Tennnessee Football: What Each New Recruit Brings to the Vols

The Vols needed more play-makers and athletes on defense for the 2014 season, and they got just that in this latest recruiting class. PHOTO: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this week, the Vols football team received its biggest infusion of talent it has seen in quite some time. Seventeen of the remaining eighteen prospects of Butch Jones’ first recruiting class arrived in Knoxville for the summer, joining the other 14 members of the 32-man signing class. Only JUCO  linebacker Chris Weatherd failed to make the trip to Knoxville, but he is expected to be on campus by fall.

Each of the 17 newcomers that arrived this week is expected to compete for immediate playing time once the season starts, and some may even land starting jobs in critical positions.

Of the 17 new Vols, 13 of them are projected to be on the defensive side of the ball, and their skills are needed. Throughout the spring, the Vols defense struggled to maintain their stamina and keep up with the increased speed of the offense. This was mostly due to lack of depth on the defensive front seven after losing the entire starting defensive line and most of the linebacking corps from last season.

One thing is for certain: The newcomers who just arrived on campus will provide much more speed, athleticism, and depth to a depleted defensive unit desperately in need of some firepower.

Let’s take a look at what each of the 17 incoming players brings to the table for the Vols and where each player might land on the two-deep depth chart once the season begins. The players are ranked by their 247Sports Composite rankings.

All stats via Maxpreps.com unless stated otherwise