Tennessee Vols morning report: Jeremy Pruitt’s National Signing Day 2019 comments
Tennessee Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt commenting on National Signing Day 2019 leads our Volunteers news for Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
What a day it was for the Tennessee Vols football program! Coming off a basketball victory to maintain their No. 1 status on Tuesday, the athletics program made a huge splash on Wednesday when it came to closing out recruiting.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with the results of National Signing Day 2019, and while it’s not as eventful as it once was with the Early Signing Period, it was still a huge deal. Three new recruits committed, and we’ll touch on that along with Jeremy Pruitt’s comments.
Meanwhile, more national recognition for another men’s basketball players is among our top stories, and that’s really no surprise anymore. We also have more walk-on football news to bring you along with women’s tennis news. But let’s start with the recruiting coverage.
Jeremy Pruitt speaks about 2019 recruiting class – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
Tennessee Vols football head coach Jeremy Pruitt spoke to the media Wednesday evening about the 2019 recruiting class on Rocky Top in light of National Signing Day. That day specifically, the Vols added three-star Kenney Solomon, four-star Henry To’oto’o and five-star Darnell Wright in what was a huge boost for their class. It reached the Top 12 across all services and the top half in the SEC. Here’s a bit of what Pruitt said about the class.
"“When you look at this class, just finishing up, I think we’ve got guys that are used to having success, some big men, guys that are good with the ball in their hands, and I think they’re going to add depth to our team to create competition. I think it capped off a class that, if you looked at starting back in December, guys that are really good students, good character, used to winning, leaders of their football teams, captains of their football team — I think it’s a great class to kind of lay the foundation for what we want to achieve here.”"
Admiral Schofield on Julius Erving Watch List – HoopHall.com
The No. 1 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team has another player on an awards watch list. Senior forward Admiral Schofield is one of the finalists for the Julius Erving Award Watch List.
"Named after Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 16-year professional basketball player Julius Erving, the annual honor in its fifth year recognizes the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just 10."
Preferred walk-on Dayne Davis commits to Vols – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
Tennessee football received another commitment from a preferred walk-on Wednesday as National Signing Day was taking shape. Dayne Davis, a 6’7″ 315-pound offensive lineman from Bluff City, Tenn., announced his commitment to the Vols. Here’s a bit of what he said about his decision.
"“I was among the interest of several FCS schools, but by far Coach Pruitt, Coach Friend and Coach Stiff were the most welcoming coaches I had met and just absolutely made me feel at home. I am also ecstatic about the strength staff. Coach Fitz and his staff are the best around.”"
Women’s tennis Vols climb doubles rankings – UTSports
Tennessee women’s tennis players Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines came in at No. 17 in the ITA Doubles Rankings on Wednesday. The South Carolina Gamecocks and LSU Tigers were the only SEC schools with higher doubles rankings.
"Hammond and Staines are 10-0 as a duo dating back to the Tennessee Fall Invite in October 2018 and 4-0 in dual matches this spring. At the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Tallahassee Regional, they posted a 6-4 victory over LSU’s Eden Richardson and Jessica Golovin — the defending NCAA doubles champions and now the No. 6 ranked doubles pair."