Four-Star Defensive End Names Vols As Leader

2016 four-star defensive end Emmit Gooden, who was previously committed to Tennessee, named the Vols his leader on Sunday.

Gooden, 6’3″/269 lbs from Brownsville, TN (Haywood), committed to Tennessee a year ago, but reopened his recruitment two months later.

247Sports rates Gooden as the top 2016 player in the state of Tennessee and the ninth best 2016 strong-side defensive end in the nation.

Butch Jones has stockpiled defensive linemen lately, but that Gooden is still one of the Vols’ top 2016 targets.

Jones always preaches “owning the state” and he’ll certainly want to put that on display in Gooden’s recruitment.

However, Mississippi State is also making a strong push for the talented defensive lineman. There’s obviously a long way to go before this recruiting battle is decided.

Tennessee is undoubtedly the favorite to land Gooden, but they’ll need to keep applying the pressure as the 2016 recruiting cycle continues.