Evaluating the Tennessee Vols Recruiting Class at Dead Period: Offensive Line

Oct 14, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones speaks with media during the announcement that the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies will play a football game on Sep. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Available Prospects at Offensive Guard for 2016

Landon Dickerson: Hudson, N.C. (South Caldwell H.S.)

Listed as a four-star on Rivals, Landon Dickerson has the Tennessee Vols in his top two according to 247 Sports. Butch Jones’s staff has to compete with Virginia Tech primarily, and South Carolina, Florida State, Alabama, and Auburn are all schools in the running as well.

At 6’5″ 297 pounds, Dickerson is a versatile lineman who could line up at tackle as well, evidenced by him being listed as such on 247. That would make him a very welcome addition to Tennessee.

Julian Santos: Tarpon Springs, Fla. (East Lake H.S.)

Julian Santos is another four-star on Rivals, and he is working his recruiting process.There are 20 schools who have offered him, and not one of them appears to have taken the lead, so that makes this hard to judge. Four Florida schools are on there, but fortunately Florida State is not one of them. Still, this will be a hard one for the Vols.

As a player, Santos is 6’3″ and 285 pounds. He is a solid overall player who would make a great guard, and he is another versatile player who is listed as a tackle on 247 Sports. These are the kind of guys the Vols want.

John Simpson: North Charleston, S.C. (Fort Dorchester H.S.)

Here we go with another four-star prospect on Rivals who could play any position on the line, and indeed he is listed as an offensive guard and an offensive tackle on 247 sports. That is always a huge asset, and as a 6’4″ 288 pound lineman, Simpson is obviously a better fit as a gigantic guard. But he can play tackle if needed.

And Tennessee could use him. The only problem is that while there are only nine schools in the running for him, the two that clearly appear to be at the top are his home-state schools, South Carolina and Clemson. Jumping one of those will be really hard for any team to do, but the Vols might have a chance.

Terrance Davis: Hyattsville, Md. (DeMatha Catholic H.S.)

We once again have a player who is the size of a tackle but can play anywhere on the line. Terrance Davis is listed as a four-star on Rivals and stands at 6’4″ 307 pounds. You can’t ask for much better when trying to build a prospect at the position.

The problem for the Vols is that with Randy Edsall building a Maryland pipeline and the Terps in Big Ten country, it will be hard to make headway in the Southern Maryland area anymore. According to 247, Michigan and Maryland are the clear-cut top two, and when he branches out of the Big Ten, UCLA and Alabama are the leaders. Tennessee is not really on the list.

Chandler Tuitt: Tyrone, Ga. (Sandy Creek H.S.)

Chandler Tuitt is a three-star guard on Rivals, but he would still be a very valuable guard and could be a steal for the Vols. At 6’3″ 260 pounds, he needs to add some size, but he is extremely quick and has the technique to knock players over. So he will be a miss on the recruiting trail by people who think he’s only a three-star.

Fortunately, according to 247, not only has he added on about 30 pounds to this point, but he also has the Vols in his top three. Fighting off Ole Miss, who appears to be in the lead, and Georgia, where he is from, is obviously going to be tough. But Butch Jones and his staff have a great chance.

Next: Final Take and Prediction