Ranking Tennessee football’s early enrollees for 2022 by potential impact

Josh Heupel didn’t secure the best recruiting class in Tennessee football history for 2022, but he secured a solid one, and they fill lots of huge needs. More importantly, the vast majority of them are early enrollees, so they’re getting a head start this spring to be able to develop, a huge advantage heading into fall camp.

Of UT’s 21 commitments, 13 are early enrollees. Then there’s a transfer to make up 14. Many of them have a chance to make an immediate impact based on the need at the position they play and their projected skills set coming into the program. This post will break that down.

Early enrollees mentioned here have to be scholarship players, Jackson Hannah, Charlie Browder and Navy Shuler aren’t on this list. There will be a separate list specifically for the walk-ons and their potential once they are sorted out. Here is a ranking of Tennessee football’s 14 early enrollees by who could play early.

6’7″ 290 pounds

There is a need for an offensive tackle given the departure of Cade Mays. As a result, Brian Grant was a solid pickup for the Vols from the Florida Panhandle. The graduate of Chochtawhatchee High School in Okaloosa County brings a solid bit of height to the position and is specifically an outside blocker, all big advantages.

However, there is only one official opening on the line right now, and Grant can’t work his way into the rotation at all on the interior. He was a three-star across the board, so based on the talent projections, it’ll take some time for him to develop before he can be a regular up front.

At 290 pounds, even in Heupel’s up-tempo system, Grant likely needs to put on some weight as well. Taking all of this into account, being an early enrollee helps him for the future, but Tennessee football won’t have much room for him to make an impact in 2022. Despite the position he plays, he’s got a lot of developing to do.