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Tennessee football makes cut for elite 2022 S.C. LB Jaylen Sneed

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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A key for Tennessee football to return to its glory days is to try to find a way to re-establish a pipeline into South Carolina. The Vols just had a player from South Carolina sign with an NFL team, Bryce Thompson, and they have another in Jalin Hyatt expected to be a go-to receiver in 2021. Now, Josh Heupel has them trending for 2022 prospects.

Rocky Top is now in the top five for Hilton Head, S.C. linebacker Jaylen Sneed. A four-star across all services, Sneed comes out of Hilton Head High School and stands at 6’2″ 210 pounds. He is also listed as an outside linebacker specifically across all services, making him another edge rusher UT is pursuing early in this cycle.

Joining Tennessee football in Sneed’s top five are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies and Oregon Ducks. Sneed revealed all of the schools with a video on Twitter Sunday night.

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Obviously, the Vols already have a built-in advantage with the Clemson Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks being out of the picture. Of all the schools on that list, UT is by far the closest. That’s reason enough for Heupel to work overtime to try to land him.

Also, although he is technically listed as an outside linebacker, the fact of the matter is he is still a linebacker, and Tim Banks needs a lot more players at that position in the future. The Vols are extremely thin there right now.

One of the Vols’ early commitments, Elijah Herring, is an outside linebacker as well, but Sneed would be a much more high-profile commitment. Also, he would add to what looks like is turning into an edge rusher heavy class with strongside defensive end Venson Sneed committed as well.

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Right now, Notre Dame is the unanimous favorite on the Rivals Future Cast and the 247Sports Crystal Ball to land Sneed. They are also the majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast. However, as we mentioned, Tennessee football has some built-in advantages. The Vols need to use them heavily in the coming weeks, and they could turn the tables on that front.

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