Tennessee football: 5 reasons Vols are fine without top 10 recruiting class

2. Incoming transfers boost the class.

Tennessee football’s recruiting class is more about 2020 and beyond. With a No. 12 ranking and middle of the pack SEC ranking, a group of elite transfers could make this a top 5 caliber class in terms of talent.

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Jeremy Pruitt has done just that with his off-the-field work. Tee Martin wasn’t able to add Bru McCoy to the Vols. But two other players immediately boost the program for the future, and they might as well be members of this recruiting class.

The first is Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon. Solomon was once a five-star recruit, and he only appeared in two games for 2018, making him able to take a redshirt and just be a sophomore. On top of that, he may not play until 2020 depending on the transfer rules. If he plays in 2019, he’s basically a junior college transfer.

Then add Deangelo Gibbs, a four-star defensive back who transferred from the Georgia Bulldogs to the Vols. Gibbs was also in the 2017 recruiting class, and he may or may not be eligible to play this year either.

If he is, then he’s basically a junior college transfer with two years of eligibility in this class, and if not, he’s basically one who will play in 2020. Either way, the Vols add a five-star and a four-star the equivalent of two junior college players to this class.

If you factored them into recruiting rankings, this would definitely be a top 10 class. As a result, it’s clear that Pruitt is finding ways to stock up on talent outside of just the recruiting trail, and he deserves credit for that.