Looking Ahead to the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2014 Recruiting Class

Now that the 2013 class have all signed their national letters of intent, Butch Jones and staff can turn their attention to the 2014 recruiting class. So far the only commit is for the 2014 class is defensive back Vic Wharton. He’s currently listed as a three Star ATH but projects to be a DB.  Here’s a few names to be paying attention to going into next year’s recruiting season.

Jalen Hurd

Hurd is a five star running back from Hendersonville, TN.  He’s currently ranked as the number two running back in the country and the number one player in the state of Tennessee.  He has excellent size at 6’2″ and 210 lbs.  He’s already received offers from Alabama, LSU, Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia, as well as Tennessee.  Even though he’s an in state guy he will be a hard pull for Butch Jones with the national attention he will be getting. It will be interesting to see what Butch Jones and his staff will be able to do with a whole year to build a relationship with Hurd.

Jalen Tabor

Besides being the second Jalen on this list Jalen Tabor may be the second overall target for the Volunteers. Tabor is a five star cornerback from Washington D.C. that the Vols would love to have. Much like the other Jalen, Tabor has an impressive list of offers including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Notre Dame.  Again Tabor will be difficult to land but definitely a guy the Vols need to go after.

Evan and Elliot Berry

These are probably the most well known names on this list, at least to Tennessee fans. The Berry twins are of course the young brothers of Eric Berry, and the sons of former Volunteer running back James Berry.  The brothers are expected to be a package deal and aren’t a lock for Tennessee. Auburn is considered to be one of their top schools, but with Trooper Taylor no long there that could change. They’ve also received offers from Clemson and Georgia. They’re both projected as defensive backs.

Khairi Clark

Clark is a four star defensive tackle from Hollywood, FL. He’s 6’3″ and 285 lbs. He already has tremendous size for his age. He’s already been offered by Tennessee and a host of others including Miami, South Carolina, LSU, and Florida. He will be highly sought after and in state school Miami is considered to be the leader early in the game.

Lorenzo Featherson

Featherston, from Greensboro, NC, is the top player in the state of North Carolina and rated by some as the top defensive end recruit in the nation. Featherson is 6’7″ and 215 lbs.  He will need to bulk up but could be a dominant defensive end.  NC State, from just down the road in Greensboro, is considered to be in the lead, but it’s still very early.  NC State, North Carolina and Tennessee have all made offers.

Kevin Mouhon

Mouhon is a 4 star inside linebacker from Norcross, GA. He hasn’t been on Tennessee’s campus yet but he has been offered by the Volunteers.  Inside linebacker is a position of need for the Vols so he’d be a huge get for them.  He’s currently rated as the number 5 inside linebacker in the country.  He’s picked up offers from Florida State, Ohio State and Georgia Tech in addition to Tennessee.

Damian Prince 

Prince is the number two offensive tackle in the nation, and the number one player in the state of Maryland. The District Heights native is 6’7″, 300 lbs.  He possesses great size and strength. Tackles like Prince aren’t easy to find so  you can be sure there will be quite the battle for his services. He’s already received offers from Alabama, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, in addition to his offer from Tennessee.

These are just a few of the top players out of the many many recruiting prospects we’ll be hearing about over the next year.  There’s a lot of good talent out there but Tennessee will have to battle with all the usual suspects from the SEC and other teams like Ohio State and Michigan.  It won’t be easy to win over some of these guys but if Tennessee improves on the field then they should improve in the recruiting game as well.