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Tennessee football makes cut for for elite 2021 OLB Smael Mondon

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Dallas, Ga. outside linebacker Smael Mondon has the Tennessee football Volunteers in his top five.

Jeremy Pruitt isn’t done with elite defensive prospects or top prospects from the state of Georgia. On Sunday, Tennessee football may have gotten one step closer to potentially adding another top guy to its 2021 recruiting class.

Rocky Top made the cut for outside linebacker Smael Mondon, a four-star on Rivals out of Paulding County High School in Dallas, Ga. Standing at 6’3″ 210 pounds, Mondon had the Vols in his top five.

Currently, Mondon is a top 100 player nationally, a top 10 player within the state of Georgia and a top five player at his position. The Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators and LSU Tigers were in his top five along with Tennessee football. He released his list on Twitter.

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None of the Vols’ 23 commitments in their top five 2021 recruiting class is listed as an outside linebacker. However, they do have two four-star inside linebackers committed, and they have three defensive ends, all of whom could be edge rushers and play what is effectively outside linebacker in Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 scheme.

Still, Mondon could bring something unique to the table. Pruitt has been trying to build a deep rotation of outside rushers for three years, and it just got tricker with the departure of Darrell Taylor and move of Jordan Allen from there to tight end.

Securing this commitment would go a long way towards helping the Vols on this front, and it would also assure that they maintain a top five class. With three commitments already from the state of Georgia, two of whom are four-stars, Pruitt definitely has some connections to try to lure Mondon to Rocky Top.

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UGA is a unanimous favorite to land Mondon on the Rivals Future Cast and the 247Sports Crystal Ball. The Dawgs are the majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast. As a result, Tennessee football has an uphill climb to land him despite making this cut. But they could definitely be in play given Pruitt’s past recruiting that state.

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