Tennessee football: Five key 2020 Vols who were three-star recruits

Jeremy Pruitt will have to rely on unheralded talent for Tennessee football to be successful in 2020. Here are five key Volunteers who were three-stars.

Although they just secured a top 10 recruiting class and still may build on that depending on what five-star Zachary Evans does, Tennessee football can’t rely on all blue-chip recruits for 2020. The program is simply not there yet.

Part of Jeremy Pruitt’s rebuilding process on Rocky Top has been developing unheralded guys and finding others who were overlooked. That’s part of building lots of programs across the country unless you’re the Alabama Crimson Tide or LSU Tigers.

Heading into his third year, Pruitt has done a good job of finding such talent, and many of those guys will be key for Tennessee football as he enters his third year on the job. In fact, with some key departures, the Vols will not be able to succeed without them.

In this post, we’re going to rank the most important players who were three-star recruits or lower on the 2020 roster. These players had to be three-stars across all services: Rivals, 247Sports, Scout and even ESPN.

Of course, with the coronavirus shutting everything down, including spring practice, Pruitt is having a harder time developing these guys, which he needs to be able to do. However, often times, three-stars who become key Vols are key because of how developed they are anyway, and they are usually veterans by the time they reach that status.

That’s the case here. The overwhelming majority of the players we’re naming on this list are seniors, and they are crucial because of how they have proven themselves over time. It’s also true that there is a need for them at specific positions in addition to their talents.

So which players are we talking about who stand out?  Just how important are they? Let’s break that all down here. These are the five players who were three-star recruits and will be key to Tennessee football this upcoming season.