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Tennessee football recruiting: Vols make positive impact on weekend visits

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football was focused on recruiting over the weekend during the NFL Draft. And the Volunteers had a positive impact on multiple prospects.

Related Story: Top 15 Vols 2019 recruiting prospects

While the NFL Draft was going on over the weekend, Tennessee football coaches were doing their best to make an impact on new recruits. The Vols had two notable visits over the weekend from 2019 and 2020 prospects.

This weekend, their focus was in the trenches, as both guys are offensive linemen. The good news is they had a positive impact on both players as well. That’s going to be very beneficial heading into the summer.

Four-star offensive tackle Anthony Bradford was the 2019 prospect. At 6’5″ 320 pounds, Bradford comes from Muskegon High School in Muskegon, Mich. He had visited the program a month and a half ago to witness a spring practice.

Bradford was very positive about his trip, calling Jeremy Pruitt a cool guy. He also said offensive line coach Will Friend told him not to believe the current hype against Tennessee football. Things that stood out to him were the academic center, the stadium and the food, particularly after he ate at Scrambled Jake’s. Here’s the full video of his conversation.

Meanwhile, Tennessee football had an even greater impact on its 2020 prospect. Memphis prospect Marcus Henderson III, who goes to MUS, already stands at 6’5″ 300 pounds. And he called Tennessee the best visit he had gone on, according to Jesse Simonton of VolQuest. Here’s a bit of what he said.

"“The coaches devoted the whole day to me and my family. I spent some time with the players, mainly Drew Richmond. I got to hang out with him and he got to show me what college life is like and how things go at Tennessee.”"

Richmond also played offensive line for MUS. So it was good for the coaches to have the two spend time together.

That statement comes despite the fact that he’s also visited the Ole Miss Rebels, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Memphis Tigers and the Missouri Tigers. So he has been to quite a few schools in the area already.

Henderson doesn’t have a ranking on Rivals yet, but he’s fielding offers from the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Auburn Tigers, the Louisville Cardinals, the Kentucky Wildcats, the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Texas A&M Aggies along with Memphis, Mississippi State and Missouri. So elite schools are clearly going after him. That makes his statement about the Vols a huge deal.

Next: Top 10 Vols who were first-round NFL Draft picks

Tennessee football is still in the early stages of recruiting for both 2019 and 2020. But on the heels of the 2018 NFL Draft, Pruitt and co. are clearly working hard to make sure more pro teams call Tennessee football players’ names in the future.

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