Since we are very close to turning the recruiting calendar to the 2021 class I thought we’d talk about 21 Juniors I think are guys to keep an eye on going forward. I tell people every year, “Watch Junior Days” watch who visits as those are going to be the priority targets at least early in the cycle. Tennessee has a Junior Day on February 1st and who shows up for that will tell us a lot about who to watch going forward.
Athlete Tray Curry
I will start with in-state prospects and the biggest name to watch at this point in the process, in my opinion, is Athlete Tray Curry. Tray is a 4-star, 6-foot 4, 192-pound athlete from Bradley Central in Cleveland, TN whom Tennessee has been recruiting for years. He is my guess for the closest prospect to become the next commit in the 2021 class. Tray has been on campus multiple times this year most recently on September 7th for the BYU game. Tray has offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville, among others.
LB Junior Colson
My pick for the best prospect in the state in the next class is Junior Colson who is a 4-star prospect who plays at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN. Colson looks like an edge rusher in Pruitt’s defense. He received an offer back in April and has been on campus a few times since then. Colson will have to add weight to his 6-foot 2, 210-pound frame once he gets in a college strength and conditioning program but he has all the athletic traits you want in an EDGE rusher.
TE Jake Briningstool
Jake Briningstool is the top prospect in the state of Tennessee on 247 although on Rivals he’s listed below fellow in-state tight end Hudson Wolfe who we’ll discuss next. Briningstool is lighter than Wolfe at 6-foot 6, 215 lbs. and projects more as a receiving TE whereas Wolfe is more of an all-around tight end equally adept at blocking and running pass patterns. Briningstool has over 20 offers including the perennial powers such as Clemson and Alabama. He is a 4-star player in the composite ranked #112 in the country in 247’s composite recruiting rankings. Briningstool is teammates with Junior Colson at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN.
TE Hudson Wolfe
Hudson Wolfe is also a 4-star on 247 and ranked the #220 player in the country. He plays at Hardin County in Savannah, TN. Wolfe also has more than 20 offers from some of the who’s who of the country and especially the SEC. Both of these tight ends will be a fight to land and both of them grew up Tennessee fans — a common theme in-state this year somewhat unusually.
CB Andre Turrentine
Another big-time in-state prospect from Middle Tennessee is Andre Turrentine from Ensworth in Nashville. Alert readers will recall that Keshawn Lawrence played at Ensworth which should help somewhat with Andre. The coaches are super high on Andre’s potential at cornerback as are many other schools around the country including Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, and others. Turrentine is the prototypical size Pruitt likes in his cornerbacks at 6-foot tall and 175 lbs. Andre recently told 247 Tennessee is one of the “top four” teams he is considering along with Ohio State, LSU, and Alabama. Many think his recruitment will come down to LSU and Tennessee as he is a Louisiana native. He is a 4-star prospect in the composite.
OT Eli Sutton
One area this current class has fallen short is at offensive tackle. I say this with around a month to go until Signing Day so this could definitely change but either way Eli Sutton out of Brentwood Academy is a high priority target for the staff in the next cycle. BA is a famed program for producing football talent in the mid-state producing such products as Derek Barnett and Jalen Ramsey so they are no mystery to the staff at Tennessee. Tee Martin is Sutton’s primary recruiter with position coach Will Friend adding the assist. He is also a 4-star prospect on 247. The 6-foot 7, 285-pound. lineman is the #157 player in the country and the #2 player in the state of Tennessee according to the composite.
Sutton was recently at Tennessee to take in the UAB game and told 247 at the time “Tennessee is one of the ones I wanted to go see first when I did get that time off where I could go see more schools.
It was good, seeing that the team has definitely taken a step forward from what they were at the beginning of the year, which gave me questions — as I assume everybody else had.
“Seeing the atmosphere, even though it was homecoming against UAB, was great, and seeing that UT is now beginning on the rise, seeing that they’re winning games and getting more confidence and getting better themselves.”
Wide Receiver Adonai Mitchell
One of a few Cane Ridge players we are recruiting this next cycle (see more below) and he’s one of my favorite in-state players. Ran a pretty fast 40 time while at camp last summer and was injured at the time. Received an offer on-site. The coaches love his size at 6-foot 3, 187 lbs. Adonai is originally from Texas but moved to Antioch last year. Rated a 3-star but I think that’s temporary.
Wide Receiver Quenton Barnes
There are several great wide receiver prospects in-state in this class and Barnes is a good one himself. Barnes is a 4-star prospect from Cane Ridge (a theme developing here) in Antioch, TN. (There’s a great park in Cane Ridge BTW where they have remote control helicopter acrobatic contests every now and then which is really cool to watch.) Barnes is 6-foot 2, 175 lbs and athletic. He has offers from Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Barnes has a verified shuttle of 4.46 from an Opening Regional and a 29.80-inch vertical jump. He was most recently on campus November 17th, 2018.
Wide Receiver Walker Merrill
As I stated above the in-state wide receiver class is solid and Tennessee could sign virtually their entire wide receiver class without leaving the state. Walker Merrill is another great wide receiver prospect who has been on campus multiple times most recently October 26th for the South Carolina game.
“I think Tennessee’s growing,” he told 247 at the time. “What, they have to win three more to get into a bowl game? I think the new coaches are on the uprise, so I think Tennessee in the next year will be dominant, for sure.”
Tee Martin is his lead recruiter and would be his position coach should he chose to attend Tennessee. Merrill is another good-sized wide receiver at 6-foot 1, 180 lbs.
