Tennesee football: Vols make cut for two Alabama DEs within 24 hours

Jeremy Pruitt has Tennessee football recruiting trending for defensive ends. The Volunteers made the cut for Birmingham and Albertville, Ala. prospects.

He may be entering his third year as head coach of the Tennessee football program, but Jeremy Pruitt continues to have the Vols trending for prospects from his home state. Within a span of 24 hours, it happened again.

Rocky Top made the cut for two Alabama strongside defensive ends, DeMarcus Smith out of Parker High School in Birmingham, Ala. and Trinity Bell out of Albertville High School in Albertville, Ala. Both are three-stars on Rivals as well.

Bell put Tennessee football on his list first, as they made his top eight along with the Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Indiana Hoosiers, Purdue Boilermakers, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Kentucky Wildcats and UCF Knights. He announced the list late Sunday night, or early into Monday morning in some areas, on Twitter.

At 6’7″ 250 pounds, there are no predictions for his landing spot on the Rivals Future Cast or 247Sports Crystal Ball, but the Vols are a majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast to land him. That could be very positive news for them, and despite him only being a three-star, Bell’s incredible size means Pruitt could find a way to make him very effective.

Just over 12 hours after Bell’s list, Smith released his own on Monday afternoon, with the Vols in his top 10. Joining them are the Ole Miss Rebels, Memphis Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Kansas Jayhawks, UAB Blazers, Georgia State Panthers, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Jacksonville State Gamecocks. He also released his list on Twitter.

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There are no predictions for Bell on the Rivals Future Cast, the 247Sports Crystal Ball or even the Rivals Fan Future Cast. So it’s safe to say Tennessee football is as much in the running as anybody to land Smith, but the question is how much they are pursuing him. After all, not many Power Five schools are interested in him, and he doesn’t bring the size that bell does.

Regardless, the Vols have to be happy about continuing to establish a presence in the state of Alabama, and with numerous players on the defensive line, including the edge of the line, set to graduate after this year, that’s one area where Pruitt should go for bodies. As a result, he knows what he is doing.

Both prospects still have lots of people on their list, though. So UT fans just have to wait and see how it all plays out. This was a great first step for them, though, and it shows where Pruitt is putting some of his focus for the next class.