Tennessee Football Recruiting: Vols Pick Up 5-Star Junior College DE Jonathan Kongbo

Tennessee football nailed the top junior college prospect on National Signing Day 2016 as defensive end Jonathan Kongbo committed to the Volunteers.

Signing Day for Butch Jones and the Tennessee Vols just keeps getting better for 2016. After already flipping four-star cornerback Tyler Byrd Tuesday night and then picking up four-star safety Nigel Warrior, Tennessee picked up arguably the nation’s top junior college prospect in defensive end Jonathan Kongbo.

The first five-star pickup for the Vols in this class according to Rivals, Kongbo stands at 6’6″ 260 pounds and is typically a weakside defensive end.

Kongbo was committed to the Vols late last year but then de-committed as the season drew to a close. However, nobody appeared able to fully supplant Tennessee for the top spot.

Florida State and Ole Miss came close, and up to last week Ole Miss was extremely close. But it’s likely with the new NCAA charges levied against the Rebels, Tennessee was the only logical choice for Kongbo at that point.

And the news that Kongbo had a conversation with Derek Barnett only served to fuel the talk of his commitment.

Here is where he ranked across all recruiting services.

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Kongbo’s addition just adds to an already monster defensive line of the Vols. Derek Barnett, Kahlil McKenzie, Shy Tuttle, and Kyle Phillips are all superstars on the team, and when you add in the rotation of Kendall Vickers, Corey Vereen, and Danny O’Brien, this is far and away potentially the deepest defensive line in college football.

And Kongbo should be able to see some immediate action on the end with Vereen, Barnett, and Phillips. This is a dangerous group that Butch Jones has put together.

Bob Shoop should be overjoyed his first year in Knoxville.