Unrated signees
We’re starting with the preferred walk-on. Grayson Pontius committed to Tennessee football as a walk-on punter and comes from East Mississippi Community College. He actually transferred from there to the Marshall Thundering Herd in 2016 before going back to East Mississippi C.C. in 2017. Given the fact that he’s playing punter, he could actually be higher on the list. After all, there’s an open competition for a starting spot there, and he only has to beat out two other guys.
But we have no way of knowing how good Pontius will be at this level yet. On top of that, he’s competing against Joe Doyle and Paxton Brooks. Brooks is one of the top punters in the 2018 class, and it’s going to be hard for anybody to beat him out. That’s why we have Pontius down here on our list.
Yes, we put the unrated player and the preferred walk-on on the same page. That’s because they both join the program with a ton of questions surrounding them. Kenneth George Jr. comes from Trinity Valley Community College.
While there, George had 27 tackles and two interceptions. At 5’11” 195 pounds, he actually has pretty impressive size already as a defensive back. And as a sophomore, he has numerous chances to develop. So don’t be surprised if he actually sees some action this year.
On top of that, the secondary is completely wide open right now, particularly at cornerback, in its quest for playmakers. Also, the safety position is thin behind the three-man rotation of Nigel Warrior, Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly Jr. So there could definitely be a spot for George