Tennessee football recruiting: Vols in top 6 for in-state 2020 athlete
Tennessee football recruiting made more news in the Memphis area Friday. The Volunteers are in the top six for Jabari Small of Eads, Tenn.
Shortly after news broke of Tennessee football offering a Mississippi State commit from a Mississippi suburb of Memphis, the Vols got some good news from another 2020 prospect from the Memphis area. This time, he was from inside the state.
Jabari Small of Eads, Tenn. trimmed his list on Friday, and UT was one of the schools to make the cut. They were in there with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Michigan Wolverines, and Ole Miss Rebels.
A three-star on Rivals, Small is being recruited as an all-purpose running back despite being listed as an athlete. The 5’10” 177-pound Shelby County prospect who plays for Briarcrest Christian School announced his top six on Twitter.
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Early forecasts have Ole Miss as a heavy favorite to land Small, and as the closest SEC school in the area, that does make sense. Missouri and Arkansas are also area schools that are closer to where Small is.
Briarcrest also has a pipeline to Ole Miss. That’s obviously where Hugh Freeze coached in the mid-2000s, and it’s where Michael Oher and Greg Hardy both came from. Character questions aside, that place clearly funnels talent to the Rebels.
However, Jeremy Pruitt has been doing a solid job recently of getting more into the Memphis market. And another all-purpose back, Eric Gray, committed to Tennessee football this past year from a private school in the area.
So it’s safe to say the Vols are building connections to the city and the surrounding areas. With the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Liberty Flames, Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals all trimmed from his list, UT does have some better news regarding Small after Friday.
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Pruitt will want to continue his connections into the Memphis area and particularly all-purpose backs in the area, so Small could certainly be helpful in the future. And the history of Briarcrest turning out football talent is a positive for the Vols. Breaking the Rebels’ grip on that school would do wonders for the program.