the field, and he flashes the ability to work multiple spots. He works short and intermediately the most effectively, and he appears to have improved on his top-end speed. Merrill scored once and secured another long gain showing the ability to take a short pass, use his speed to get up the field, and break tackles to get extra yards. Merrill runs more like a power back once the ball is in his hands.
2022 TE Bennett Christian enjoyed another trip to Knoxville this weekend. He is ready to make a decision, but it does not appear that he has just yet. Tennessee's deep 2021 TE class could create some hesitancy, especially given how well his visit to Ohio State went. This one is toss-up heading into decision week.
From what we are hearing and have been told from various sources about week 1 of fall camp, 11-on-11 team setting: Jeremy Pruitt announced that Harrison Bailey has been in social quarantine, and has yet to practice. After talking to a source close to the situation, we were told, Bailey has passed two COVID-19 tests, and has not had the virus yet; however, someone he has had contact with has tested positive. Therefore, per CDC Guidelines, he had to quarantine for 14 days and will be at practice on Monday.
Malachi Wideman during Friday’s practice.
Staying on the true freshman note trend. Jalin Hyatt has been a major talking point this week, as he received praise from Jeremy Pruitt during his press conference. We were told that he had another solid outing in Saturday's scrimmage setting. Sources also tell us that Malachi Wideman caught four touchdowns during the scrimmage setting. The first three wideouts appear to be Josh Palmer, Deangelo Gibbs, and Jalin Hyatt. Another receiver to note is Brandon Johnson, as he continues to make strides following his redshirt season. One thing to note here that we were updated on Monday afternoon is Tennessee intended to do this scrimmage-style setting inside of Neyland Stadium, however, lightning pushed the practice inside. So, the performance from these receivers came during the 11-on-11 work done during the practice.
Staying on receivers, we are told one of the Vols returning targets did briefly weigh the possibility of opting out, but consulted family, and decided against it. There is no indication of any others weighing the possibility at this time.
Tennessee's offensive line rotation during Day 3 was noticeable in the video sent out by the media department. Wanya Morris was working at right tackle, while Jahmir Johnson was at left tackle with the first group. Darnell Wright is in the background, and Tennessee's rotation is deep, but that is an interesting look, I do not think many people expected week one. I do feel like Wanya is more suited to play the right tackle. That will be a group to monitor moving forward.
At the linebacker position, Henry To'o To'o did not tip his hand on who might line up next to him this fall, but the versatility at the position is something to love. We have heard rave reviews about Jeremy Banks since his return, which would allow Quavaris Crouch and JJ Peterson to move all over the formation, both are best suited to get after the passer in exotic looks from Pruitt. That rotation could prove key for Tennessee.
At defensive back, we have heard a lot of good things about Kenneth George through OTA's heading into fall camp. It appears the battle for that second cornerback spot will be one to watch.
The Vols will hit the practice field again tomorrow.