Tennessee football commitment Dylan Brooks asks for release
![Gordo's Corbett McCrackin (7) sticks his hand up to block Handley's Dylan Brooks (26). The Gordo Green Wave fell to the Handley Tigers 35-20 in the AHSAA Class 4A state championship game on Dec. 4, 2020 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. [Photo/Hannah Saad]Tus Al Gordovshandley4achampionship 12439](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F4dee4de4add43fe86fb4896f7f0faf686008215ae5d06c8f43c1ea9e2601c375.jpg "Gordo's Corbett McCrackin (7) sticks his hand up to block Handley's Dylan Brooks (26). The Gordo Green Wave fell to the Handley Tigers 35-20 in the AHSAA Class 4A state championship game on Dec. 4, 2020 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. [Photo/Hannah Saad]Tus Al Gordovshandley4achampionship 12439")
We expected these things to happen upon the news of Tennessee football firing Jeremy Pruitt, Shelton Felton and Brian Niedermeyer, and they are happening. The Vols appear to be losing one of their elite signees in their 2021 recruiting class.
Alabama edge rusher Dylan Brooks, a four-star on Rivals, 247Sports, 247Sports Composite and ESPN, submitted a National Letter of Intent Release Request on Tuesday, according to Auburn Undercover. Brooks, a 2021 prospect, signed with the Vols back at the end of December.
Coming out of Handley High School in Roanoke, Ala., Brooks committed to Tennessee football back on April 26. Standing at 6’5″ and somewhere between 225 and 255 pounds, the edge rusher and outside linebacker got the ball rolling on huge wave of momentum for recruiting on Rocky Top from last spring into last summer. Of course, that’s all been undone now.
It makes sense that Brooks would ask for this release. He would have been coached by Pruitt, Derrick Ansley and either Felton or Jimmy Brumbaugh when he committed. Brumbaugh was fired midseason, and now Pruitt and Felton are gone, so Ansley is the only coach he would have been working with who is still on the roster, and he’ll likely be gone soon as well.
If Brooks is granted his release, UT will be down to just 19 commitments for its 2021 class. Obviously, with National Signing Day just weeks away, this class is going to be a loss anyway. We have no way of knowing how it will end up.
However, Brooks asking out of his release appears to severely hurt Rocky Top at a specific position. The Vols added Auburn Tigers transfer edge rusher Big Kat Bryant over the weekend, but he has since deleted his post announcing his commitment, as he committed directly to play for Felton. Both guys may be gone now.
Taking all this into account, Tennessee football could end up with a severely weakened roster when this all comes to an end. Add in the fact that the NCAA investigations may cost them some scholarships, and they appear to be in real trouble.