Tennessee football: 2020 Florida athlete Lovie Jenkins commits to Vols

Tennessee football recruiting picked up its ninth commitment for 2020 Wednesday. Lovie Jenkins of Ocoee, Fla. committed to Jeremy Pruitt and the Volunteers.

After going nearly a month without a commitment, Tennessee football has now picked up four in the last 30 days and three within the last week. The Vols got their first pickup from the sunshine state for 2020 on Wednesday.

Lovie Jenkins, an athlete out of Ocoee High School in Ocoee, Fla., which is in Orange County and part of the Orlando metro area, became the ninth commitment for the Vols’ 2020 class. He committed five days after two Illinois prospects committed to UT.

Simply put, Jeremy Pruitt is expanding his reach. A three-star on Rivals who currently does not have any national or statewide rankings, Jenkins stands at 6’1″ 180 pounds. He announced his commitment to Tennessee football on Twitter.

Despite being listed as an athlete on Rivals, Jenkins is listed as a cornerback on 247Sports and other recruiting services. So it looks like that’s the position he’ll play at the next level, but being pegged an athlete does give him valuable versatility.

It makes sense given the fact that Tennessee football’s two starting cornerbacks last year were freshman stars, and both committed to the Vols as athletes. Pruitt clearly has a knack for developing guys like that.

Jenkins, meanwhile, brings a decent level of size to the position and is already a solid weight heading into his senior year. Coming from the state of Florida, he is also proven against competition as well. Here’s a look at his highlight reel.

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As you can see, Jenkins is willing to play super physical but also drop back in coverage. He also showed breakaway speed on offense, which could make him a complete player on defense and maybe in the return game. The most impressive part was how he was able to be used in the running game and the passing game on offense.

You wonder if Pruitt will use Jenkins more at safety since he spent a lot of time reading quarterbacks’ eyes in that highlight reel. And hey, maybe he’ll use the guy on the offensive side of the ball as well. There was lots of talent to witness. His combination of athleticism and physicality are worth having.

The only remaining question is if he has the football instincts to play at the next level. It’s clear, though, that he has plenty of the physical tools. Even if the competition is relevant, again, it’s the state of Florida. Talent is fertile there.

Tennessee football currently has a top 20 recruiting class on Rivals with five four-star commitments, now three three-star commitments and a two-star commitment. Outside of Jenkins, they have two other defensive backs committed on top of what was a great secondary class in 2019. So Pruitt is stocking up there, and Jenkins clearly helps.