Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols who were or are walk-ons for 2022
8. 839. Athlete. Freshman. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Shannon Blair. player
6’0″ 175 pounds
One of Tennessee football’s preferred walk-on signees for 2022, Shannon Blair was a steal for the Vols. The local kid who graduated from Knoxville West High School in Knox County, Tenn., was initially committed to the Michigan State Spartans, so he was drawing national interest from FBS schools before joining Rocky Top.
Blair is listed as an athlete and likely to play defensive back. That’s a unit that lost two starters from this past year and has major questions surrounding its returning players at cornerback. Backup safety spots haven’t been resolved, either.
Taking all of that into account, Blair could definitely shock his way into the rotation. His HUDL profile suggests he runs a 4.49 40-yard dash, and he had offers from the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Purdue Boilermakers and Cincinnati Bearcats, all of whom along with MSU had successful seasons last year in their own right.
Although defensive back is his likely position, Blair’s ability to be a two-way athlete increases the possibility of him seeing the field this year. This kid was a three-star across all recruiting services, so his arrival was a huge steal for Josh Heupel. He’s probably already in the future plans for the Vols beyond 2022.