Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols had awesome early signing day
1. Rocky Top loaded up on edge rushers.
We saved the three guys we were talking about for this final slide. They were the big pickups of the day for Tennessee football, and they covered a lot of ground. But most importantly, they filled a crucial need the Vols have for edge rushers.
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It started with three-star Alabama strongside defensive end Reginald Perry. A Fairfield prospect standing at 6’5″ 245 pounds, Perry brings versatility because of his ability to also play offensive line. But he is clearly a great run-stopper, and if he puts on weight, he could be a guy who plays in the middle as well.
Perry was the first defensive end in the class. Then the Vols got their top target over the past few weeks, four-star Tyler Baron out of Knoxville. Another strongside defensive end standing at 6’4″ 250 pounds, Baron is the top pickup of these three but is also the most certain to be plugged into one role: edge rusher.
Finally, four-star Morven Joseph committed to the Vols. At 6’3″ 211 pounds, the Lakeland, Fla. prospect is a weakside defensive end. So he could also play any of the linebacker positions if he develops. That’s why you get defensive tackle, defensive end, outside linebacker and inside linebacker covered with this group.
Vols 2010s all-decade team. dark. Next
However, what stands out is the fact that with the diversity, Tennessee football still beefed up its edge rushers. They had two defensive tackles but no edge rushers before Wednesday. Now their 2020 class has three, as all of them signed, and they may not be done.