All the things about the Tennessee football offensive line remain as true with Calvin Ashley as they do with Reuben Unije. In Unije, the Vols get an agile 6’6″ freshman who stands at about 300 pounds, and he would bring even more depth to the tackle position.
Unije, like Ashley, would come with three years left to play, so he would set up the offensive line for the future. Again, after last year, Vols fans would welcome anybody they can get to beef up the depth on the offensive line.
Also, like Ashley, there are some connections with Unije. The former four-star on Rivals comes from IMG Academy in Florida. Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke was the head coach there for five years, and he would have been there Unije’s freshman and sophomore seasons.
As a result, Unije’s transfer from the Illinois Fighting Illini gives the Vols a huge opportunity. Jeremy Pruitt clearly wants to build a pipeline into the state of Florida. What better way to do it than get this transfer prospect using Weinke?
When he was first recruited, Unije did not receive the same level of hype from many SEC schools. But the Vols can’t afford to be selective right now with their need to build up depth. So Pruitt and Will Friend along with Jim Chaney need to target him as much as possible.