Tennessee football makes cut for 2022 five-star Miami OL

Offensive lineman Julian Armella of Miami, Fla. has the Tennessee football Volunteers in his top 10.

While Jeremy Pruitt continue to look for elite talent to add to the No. 2 ranked 2021 Tennessee football recruiting class, it’s never too early to look ahead to 2022. The Vols took a step towards doing that with a Florida prospect on Wednesday.

Julian Armella, a five-star offensive lineman on Rivals, announced that Rocky Top had reached his top 10. Despite no rankings yet for 2022, Armella, who comes out of Gulliver Prep School in Miami, Fla. and stands at 6’6″ 300 pounds, is likely to be a high prospect when they first arrive.

In addition to Tennessee football, Armella had the Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers, LSU Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines on his list. He announced the schools on Twitter.

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Although 2022 is a ways out, the Vols should always be looking at trying to get elite offensive linemen. After all, this year, they already have two seniors who are guaranteed to start up front this year in Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy, and a third, Jahmir Johnson, will be in the rotation. Provided he doesn’t redshirt, Riley Locklear will also be a crucial blocker up front.

Meanwhile, transfer Cade Mays is a junior along with Jerome Carvin and K’Rojhn Calbert. So of the nine guys certain to be in the rotation this year, six will be gone by 2022. Simply put, Pruitt has some work to do to reload that position, even if he has done a good job so far.

Considering the way the Vols have established a pipeline into Florida with their 2021 commitments, two of whom are four-stars once committed to the Gators, they should definitely be looking there to target elite talent. Armella would be a huge pickup for them.

Currently, there are no favorites to land him on the Rivals Future Cast. However, Florida State is a majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast and a unanimous favorite on the 247Sports Crystal Ball right now, so Tennessee football will have an uphill climb to get him. Their pro-style scheme, though, could be very beneficial to linemen like Armella. So UT certainly has a chance with him.