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Tennessee football’s National Signing Day surprisingly encouraging: Five storylines

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

3. No decommitments

Okay, this may be an overrated take. After all, Tennessee football has suffered a wave of decommitments dating back do October. It started with the Vols simply suffering through a bad season on the field in Jeremy Pruitt’s third year on the job. The minute they lost 34-7 to the Kentucky Wildcats, negative energy crept into the program.

Before the investigation even began, a wave of decommitments turned a top five class into one outside of the top 15. However, on National Signing Day, there was no major drama involving players trying to leave.

The addition of the investigation at the end of the year could have accelerated that issue. It certainly ruined any chance of UT winning back those decommitments, including players like Terrence Lewis, one of the program’s best commitments for a long period of time.

Lucky for the Vols, though, the Early Signing Period had already taken place, so many of those players were locked into the program, and most of them appear to be embracing it anyway. Plenty of them are early enrollees and have publicly expressed their desire to stay with the program. There is one major exception, though, and it leads to our next storyline.

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