War Room: Recruiting, open date growth, hoops and more
We begin this edition of the War Room as we always do. The War Room is a collective effort of Tennessee notes and news gathered throughout the week by the Volquest staff that is located only on the General’s Quarters. And now, it’s on with the news.
The Tennessee football team has the weekend off while the football staff is on the road recruiting (more on that below).
For the team this week has been about healing and continued fundamentals for the younger players.
As for the healing, it starts with Dont’e Thornton at receiver and his delicate hamstring. Thornton was bothered by a tender hamstring back in the spring. It flared up again over the summer and then again this past week. The focus has obviously been on getting Thornton well this week. The same for Andrej Karic who has not practiced this week and his return for the Texas A&M game is not a guarantee. Even if available it feels like Ollie Lane would get the start at left guard, but we will see.
Tennessee receiver Bru McCoy hopes to be released from the hospital this weekend. McCoy has been visited by coaches and teammates on a regular basis and is anxious to get back to the complex and around his teammates while he heals and awaits the start of the rehab process.
The question of who fills his shoes remains just that, a question. Head coach Josh Heupel made it clear this week that no major changes are coming to the offense as a result of the injury and that it’s a next man up mentality. But it will be interesting to not only see how those snaps are divided up but what tweaks are made game plan wise without McCoy. As for Dee Williams on offense, Heupel is right in that he won’t ever be a true receiver in the offense, but an offensive package or some snaps for him is a possibility.
Williams has been helping the scout team offense out this season giving the defense a look to help with some open field tackling which has been an issue for this defense.
This week is another week for Joe Milton’s knee to heal some more. He was clearly not 100% against South Carolina and as a result there was no Milton in the run game. Tennessee has been pretty calculated the last couple years in running the quarterback. The bigger the game and offensive challenge the more the quarterback factored in with called quarterback runs.
The Vols will need Milton’s legs to a degree in October which is why getting him healthy has been the focal point. He’s not missed any practice time but the extra week to heal certainly was good timing.
As for the younger guys, it’s another week to learn and grow where it’s not all about a game plan. And we are seeing some guys grow, especially at linebacker with Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander. For Carter, the growth has come from extra mental work during the week that is helping slow the game down.
“I really took it to another level because seeing older guys like Keenan (Pili) and Beasley getting in the playbook,” Carter said. “The biggest thing for me was knowing my assignments more, picking up keys and details from the offense that we are playing. It’s more of a mental thing in college for me. I would say for any young guys stepping into college, you have to come in with the right mindset, be prepared to know you have to step in with a different approach. You can’t just go out there and play. You have to put time in and that’s what I have been doing.”
On the facilities front, it’s more wire pulling in Neyland Stadium with the open date as they continue to bring more access points on line weekly.
The biggest movement facilities wise is the full start to renovations to Lindsey Nelson Stadium which means seats closer to the action down both foul lines and a tied in permanent structure on the left field line.
“If you came there now you would see fences just past the foul line. There’s literally no foul territory right now and that’s so they can add 2-3 rows of seats closer to the field. It will get the action closer, then the entire left field line is going to be extended from our grandstand so the stadium is more complete. It’s going to look a lot more professional. It’s going to be a lot more aesthetically pleasing and we are adding seats. It should all be done by the start of our season or close to. Then even better is that there is more to come. When next season is over with, we will pick back up where we left off and we will be doing major construction as well,” head coach Tony Vitello said.
For Vitello the renovations have been a long time coming where patience has been tested at times.
“It’s just really gratifying. There’s a lot of different emotion or words you could throw out there,” Vitello said. “It depends on the moment you are looking out of your office or when you arrive to work each day. We are missing a bunch of trees we had like four days ago. All in all you just kind of take a second to really appreciate it. You think about all the players that contributed.
“Your mind kind of wonders, what if someone else were here. Would it have been built quicker? Would it have not been built? You come back to the amazing feeling that you are a part of something that’s going to be historic in changing this ballpark and more importantly in my mind making more room for these fans to be able to come rather than looking at stub hub prices and saying there’s no way I’m paying that to go to a game.”
Recruiting
Last weekend could not have gone any better in terms of how the game played out with the visitors that were in the stands. Jordan Seaton loved everything about his time in Knoxville. He was able to really connect with the Tennessee commitments that were in town and he was blown away by the fans and the atmosphere at the game. Coming into the game. I would’ve said that Tennessee was a few spots back there right now I think they are neck and neck with Alabama. Florida is still deep in it as well but the Vols definitely moved the needle for Seaton, who will be back for an official visit in November.
Mississippi running back Daniel Hill is also someone who we think Tennessee was trailing for coming in to his visit, but left a very solid impression with last weekend. Based off people we have spoken to, Tennessee seems to be the biggest threat to Alabama for Hill coming out of last weekend. South Carolina is still in play but they appear to be fading a touch based off people we have spoken with.
Statesboro, Ga. wideout Kam Mikell has been feeling Tennessee for a long time. His visit last weekend didn’t do anything to change that. He will be at Texas A&M this weekend and Kentucky later in the month but as here in early October, the Vols remain in the best position to land the talented athlete who is going to come off the board later this month or in early November.
Two commitments that are hearing from their home state schools are Colorado offensive lineman Gage Ginther and South Carolina, wide receiver Braylon Staley. In both instances, we don’t believe there is much to worry about as of this moment. We will have more on Ginther in the next day or so.
We mentioned last week that Tennessee and Max LeBlanc have been in contact and we believe there is a strong chance he comes in next weekend for the Texas A&M game.
