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Tennessee football 2021 recruiting class by the numbers

By Caleb Calhoun

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 /
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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) /

The 2021 Tennessee football recruiting class has been wrapped up. Josh Heupel’s first class finishes with 21 commitments, 20 of whom are confirmed signees. Andison Coby’s status appears unclear at the time. However, 19 of these signees were commitments to Jeremy Pruitt. Only one was to Heupel, and Coby committed, surprisingly, to Kevin Steele.

Two graduate transfers also committed in Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Hendon Hooker, who committed to Pruitt, and USC Trojans place kicker Chase McGrath, who committed to Heupel. Auburn Tigers defensive end Markaviest “Big Kat” Bryant also committed to Pruitt, but he deleted his tweet committing after Pruitt was fired, so his status is up in the air.

Rocky Top’s class is ranked No. 17 on Rivals, No. 16 on 247Sports and No. 6 in the SEC on both services. But taking all that into account, what are the basic numbers with the class? We break that down here. All of this involves 2021 commitments, meaning the graduate transfers don’t count. Here is a look at Tennessee football’s 2021 recruiting class by the numbers.

Early enrollees: 10 (potentially 11)

This is a big jump from last year, when the Vols only had four early enrollees. Of course, that ended up not mattering much anyway, as spring practice was shut down early due to the COVID outbreak that continues to affect the sports world in a major way.

Anyway, this year, the Vols have 10 certain early enrollees. Three of them are unanimous four-stars, and two more have four-star ratings by at least one recruiting service. Dual-threat quarterback Kaidon Salter, a unanimous four-star, is the standout early enrollee, as the quarterback competition will be a major storyline in Josh Heupel’s first spring practice.

One of the players listed by 247Sports as already enrolled is Coby. He would make 11 early enrollees for Tennessee football, but we can’t say for certain he’s enrolled, as he’s not listed on the ESPN version of UT’s class, Rivals still only has him as a verbal commitment and he’s not showing up on UTSports 2021 list of signees when you go to the roster. We’re leaving him off for now.

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