The rising Pensacola, Fla. cornerback chose the Tennessee football Volunteers.
After a drought of over a month on the commitment front, Tennessee football got its 24th pickup for its top five 2021 recruiting class. Jeremy Pruitt added another skill player from the state of Florida in the process.
Fast-rising defensive back Damarius McGhee, who stands at 6’0″ 162 pounds, committed to Rocky Top Thursday. Although he is listed as a two-star on Rivals, McGhee has shot up the rankings on ESPN and 247Sports, and he is now a four-star on both of those.
A native of Pensacola, Fla., which is up on the Florida panhandle, McGhee comes out of Pensacola Catholic High School and was fielding offers from several elite Power Five schools. He announced his commitment to Tennessee football on Twitter.
It was a tough decision, but there y’all go🧡#GBO pic.twitter.com/Mjaim8ytR4
— Damarius McGhee (@D_McGhee6) July 30, 2020
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With the addition of McGhee, the Vols now have four defensive backs in their 2021 class. They include three-stars Jay Jones and Edwin White of Alabama along with three-star De’Shawn Rucker, who is also from the panhandle in Tallahassee, Fla.
Three-star in-state athlete Elijah Howard of Chattanooga and four-star athlete Kaemen Marley out of North Carolina could also play defensive back, but they are looking at running back and receiver respectively as well for now. Four-star Kamar Wilcoxson was another Florida secondary player committed to UT, but he flipped back to his original commitment, the Florida Gators.
Anyway, the only drawback on McGhee’s ratings is that Rivals hasn’t taken the time to update them yet. They don’t even have a profile pic of him. Once they do, he’s likely to boost UT’s class across all services, and that will also bump his 247Sports Composite rating from a three-star to a four-star. Here is a look at his highlight reel.
As you can see, McGhee is a spectacular athlete who can burn people in the open field, and him doing that in Florida means his speed is legitimate. He also looks like he has some safety skills and great instincts with the ball in his hands despite being a cornerback.
Including to McGhee and Rucker, Tennessee football has four players committed from the Sunshine state for 2021 so far, all defensive players. Three-star defensive end Darrell Jackson of Havana, Fla. and four-star linebacker Terrence Lewis, another former Gator commitment, of Hollywood, Fla., are the other two.