Tennessee suffers major recruiting blow as a 4-star DL slips away

It has been a great month of June for Josh Heupel and Tennessee, as the Vols have been dominant on the recruiting trail, picking up a boatload of commitments. Tennessee’s recruiting class grew from eight players to 16 during the month. However, the class is now back down to 15 after a four-star defensive lineman decommitted.

Tennessee fans have every right to be upset about DeSean Bishop’s CFB 27 rating

Unfortunately, Kadin Fife has decommitted from Tennessee, which comes as somewhat unsurprising news, as rumors had been circulating that he might not ultimately end up in the Vols’ class. Fife took official visits to Georgia and Ole Miss this summer, so he will likely remain in the SEC.

Tennessee loses 4-star DL commit Kadin Fife

Tennessee does have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail now that it has officially lost Fife. The Vols currently have only one defensive line commitment in the class, JUCO prospect Christian Mays. Rodney Garner is one of the best defensive line coaches in the country, which is why Tennessee’s struggles on the recruiting trail at the position feel so unusual. Garner has built a career as an elite recruiter, so don’t count him out just yet.

Pretty much every defensive lien target who visited the Vols is now committed to a different school. Josh Heupel is going to have to get creative to fill out this class.

Don’t be surprised if Tennessee is very active trying to flip players this fall, especially those committed to Power Conference schools with head coaches on the hot seat. Every year near signing day, when programs have disappointing seasons, other schools swoop in and try to poach the best talent from their recruiting classes. Tennessee will likely have to do that if it wants to add more defensive linemen to this class.

Another approach Heupel and Garner will likely take is targeting senior risers. Every year, there are plenty of players who have breakout senior seasons and go from being under-the-radar prospects to blue-chip recruits. Tennessee’s recruiting department will need to be grinding through film and evaluating prospects in search of the next breakout player.

If Tennessee does end up skipping out on adding more defensive linemen, which seems very unlikely, there will still be plenty of young options available in the portal. That is always another route the Vols could take. The good thing about this approach is that players come in physically ready and have some in-game experience against Division I competition. Tennessee could grab a few players with three years of eligibility left to keep the pipeline going.

The cruel reality is that recruiting is a cutthroat world, and since the arrival of the Wild West era of college football, it has become even more chaotic. Tennessee hasn’t benefited much from that this recruiting cycle, but with signing day still six months away, the Vols have plenty of time to make something big happen, even if it feels like they’re running out of options.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow