Tennessee football: Four-star 2020 Florida DE Morven Joseph commits to Vols

More good news hit Tennessee football’s 2020 recruiting class in the early signing period. Lakeland, Fla. defensive end Morven Joseph chose the Volunteers.

A red-hot start to the early signing period never died down for Tennessee football. Late in the afternoon, the Vols scored another major pickup, and once again, they got a player who would be part of the defensive front seven.

Morven Joseph, a weakside defensive end/outside linebacker out of Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Fla., committed to the Vols. He had been committed to the Florida State Seminole for over four months but decommitted on Dec. 6, two days before the news broke that Memphis Tigers head coach Mike Norvell was heading to Tallahassee.

Ever since then, the Vols had been making a play for him. They finally secured him Wednesday afternoon during the early signing period. Joseph announced his commitment to Tennessee football during a ceremony that was streamed on video by PolkNoles.

A four-star on Rivals, Joseph is the No. 16 ranked player at his position and the No. 63 ranked player in the state of Florida. He became the 23rd commitment for the Vols’ 2020 recruiting class, their 13th four-star, their fifth pickup on the first day of the early signing period and their third straight defensive end.

The other two defensive ends, however, three-star Reginald Perry and four-star in-state prospect Tyler Baron, are strongside defensive ends. At 6’3″ 211 pounds, he is a weakside defensive end will likely line up at linebacker more consistently.

Jeremy Pruitt had a huge need among edge rushers in general heading into the day, and securing Perry, Baron and Joseph went a long way toward improving that. Joseph could become a very effective rusher. Here is a look at his highlight reel.

As you can see, Joseph has incredible speed and can play anywhere at linebacker or up front on the edges. He is also not afraid to tackle guys hard, which will make him a player everybody will love on Rocky Top.

It’s likely that Pruitt wants him to put on more weight while maintaining his speed, and that’s his task when he arrives on campus. But he already looks like he’ll be a fun player to watch, so Tennessee football got another huge pickup here.