Tennessee Recruiting Roundup 12/13: Meredith and Howard Commit

Just like that, we are one week closer to National Signing Day for College Football. As early February nears, that means one thing, there’s bound to be tons of shakeups in the the recruiting world. Specifically we’re going to take a look at how the University of Tennessee is doing as it progresses towards National Signing Day and look at a couple movers and major prospects still left on the board for the Volunteers.

To begin, this past week the Vols landed two high-end recruits in the class of 2012 in Florida Wide Receiver Alton “Pig” Howard and South Carolina Tight End Justin Meredith.

Howard, a 5’9″ 170 pound speedster from Orlando prides himself in being able to make plays. His nickname “Pig” came from his parents as a child because when he was younger he was “short, pudgy, and fast” and fit the description of pig very well. “Pig” chose UT over UCF and the University of Florida in a press conference held in his school on Wednesday. Another appeal to landing Howard is the fact that he is an early enrollee, meaning he will be enrolling at the University of Tennessee in January for the Spring Semester and will be able to go through all of spring practice with the team.  Ranked as the #41 Wide Receiver in his class, Alton should be a big contributor for UT even as a true freshmen as his speed can and most likely will be utilized on kickoffs and punts alongside sophomore standout Devrin Young.

Meredith is from Anderson, South Carolina and brings a brand new dimension to UT’s already bolstered Tight End position. With Mychal Rivera and Cam Clear getting work at the TE spot, Meredith, standing 6’5″ 210, looks ever bit of a future receiving Tight End for the Vols. Ranked the #13 Tight End in his class and the #13 player in the state of South Carolina, Justin could see some action this season, but with three TE’s ahead of him on the depth chart already, there is a possibility of a redshirt. Nonetheless, Meredith is a very talented young man and will make a big impact for the Vols in the future. Note as well that Justin is an early enrollee as well and this should ease the learning curve greatly for a player who has a lot of upside.

Also to update you on another tid-bit, 4-star JUCO Defensive End, Denico Autry, who was thought by many to be a Vol-Lock, has commited to Mississippi State University. No word on why his commitment was flipped like it was, but this is a huge loss as the Vols certainly could have used his talents to bolster their pass rush that managed only a measly 15 sacks this season.

In Vols Men’s Basketball news, Jarnell Stokes,  a 5-star prospect from Memphis is close to nearing his decision on his college destination. His father stated that an announcement could come within the next week and that Jarnell himself may already to leaning towards his selection. Many insiders within the Tennessee program feel there is a legitimate shot at the 6’8″ 255 pound Stokes, who would make an immediate impact in the post position where the Vols have struggled to rebound the entire season.  Stay tuned on this one folks as it could be a big Christmas present come early for many Vol fans.

That wraps up the Recruiting Roundup for this week, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions feel free to shoot me an e-mail and feel free to follow me on twitter as well.

Oh, and because I’m bad at introductions and cliche, I’ll end with an introduction. I’m Gage, a Sophomore at the University of Tennessee majoring in Journalism. I love being outside, nothing beats experiencing God’s great creation. I’m also the Tennessee Recruiting writer so if you have any recruiting questions then I’m your guy.

Until next time, this is Gage Arnold, signing off.

E-mail – garnold@utk.edu

Twitter – twitter.com/GageArnold