Tennessee football: Vols in top five (three?) for 2020 five-star tight end

Tennessee football recruiting made the cut for a key top Nevada athlete. The Volunteers are on the short list for Darnell Washington of Las Vegas.

As they continue to try to beef up their recruiting class for 2020, Tennessee football got one step closer to potentially doing that in a big way recently. The Vols first received a Crystal Ball for 2020 five-star tight end Arik Gilbert of Georgia. But then they made a major cut for a five-star tight end from Nevada.

Darnell Washington, who is a top 20 player nationally and a top two player at his position, listed Jeremy Pruitt’s team in his top three Monday night on Instagram. However, he then clarified that it was actually a top five Tuesday.

Included with Tennessee football in the original top three were the Georgia Bulldogs and Miami Hurricanes. However, when he listed his top five, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Penn State Nittany Lions were involved. His list was released on Twitter.

More from Vols Football

• How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
• Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
• Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
• Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
• Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay

Coming out of Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Nev., Washington would be an amazing pickup for UT. He stands at 6’7″ 255 pounds, and despite being listed as a tight end, he’s versatile enough to play almost any position.

The good news for Rocky Top is that they are in his cut even if he did mean a top three. However, the bad news is that the Georgia Bulldogs are a unanimous favorite to land him on the Rivals FutureCast, a plurality favorite to land him on the Rivals FanFutureCast and a majority favorite to land him on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

However, remember that there is still Gilbert, who is the one tight end ranked ahead of Washington. And Georgia is also a majority favorite to land him across all three services. Perhaps they don’t want to go to the same place together, which is why Tennessee football gained a Crystal Ball for him.

Simply put, taking all of that into account, the Vols are now in great position to potentially land one of these guys. Jeremy Pruitt is probably fine with either player, so making the cut for Washington is a huge deal.