Tennessee football recruiting: 4-star in-state defensive tackle D’Andre Litaker commits to Vols for 2018

Tennessee football continued its recruiting momentum on Tuesday as 2018 four-star in-state defensive tackle D’Andre Litaker committed to the Volunteers.

On Monday afternoon, Tennessee football recruiting was drawing concerns after two in-state prospects committed elsewhere within a 24-hour span for 2018. The Vols immediately alleviated those concerns after that.

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Tennessee football received a commitment from Florida cornerback Brandon Cross on Monday night.

Then, on Tuesday night, Butch Jones picked up another huge prize in D’Andre Litaker. And in a form of poetic justice, Litaker is a 2018 Murfreesboro, Tenn. prospect, where the other two in-state prospects who committed elsewhere were from.

Litaker announced his commitment to Tennessee football on Twitter.

A four-star on Rivals out of Riverdale High School, Litaker’s story is intriguing.

According to a report by Ryan Callahan of GoVols247, he never really grew up a Tennessee fan. But after losing his mother in an accident, playing close to home was a factor. At the same time, he has a strong connection with the new coaching staff.

So those are all good signs.

Despite missing most of his junior year due to injury, Rivals already has him as the No. 5 ranked prospect in the state. He already stands at 6’3″ 185-pounds and is ranked No. 13 at his position across the country. He’s a Top 200 player overall.

Here is a look at his highlight reel.

As you can see, the guy has great size and power, and he also is quick to spot gaps on the offensive line. However, his leveraging ability and moves on the line are up for question because he just dominates everybody. And it’s difficult to know if he can fully get healthy.

Still, the development is where an elite defensive line coach like Brady Hoke comes in.

With the commitment, Butch Jones has now secured three of the Top 5 players in the state, according to Rivals, including the only five-star in offensive lineman Cade Mays.

Litaker is one of four other four-stars in state out of 11 possible gets that committed to the Vols, and four others are still in play.

So while we demonstrated a bit of concern two days ago with this article on if Master Teague’s commitment to Ohio State affects Butch Jones, All for Tennessee writer Colby Howell was clearly right to point out it more or less shouldn’t have an impact.

Jones now has six of the Top 15 players in the state committed to the school. The 2018 Tennessee football recruiting class overall now has 13 known commitments, including six four-stars and one five-star. And eight of the 13 are in-state prospects.

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The Vols already had a Top 10 class on Rivals, but Litaker’s commitment is likely good enough to propel it into the Top 5 by Wednesday morning.