Tennessee football: 5 strongest states for Vols in 2019

2. Georgia

Number of players: 23 (11 newcomers)

Key talent: Nigel Warrior, Marquez Callaway, Baylen Buchanan

This is no surprise to anybody after Jeremy Pruitt’s focus in the Vols’ 2019 recruiting class. Georgia was the leading state for that class with nine commitments, and five of them were early enrollees for spring ball.

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Before we get to the newcomers, we should look at the already existing talent. Nigel Warrior and Marquez Callaway are firmly supplanted as senior starters for Tennessee football at safety and wide receiver respectively. Baylen Buchanan is another major senior contributor and almost certain to be the starter at nickel.

Meanwhile, sophomore Trevon Flowers is now the favorite to start alongside Warrior at safety. Then there’s John Mincey, who rose up during spring ball and made a name for himself as a threat to be a major player in the defensive line rotation.

So what about the newcomers? Well, as a freshman who should’ve been a unanimous five-star recruit, Wanya Morris already worked his way into the starting rotation on the offensive line in the spring. Warren Burrell, meanwhile, became a threat as a rotational player in the secondary. The same is true with Jaylen McCullough, who had two interceptions in the spring game.

Then there are some elite backups, including Shawn Shamburger, JJ Peterson and Solon Page III. Two transfers also hail from the state of Georgia in defensive tackle Aubrery Solomon away from the Michigan Wolverines and athlete Deangelo Gibbs away from the Georgia Bulldogs themselves. If they can play this year, the roster will be even more stacked with Georgia talent.

It’s safe to say the Vols have a ton of talent from this state, and there is still other young talent like Kurrott Garland and more newcomers, including early enrollees Jackson Lowe and Ramel Keyton, along with another four-star, Roman Harrison, set to arrive in the summer. Pruitt is turning to Georgia to rebuild the program, and it shows.