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Tennessee football recruiting: Vols 2018 early signing period primer

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 01: The Volunteer mascot waves the flag in the edzone after a Tennessee touchdown as the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Mississippi Rebels 27-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 1, 2005 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 01: The Volunteer mascot waves the flag in the edzone after a Tennessee touchdown as the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Mississippi Rebels 27-10 at Neyland Stadium on October 1, 2005 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football is looking for a big day in the first early signing period ever. Here’s all the information you need for the Volunteers on this day.

Related Story: 4 things Jeremy Pruitt must do to fix Vols

With a new head coach and a wave of decommitments coming off of the transition and the 4-8 season, Tennessee football has a class outside of the Top 60 on Rivals. And that makes the first early signing period more crucial than we ever could have thought for the Vols.

As he continues to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide through the College Football Playoff, new head coach on Rocky Top Jeremy Pruitt is trying to put together a strong first class in Knoxville. He’s reshuffled the recruiting board and is targeting lots of new top guys.

Some of them announce their decisions here in the early signing period. Meanwhile, some of the other guys who never wavered on their commitments will sign with Tennessee football Wednesday as well.

So as we bring you the primer for this early National Signing Day, we’ll say the name of the person, their position, where they’re from, and we’ll also have their star count.

We start with the guys who committed today, then we’ll go to the remaining targets and provide our news stories of the day. Following that, we’ll have the commits who have signed are are expected to sign, and we’ll finish with commits not expected to sign right now before going to other storylines to watch out for.

We start with the targets who committed today.

Targets who signed during early signing period

  • Jeremy Banks – 4 Star – RB – Cordova, Tenn. 
  • Jerome Carvin – 4 Star – OL – Cordova, Tenn.
  • JT Shrout – 3 Star – QB – Newhall, Calif.
  • Dominick Wood-Anderson (JuCo) – 4 Star – TE- Yuma, Ariz.
  • Jordan Allen (JuCo) – 3 Star – DE – San Francisco, Calif.

News stories of the day

Two Memphis-area four-stars commit to Vols

Tennessee football secured a huge splash Wednesday morning as the early signing period began with two 2018 four-star players from Cordova High School in Cordova, Tenn. committing to them. Jeremy Pruitt scored commitments from offensive lineman Jerome Carvin and running back Jeremy Banks.

Vols find their quarterback for 2018

Tennessee football suffered a blow losing four-stars Adrian Martinez and Michael Penix last week, as both 2018 quarterbacks decommitted. However, Jeremy Pruitt found the guy for his pro-style offense as their replacement in JT Shrout. Shrout, a three-star and former Cal commitment, backed out and signed with the Vols Wednesday morning.

Tennessee football finds immediate help in the junior college ranks

The Tennessee Vols scored big on the junior college front Wednesday. They first signed four-star tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, the top JuCo tight end in the nation. Later in the evening, they scored a commitment from three-star defensive end Jordan Allen, the nation’s No. 2 ranked JuCo defensive end. Jeremy Pruitt was able to find immediate help with these guys at physical spots, and they capped off a great first day of the early signing period.

Commits who have signed or are expected to sign

  • Tanner Antonutti – 3 Star – OT – Nashville, Tenn.
  • Paxton Brooks – 3 Star – P – West Columbia, S.C.
  • Greg Emerson – 4 Star – DE – Jackson, Tenn.
  • Kingston Harris – 3 Star – DT – Bradenton, Fla.
  • Brant Lawless – 4 Star – DT – Nashville, Tenn.
  • Ollie Lane – 3 Star – C – Corryton, Tenn.
  • Alontae Taylor – 4 Star – WR – Manchester, Tenn.
  • Jacob Warren – 3 Star – TE – Knoxville, Tenn.

Commits who are not expected to sign

  • D’Andre Litaker – 4 Star – DT – Murfreesboro, Tenn.
  • Matthew Flint – 3 Star – LB – Gurley, Ala.
  • Anthony Grant – 4 Star – ATH – Buford, Ga. 

Must Read: 5 positives to hiring Jeremy Pruitt as head coach

Storylines to watch

1. How much of a late impact were Jeremy Pruitt and his staff able to have?

This is the obvious question. Jeremy Pruitt was announced head coach of the Tennessee football team nearly two weeks after the season ended and in the midst of one of the most chaotic coaching searches ever. It set him back significantly when it came to recruiting. However, he has great ties to the SEC, and his hire opened the door for the Vols to score some new commits. As a result, the way the day plays out will let us know how much his late push made an impact.

2. Can Tennessee football succeed on the junior college front?

Knowing what he needs, Jeremy Pruitt is going hard for some junior college recruits. And four of them are on the board for the early signing period. Can the Vols pick up a few of them for an immediate impact? If so, it gives Pruitt a head start on being good next year.

Next: 4 big concerns with Vols hiring Jeremy Pruitt

3. Will all the commits hold?

Given Tennessee football’s rash of decommitments, it’s reasonable to show concern that some might pull out of signing during this period. Vols fans don’t take anything for granted now. As a result, keep an eye on all the commits expected to sign just to make sure they do.

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