Which 2016 Tennessee Football Recruit is Most Likely To Make An Immediate Impact?
By Austin Clay
Butch Jones will add 21 new members to the 2016 Tennessee football team. These new recruits look to add to the success of the program.
Now that Butch Jones has a few recruiting classes in, the talent pool has definitely gotten better. This means playing time isn’t necessarily a selling point for Jones and company but they still continue to bring in top tier talent.
You got the likes of Jonathan Kongbo who has already said Tennessee will beat Florida and Alabama. Tennessee also brought in a few good defensive backs in legacy recruit Nigel Warrior and also Tyler Byrd. Jarret Guarantano has fans excited as well.
This class finished ranked 14 in the ESPN class rankings with the majority being four stars.
Which recruit is likely to be the one that gets playing time early on and maintains it?
As most fans know the depth Tennessee has at all positions is something to be excited about. But one recruit that fans see playing early is Kongbo.
At 6’5″ 255, Kongbo brings speed to an already hyped up defemsive line. Kongbo and Derek Barnett giving offensive tackles nightmares with Shy Tuttle and Khalil McKenzie clogging up running lanes? Scary.
As was mentioned above about the talent that has been put into place, add ESPN No. 1 athlete Tyler Byrd. Once committed to Miami, Byrd backed out of his commitment to join the 2016 Tennessee recruiting class. Byrd can make an immediate impact with his ability to play both ways.
One player fans have been following closely ever since he committed is Jarrett Guarantano. The 6’4″ dual threat quarterback out of New Jersey isn’t expected to see time soon due to Josh Dobbs and Quinten Dormady but fans expect Jarret to get his time and shine.
One recruit that is kind of flying under the radar is Marquill Osborne. The 4 star early enrollee is the ESPN No. 8 cornerback. He has already been on campus for a semester which gives him a head start over some of the recruits. Osborne looks the fit of a great college football player.
There are certainly other recruits that will play as injuries often occur. But with the depth that Butch Jones has placed in this program only a select few may get that chance to shine. If that chance is given, look for Kongbo, Byrd or Osborne to take advantage of that chance.