There has also been some chatter about Kam Franklin reaching out to Tennessee about a possible visit for the Georgia game but that one still feels like it’s a long way from being anything.
Coaches are out and about on the recruiting trail as some coaches were out on Thursday while others will be out all day on Friday.
Head coach Josh Heupel will be up in Ohio seeing William Satterwhite and in North Carolina plus Savannah to see Jake Merklinger.
Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks will be out in the Midwest seeing JUCO defensive linemen Kemari Copeland, Jamal Wallace and Brien Taylor as they look to learn more about each as their recruiting processes ramp up.
Speaking of Copeland, the fast-rising JuCo prospect planned to take his official visit to Knoxville next weekend, but he wants to make sure his family is able to join him, so he will now come in November for the weekend of the Georgia game. Tennessee is in the thick of this one, and Auburn is another team to keep an eye on. Wallace is also planning his official visit for the same weekend in November.
Rodney Garner was out Thursday and Friday in Georgia and the Carolinas. He will see Amaris Williams on Friday as Tennessee continues to try and flip the Florida commitment.
Mike Ekeler will be in Missouri seeing Kellen Lindstrom and others. Willie Martinez will be in the state of Georgia on Friday including a trip to Milton high school. Tennessee continues to be in a good spot with Milton defensive back Dylan Lewis, who will be coming off the board very soon.
Brian Jean Mary is going by to see Jordan Burns with additional stops in the area. He is also going down to Orlando as well.
Alec Abeln is heading west to see Roger Saleapaga out in Utah and Cole Harrison in California. Harrison is yet to get an offer but we believe one is coming. As for Saleapaga, he will be in town for his official in November.
Glen Elarbee was in Colorado on Thursday seeing Gage Ginther. After that he flew to Texas and will see Max Anderson and Bennett Warren along with others.
Kelsey Pope spent Thursday in the state of Virginia, where he saw Virginia Tech commit Chanz Wiggins. He will be in South Carolina tomorrow to see Braylon Staley as the Vols continue to stay ahead for him.
Jerry Mack spent Thursday and Friday working the Tar Heel State as Tennessee likes several players for the next few cycles there. Mack is seeing players like Isaiah Campbell, Steve Murray, Kendra Harrison, Bryce Davis, Faizon Brandon and Shamarius Perkin.
Joey Halzle is in southeast Georgia seeing Jake Merklinger with Heupel in addition to others.
Hoops
It always seems to feel like basketball season kind of gets here out of nowhere, and that’s the case again now. Tennessee is a little more than three weeks from playing an exhibition at Michigan State.
Preseason practice is well underway and there’s a quite confidence around the program that this has a chance to be one of Rick Barnes’ best teams in Knoxville.
There’s a lot to like about this team on the surface, but two of the biggest have got to be perimeter depth and proven veteran leadership. This might be the strongest crop of leaders that Barnes has had at Tennessee with fifth year seniors like Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James along with third year guys like Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler.
This looks like it’s definitely going to be a player led team with a bunch of guys who are comfortable holding teammates accountable and that’s always a good thing.
Speaking of Zeigler everything you hear about his rehab is positive. The hope was always that he would be ready to go by November, and as of now it’s hard not to think that won’t be the case.
Barnes and the training staff have been handing him with kid gloves and will remain cautious, but Zeigler is clearly chomping at the bit. He took part in the early portion of practice on Tuesday, doing 3-on-3 half court work and appeared to show plenty of acceleration and quickness. He certainly wasn’t being shy about putting pressure on the knee and didn’t seem at all tentative. As of right now all the best-case-scenarios for Zeigler getting back seem to be in play.
On paper the strength of this team is clearly on the perimeter where there’s so much depth (when Zeigler is back) that the competition for minutes is going to be fierce. One ‘workaround’ for Barnes to find minutes for guys is that James, Mashack and Dalton Knecht are all capable of playing the four in ‘small ball’ line-ups.
There are some questions about post depth. Just about anyone in college basketball would be happy to have Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka (who looks great after his first offseason in the S&C program) as their top two front line guys. But behind them the Vols are hoping that a pair of freshman; JP Estrella and/or Cade Phillips is going to be able to provide some minutes.
Estrella was always looked at as someone who could potentially help this year and that remains the case. Phillips has been a pleasant surprise. He was slowed by a shoulder injury early in the summer and the general assumption was the he was headed for a redshirt.
That’s no longer the case. Phillips has been a force on the glass lately, leading the team in rebounding in a recent scrimmage.
Moving on to the recruiting front in 2024 Tennessee remains in the race for four-star wing Chase McCarty from IMG Academy. It’s been over a month since his official visit to Knoxville, but Tennessee has remained in steady contact with him.
McCarty has taken advantage of the NCAA’s relaxed rules regarding official visits and has taken eight of them. There’s some speculation out there that Houston is the team to beat but McCarty has been silent on favorites.
Tennessee had some big time underclassmen on campus last week. Atlanta area five-star Caleb Wilson, a consensus top-five prospect in 2025 was in town and he is someone that Tennessee has made a priority. Getting him to campus early was big, but this is going to be big time recruiting battle. The Vols are in there early though.
Shooting guard Darius Adams from New Jersey, a top-25 prospect in ’25, who plays at powerhouse La Lumiere Academy in Indiana, is a prospect that the Vols are trying to gain some traction with. It’s early, but the buzz coming out of the weekend is that Tennessee made a strong impression on Adams.
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