Tennessee football: Five key 2019 Vols who were three-stars or lower

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 3: Offensive lineman Marcus Tatum #68 of the Tennessee Volunteers blocks Markees Watts #40 of the Charlotte 49ers during the game between the Charlotte 49ers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 14-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 3: Offensive lineman Marcus Tatum #68 of the Tennessee Volunteers blocks Markees Watts #40 of the Charlotte 49ers during the game between the Charlotte 49ers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 14-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Trevon Flowers’s three-star rating shows everything wrong with recruiting. Jeremy Pruitt found him in 2018, and he was only listed as a three-star. Why is this? Well, despite being an elite athlete, extremely intelligent and having a proven track record of production, Flowers didn’t go to a lot of spring camps. That’s because he played baseball.

Anyway, not being able to showcase his abilities more for scouts and recruiters hurt him, and as a result, he wouldn’t get a rating above a three-star. But Tennessee football may have found a five-star talent, and we don’t mean just a guy with a five-star heart. Flowers earned significant playing time in last year’s opener as a true freshman against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

He missed five games in the middle of the season due to a broken collarbone, but Flowers still managed to play in the other seven, and he even earned a start. With the departures of Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly Jr., he is now a favorite to start at safety alongside Nigel Warrior.

As a result, this is a guy who is about to have a major chance to showcase his elite talent. As Derrick Ansley noted, his baseball skills actually transition over to playing safety, and that should help him become a breakout star despite just being a three-star recruit.