2014 Tennessee Volunteers Recruiting: Todd Kelly JR Commits

Nov 10, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view of the Tennessee Volunteers logo on the field prior to the game against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Missouri defeated Tennessee 51-48 in quadruple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday saw Butch Jones and his staff  land their third, and biggest, commitment to the 2014 Tennessee Volunteers recruiting class.

Todd Kelly Jr committed to play football at Tennessee on Sunday.

Kelly, 6’1″/190 lbs, is rated as a four-star safety by 247Sports.

The Knoxville native is a player that Butch Jones absolutely could not let get away. Kelly’s father played football at Tennessee just over 20 years ago. The tradition and legacy of Tennessee is certainly embedded in Kelly, but as we’ve seen in the past, most notably with Vonn Bell, sometimes that isn’t enough to persuade somebody to commit.

Kelly’s commitment does more then just give the Vols a four-star safety. It shows the state of Tennessee (Vanderbilt that means you) that Butch Jones is serious about owning the state. It also shows the rest of the nation that Butch Jones is serious about returning Tennessee to prominence. Kelly will now become somewhat of an extra recruiter for Jones, albeit one without restrictions.

It took Butch Jones just over three months to secure a commitment from Kelly, but there’s still 11 months until signing day. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.

Another thing to remember is that Kelly’s commitment is just that, a verbal agreement to play football at Tennessee, it’s not binding in any way. Kelly’s recruitment didn’t end yesterday and it won’t end until he signs him name a little over a year from now. Jones will continue to pursue Kelly, continue to make him feel wanted. We’ve all seen way too many players that were locked up by schools, end up flipping at the last minute. It’s not something that any Vol fan wants to think about, and with Butch Jones it’s most likely something that won’t happen, but it’s always better to prepared.

But honestly, Butch Jones looks to be the most prepared man in the state of Tennessee right now, a good sign for Vol fans everywhere.