The Recruiting Fix: Third Saturday in October style

I just wanted to say a few things about the game tomorrow. This game means everything to the players who play in it. This is why these guys signed up to play for Tennessee. Anyone expecting us to lay down for Alabama is going to be surprised. I think this team fights and goes toe-to-toe with Bama. It's a very important weekend for our players, our fans, and the many recruits who will show up this weekend.

On to the recruiting news.

Derrick Green will make the trip to Oxford, Miss. the weekend of Nov. 24 when Ole Miss hosts MSU. Green will also visit Auburn when they host Georgia. I'd look for any announcement from Green to take place after those visits.

2014 running back Jalen Hurd claims a top five of Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt. Surprising not to see Tennessee mentioned from a guy who supposedly grew up a Tennessee fan. Perhaps change on the Hill would change his mind.

Watch defensive back Khambrel Garland. He may be our next commitment. The staff likes him as a cornerback but he's had some off-the-field issues which may have affected his offer list. If the staff chooses to offer him, he will likely commit.

Marquez North is visiting this weekend for the Bama game. Is there a chance of him committing on his visit? Yes. I think there is.

Brent Hubbs said Tennessee will likely take 5 offensive linemen now. Reeve Kohler is said to be a silent and it would not surprise me if Derwin Gray is the 5^th lineman we take. He is still commmitted to Maryland but if his teammate Yanick Ngakoue commits to Tennessee there is a good chance Gray will follow.

On Ngakoue, Rivals seems to think he is leaning towards South Carolina. They still give the other schools on his list including Tennessee a shot but say they would feel good about it if they were on the South Carolina staff.

Naim Mustafaa is unofficially visiting Tennessee for the Bama game. He's likely a jack linebacker in the 3-4. Mustafaa is currently committed to Georgia.

Cornerback Marquez White will be not be visiting Tennessee for the Bama game. He will wait until after the season to take visits. He is currently committed to Florida State.

Cornerback Donald Gray says he has a top five of Ole Miss, Tennessee, USC, Alabama and LSU.

2014 WR Nicholas Ruffin enjoyed his visit to Tennessee recently. He says Tennessee is tied for second on his list with Florida State. They both trail Vandy.

Linebacker Jermaine Grace says he'll probably go to a Florida school to stay close to his mother.

"I don't want to be too far from her so I'll probably go to a Florida school," Grace said. "And I might go to Tennessee also. They're in it."

Toby Johnson still has Tennessee on the brain.

"I talk to coach Sal and coach Staley a lot. They just say how bad they need me and stuff," Johnson told Rivals. "They see me playing a little bit of everything, but mostly at the five-technique. But, also the four and the six," Johnson said. "I like it a lot because it makes me more valuable to the team and I'm an every down guy."

He says his coach is trying to set up a visit for him to see Tennessee officially. There are some other schools he mentions wanting to visit and he says he's still open to anybody, but as I have stated previously, I think he's Tennessee's to lose.

Tennessee got it's TE when Chantez Jackson committed to the Vols recently.

"I don't know too much. I know the basics. I know they run a double tight end, i-formation. They use their tight ends a lot," Jackson said. "Adidas sponsors them, that's about it." "I just like the way they operate. I like their offense. I like the way they use their tight ends. Everything about them is just an 'A' from me," Jackson told Rivals.

Jackson can't take visits until he takes his ACT on October 27.

Here is a list of the visitors for the Bama game compiled by OCI on the VolNation website. It's the most comprehensive list I've seen.

Official Visitors
5* Austin Nichols (basketball)
4* Marquez North
Unofficial/Unconfirmed Visitors
5* Carl Lawson (Auburn Commit)
5* Montravius Adams
4* Vonn Bell
4* A.J. Turman
4* Alvin Kamara
4* Jason Carr (UT commit)
4* Austin Sanders (UT commit)
4* Dee Liner (Auburn commit)
4* Naim Mustafaa (UGA commit)
4* Brendan Langley (USCe commit)
3* Jalen Reeves-Maybin (UT commit)
3* Marquez White (FSU commit)
3* Cameron Sutton (UT commit)
3* Brett Kendrick (UT commit)
3* Josh Smith (UT commit)
3* Dominic Zanca (UT commit)
3* Marcus Ball

3* Mario Mathis
NR Todd Kelly, Jr. (2014)
NR Elliott Berry (2014)
NR Evan Berry (2014)
NR Myles Autry (2014)
NR Nicholas Ruffin (2014)
NR Avery Edwards (2014)
NR Jalen Tabor (2014)
NR E.J. Moss (2014)
NR Josh Malone (2014)
NR Bryson Allen-Williams (2014)
NR Tyler Jones (2014)
NR Rico McGraw (2015) Unofficial/Unconfirmed Visitors
5* Carl Lawson
3* Brett Kendrick
3* Josh Smith
NR Todd Kelly, Jr. (2014)

Lawson will likely be coming and bringing his Auburn buddy/fellow commit Dee Liner with him.

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in and I hope to have enough news following the huge weekend to write another article for USC week. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Sabanocchio for up-to-date news on recruits.