Tennessee football’s 2022 recruiting class by the numbers
![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](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1165d0eec30bd8f45ad320cced4c200025ad5e6f86392dbb5906a1baaef24429.jpg)
Player ratings
Unanimous four-stars: 3
- Tayven Jackson
- Addison Nichols
- Tyre West
Four-stars on three of four services: 3
- James Pearce (Four-star on Rivals, 247Sports, On3; Three-star on ESPN)
- Kaleb Webb (Four-star on Rivals, 247Sports, On3; Three-star on ESPN)
- Justin Williams (Four-star on Rivals, On3, ESPN; Three-star on 247Sports)
Four-stars on two of four services: 3
- Joshua Josephs (Four-star on 247Sports, On3; Three-star on Rivals, ESPN)
- Cameron Miller (Four-star on Rivals, ESPN; Three-star on 247Sports, On3)
- Dylan Sampson (Four-star on 247Sports, On3; Three-star on Rivals, ESPN)
Four-stars on one of four services: 3
- Maurice Clipper Jr. (Four-star on ESPN; Three-star on Rivals, 247Sports, On3)
- Charles Nimrod (Four-star on On3; Three-star on Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN)
- Marquarius White (Four-star on On3; Three-star on Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN)
Unanimous three-stars: 9
- Brian Grant
- Christian Harrison
- Elijah Herring
- Jayson Jenkins
- Kalib Perry
- Jordan Phillips
- Masai Reddick
- Jourdan Thomas
- Desmond Williams
Having your three best recruits be your future quarterback and then two players in the trenches, where two of your four biggest needs are this year, is a huge deal. In fact, outside of wide receiver, Tennessee football’s four biggest needs were covered in this class by either a junior college transfer with experience or a unanimous four-star recruit.
That’s a big deal. Tyre West will compete to play immediately on the defensive line, Addison Nichols will compete to replace Cade Mays, and Tayven Jackson has the chance to show he’s the future after Hendon Hooker. Desmond Williams will likely make an immediate impact too since he has three years of experience, which offset his three-star rating.
Receiver is the only position of need without experience or a unanimous four-star to address it. However, all four receivers committed have at least one four-star rating, half of them have multiple four-star ratings and one has three four-star ratings. That helps too.
Next. Signing Day - What went right; what went wrong. dark
Taking all of this into account, Tennessee football may not have the highest class ranking, but given what they have coming back and where Heupel addressed the needs, you couldn’t ask for much more. Heupel did so with lots of things working against him last year as well.