Tennessee football makes cut for 2023 Georgia DL Justin Benton

Versatile defensive linemen are key to Tim Banks’ system, and Georgia players have always been key to Tennessee football on the recruiting trail. As a result, it’s good news for them to now be trending for a 2023 versatile defensive lineman just outside of Atlanta.

Justin Benton, a four-star on Rivals and ESPN but a three-star on 247Sports and On3, has the Vols in his top eight. Coming out of Newton High School in Covington, Ga., Benton stands in the range of 6’0″ and 6’2″ while weighing in the range of 270 to 280 pounds.

Joining Tennessee football on Benton’s list are the Georgia Bulldogs, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, West Virginia Mountaineers, Duke Blue Devils, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Houston Cougars. He announced the schools with a video on Twitter.

Given his size, Benton’s position listing is mixed. Rivals has him as a defensive tackle. ESPN has him as a defensive end. On3 and 247Sports has him as a generic defensive lineman. That level of versatility is a good fit for Banks’ system, though.

This past year, the Vols had two such defensive linemen in Ja’Quain Blakely and Caleb Tremblay. However, both are gone, and while Josh Heupel did bring in some talent to help with that in 2022, it’s not enough. He needs more depth.

As a result, a guy like Benton would be a huge get for Rocky Top. He also has connections to Heupel’s old stomping grounds, having spent his junior year at IMG Academy in Florida, and the Vols appear to be gaining since they weren’t in his top 10 list last November.

Currently, UGA is the unanimous favorite to land him on Rivals and has earned both 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions with one high and one medium score on confidence intervals. On3 also has them as a majority favorite with Penn State second, although the South Carolina Gamecocks are third there, and they didn’t make the cut.

Taking all this into account, nothing’s set in stone yet, and On3 does have Tennessee football in fourth place, so the Vols may have a chance to make a run at Benton. However, they’ll still have to cut into what appears to be an overwhelming lead for Georgia.