Defensive Lineman Javon Nelson
The 2021 in-state class is thin on the defensive line but one prospect on the Tennessee coaches’ radar is Riverdale defensive lineman Javon Nelson. Nelson is a 6-foot 2.5 inch 255 lb. lineman with a great motor. He is a 4-star in the composite and on Rivals and a 3-star in 247’s rankings which are subject to change. Nelson has offers from the likes of Kentucky, (who he’s high on) Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. Nelson visited Tennessee this fall on September 7th.
Cornerback Kendrick Breedlove
Breedlove is a three-star cornerback from Pearl Cohn in Nashville who is a much better prospect than his ranking indicates. I like his game and he has adequate size for a CB in Pruitt’s system. You only have to look to his offer list to determine how much better than his ranking he is as indicated by LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M offers.
Defensive Tackle Payton Page
Starting with defensive out-of-state prospects, one of the biggest targets in this class, both literally and physically, at 6-foot 4 inches, 315-pounds is Payton Page. Payton just recently released his top 5, and as you can see below, it included Tennessee.
But Payton is going to be a fight as it appears he favors Clemson and home favorite North Carolina. Still, Tennessee will be in it until he decides so this one is definitely worth following. Payton is a 5-star and has offers from just about everyone you can think of.
DE/OLB Demeioun Robinson
One of the more realistic early targets for Tennessee, Robinson was most recently in Knoxville for the pool party in July. He is a top 100 player in the 247 composite and a consensus 4-star prospect. He fits more the outside linebacker role than defensive end in a 4-3 but can play both at 6-foot 3 inches. Will have to add weight but has the ideal frame for the position. Likes Penn State early but Tennessee is certainly on his mind and in regular contact. He will be on campus on the first of February for a Junior Day.
DE/OLB Travali Price
Price is from Lincolnton, NC and is a guy Tennessee identified early in the process, offering in July of last year. At 6-foot 4, 247 pounds he’s already close to the ideal size you want in a pass rusher in Pruitt’s defense. North Carolina is on him hard as Mack Brown attempts to keep the in-state talent at home but Tennessee appears to be his biggest offer to this point. Price is a 3-star in the composite but a 4-star on 247. He recently told 247 he will be on campus on February 1st for a Junior Day.
Cornerback Markevious Brown
Brown is a Pahokee, Florida native, (where they chase down rabbits for fun) which is an area chocked full of elite athletes, but now attends IMG Academy where Christ Weinke once coached. At 6-foot tall 170 pounds, he’s the ideal size for a DB in Pruitt’s pattern-match backfield. Brown has offers from the who’s who in Florida including Florida State, Miami, and Florida in addition to an Alabama offer. It will be tough to beat out the in-state schools most likely but Tennessee was included in the top 7 he released in November.
DL Isaac Washington
Washington was last on campus on October 26th for the South Carolina game. He was also on campus in late July when he received his offer. A 3-star on the recruiting sites, but a guy Tennessee clearly likes and wants. Auburn is hot on the trail as his dad is originally from Alabama and he still has family there. Offers from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Tech in addition to Auburn and Tennessee — his first and second SEC offers.
RB Will Shipley
A five-star all-purpose back, Shipley is very high on the wanted list for this 2021 class. He is a 5-foot 11, 198-pound back from Matthews, North Carolina who is high on many top team’s wish lists. Offers from Ohio State, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Alabama, Will can pick wherever in the country he wants to play football. He ran for 2066 yards his junior season with 30 touchdowns.
Athlete Treveyon Henderson
Henderson is a top 247 recruit on 247 and a consensus 4-star. Nearly a top 100 player in the composite at #102 with lots of movement to happen over the course of the year.
Henderson plays at the same High School Darrell Taylor came from in Hopewell, Virginia. At 5-foot 10, 190-pounds he projects as a likely running back. Henderson was most recently at Tennessee to attend the UAB game in November. He has offers from Clemson, Alabama, Penn State, and Oklahoma in addition to Tennessee. Henderson wants to make it back to Knoxville for a Junior Day but nothing is set in stone at this point.
Running back Lovasea Carroll
Carroll is originally from Warrenton, Georgia but now attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He is a 6-foot ½, 189- pound 4-star with offers from Auburn, Alabama and South Carolina in addition to Tennessee. He was committed to South Carolina for four months at one point before reopening his recruitment on September 1st. He released a top 8 in October that included Tennessee in addition to Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ohio State, and Penn State.
Offensive Lineman Terrence Ferguson
Ferguson is a top 100 offensive lineman from Fort Valley, Georgia. He’s 6-foot 4, 300 lbs. Henderson camped with Tennessee in June and followed that up by visiting November, 2nd for the UAB game. He is one to watch as he claims he has visited Tennessee 6 times since 2018.
Outside Linebacker Dylan Brooks
Brooks is a 5-star EDGE rusher from Roanoke, Alabama. He is high on Auburn, Alabama, LSU and Tennessee. I almost did not list Brooks here as it is so difficult to get a guy out of Alabama that the Alabama schools really want but Tennessee is consistently named in his top group and has a puncher’s chance. Brooks was last at Tennessee for the Georgia game in October and it will be a priority to get him back on campus this spring for a Junior Day.
These are by no means the only prospects worth watching in the 2021 class but they are some of the more prominent ones currently high on Tennessee. Others will assuredly pop up and be in play between now and February of 2021.
Nigel Warrior, up to this year, was a cautionary tale about overhyping recruiting prospects. Expected to be the next best thing to his father, Dale Carter, it was probably more than any recruit could be expected to live up to. Until his senior season, Warrior had been a very pedestrian player. Good enough to not be taken off the field as a starter, but not particularly spectacular in any one area. Many times last season he found himself in the right place but unable to complete the play.
