National Signing Day was more than a month ago, but Josh Heupel continues to improve Tennessee football for 2021. On Friday, he received a commitment from a preferred walk-on who could be a steal for the Vols.
Lucius Brunetti, a 2021 three-star on Rivals and 247Sports Composite, committed to UT as a walk-on, according to Eric Cain of VolQuest. A product of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tenn., Brunetti’s father, Tony Brunetti, is the head coach at Pearl-Cohn High School.
With the addition of Brunetti, Tennessee football has two players joining the roster in 2021 from Montgomery Bell Academy. William Griffin-Parker, an offensive lineman who is a three-star on Rivals and a three-star on Rivals and 247Sports Composite but a four-star on ESPN, also committed to the Vols. Brunetti announced his commitment on Twitter.
COMMITTED. @Vol_Football @CoachGolesh @coachbrunetti2 @_Elite3 @RileyElite3 @MBAFootball pic.twitter.com/dNfst9GjLJ
— Lucien (@Lucien_Ross) March 12, 2021
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At 6’2″, Brunetti joins a receiving corps that is already deep, and he adds more size to it. That is crucial, as Velus Jones Jr. and Jalin Hyatt, both of whom stand at just 6’0″, are the top two returning contributors. However, with Cedric Tillman at 6’3″, Malachi Wideman at 6’4″ and Ramel Keyton at 6’3″, there are plenty of options when it comes to finding the guy who adds size.
Adding Brunetti goes a long way towards helping UT out on that front. The same is true for Julian Nixon, another member of the 2021 recruiting class who stands at 6’4″ and is a three-star on Rivals and a four-star on 247Sports and ESPN.
Weighing between 170 and 175 pounds, Brunetti will need to put on weight, but his height is key to giving Heupel options with the receiver rotation in his first year as head coach. Here is a look at the walk-on’s highlight reel.
As you can see, Brunetti has great vision with the ball in his hands and is a really good route-runner. He also knows how to catch 50-50 balls, a huge deal. Although his athleticism may be in question, his instincts appear to be elite.
In addition to the height advantage, Tennessee football should now have enough receivers to be able to find somebody to offset the losses of Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson. That will make spring practice very interesting, but while this unit is lacking in proven production, it’s no longer lacking in depth.