War Room: Recruiting, facility news, baseball transfer work, 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. And now, it’s on with the news.
Team
Tennessee will get the holiday weekend off then back to the regular grind on July 5th. With Monday the 3rd and the 4th being off-days when guys can get away for a final weekend before the grind really starts. This weekend is basically the last downtime for players until after the bowl game, aside from the open date. So it’s go time. When the players return some heat will return with them which is not a bad thing.
It’s been a mild spring and start to summer so getting some heat work isn’t bad. Tennessee works out in the mornings, just like their practice schedule, so it’s by no means an issue or a concern, this team has been in really good shape the last two years and has handled the heat well.
This weekend also gives guys a chance to recover and heal up from any issues they might be dealing with. July is a hard work month, but the strength coaches’ job is to return the team to the coaching staff not only bigger, faster and stronger, but most importantly healthy. Hamstrings and groin issues are always a concern this time of the year.
Emmanuel Okoye, who continues to get acclimated and could work at both defensive end and tight end in fall camp, is having no trouble getting acclimated in the weight room. Okoye has put on 6-8 pounds and says he’s is at 228 pounds. He should be over 230 when fall camp starts. Chandavian Bradley has added 10 pounds this summer and says he’s at 225.
Shamurad Umarov îs at 315 pounds which is what he was when he arrived, but Umarov has reduced his body fat and has leaned up a bit.
Quarterback Joe Milton not only threw it a country mile in New Orleans at the Manning camp, Milton also got to spend some time with the Mannings and talk not only ball, but managing everything as the quarterback at Tennessee and in the SEC.
Milton has also hung out with his good friend Hendon Hooker this summer who has been back in Knoxville. Milton is putting in work and everyone seems pleased with where he is and with his leadership as well.
For the coaches it some time off. The offices are never completely empty as there is always a coach on each side of the ball in the complex for players, but over the next 3 weeks, the staff gets in days (not consecutively) nearly 2 weeks.
Tennessee finished 6th in the Learfield Directors Cup, for Danny White that’s an 8% bonus on his base salary. Remember White bonus maxes out at 300k and he will have no trouble hitting the max this year.
On3 NIL beat man Pete Nakos ranked Tennessee’s collective, Spyre Sports, the most ambitious collective in the country this week. The for-profit arm, The Volunteer Club, has grown to 2,769 members with an expansive e-commerce business.
According to Spyre, they have executed 1,400 deals since July 2021. They currently have 90 athletes on active contracts. Spyre told On3 in February the Volunteer Club had procured $13.5 million in NIL deals. They recently did a team-wide baseball deal with all but two players doing the deal that helped pay for family travel to Omaha.
A partnership with the Vol Network that will see signage, and promotion on the air and inside the athletic venues should be announced in the coming days.
Tennessee is still patiently waiting on a ruling from the NCAA regarding the investigation into the infamous Jeremy Pruitt era. There is some thought that it will come some time in July. But honestly some thought it would come in June and it obviously didn’t. So the waiting continues.
On the facilities front, today is the day the Board of Trustees is expected to approve the $95 million funding for Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Tennessee athletic officials will be on hand for today’s meeting. Many have asked what will they get done this off-season and more importantly with an additional $30+ million what will it look like?
We should get an idea of where they will start later on (we expect it to be the left field side with permanent seats), but as for looks, we expect Tennessee to release updated renderings as early as today, but the concept of the design isn’t changing compared to the first renderings released.
As for Neyland Stadium, where additional funding is expected to be approved, work continues on the wi-fi project and the renovations. Reinforcement/repair of the ‘bones’ in the south endzone continue after that area has finally been gutted. Removing everything in South Stadium Hall has been a discussion and project since Mike Hamilton first introduced renovating Neyland Stadium nearly 20 years ago.
The brick work is well underway in the tunnels/portals in the south end as you can see in the picture.
Holes are being bored into the stadium in the lower bowl and the technology boxes are being installed on the east side of the stadium for the wifi. The progress there seems to be going well. Lots of finishing work is being done in the club area on the west side that was opened last season. The inside of that area will look a lot different this fall.
Bottom line is that there are a lot of workers doing a lot of stuff in and around the stadium.
Recruiting
After picking up a handful of commitments the last couple of weeks, all eyes will be on Aiken, S.C. wide receiver Braylon Staley on Friday afternoon. Staley will announce his choice sound 4 p.m. with the Vols looking to keep the momentum they gained two weeks ago on his official visit.
The only other definitive decision we know coming is Braylen Russell, who will announce his decision on his birthday July 14th at 6:30 p.m. It’s a Tennessee and Arkansas battle and we have said we thought the Vols had the momentum going into the weekend. He had a phenomenal visit last week so nothing has changed in our mind.
Edwin Spillman told us earlier this week that he is looking to do something in mid-to-late July. Expect him to announce a final two of Tennessee and Ohio State. We will stick by our thoughts that Tennessee makes too much sense and it’s just hard to see him going elsewhere.
Staying in state, Ronan O’Connell is a regular Houdini who vanished on Sunday following his official visit. He doesn’t like interviews and he avoided them like he has been known to do. He is down to Tennessee and Clemson based off everything we continue to hear. We still feel like Tennessee is the team to beat.
Heading down to Chattanooga and that’s where we find Amari Jefferson. The Baylor standout had himself a time last weekend in Knoxville, but Alabama is real competition for Tennessee. Alabama still feels optimistic that they hold a slight lead, but we will continue to say that several things just line up in the Tennessee column when you do a deep dive into his recruitment.
As for fellow wide receiver Mike Matthews, nothing is ‘done done,’ but everything we continue to hear is good for the Vols. He had a phenomenal weekend in Knoxville and Tennessee really impressed the parents. This is another mid to late July decision.
Not to be left out at the receiver position, Ryan Wingo just concluded a month-long slate of official visits. This one remains hard to read but the Vols are clearly in the picture. We believe Michigan and Texas are the two biggest competitors at this point. There is likely still a long way to go in this one.
We do not expect Wingo in town for the cookout at the end of July, but Tennessee is working to get him here at some point during that open week for an on-campus visit. We believe there is a strong possibility he makes it in.
Texas offensive lineman Bennett Warren went from barely knowing anything about Tennessee to a potential Vol when he announces in the next few weeks. This is another one that isn’t ‘done done’ but the Vols left last weekend with all the momentum.
Texas A&M is the local school who is pushing for him to come visit in late July when things open back up. Does he make it that long? Time will tell.
Multiple sources told us this week that they can see Jordan Ross and Danny Okoye in Orange. Okoye was here unofficially so that’s great news for Tennessee as he looks like he will be back for his official in late September for the South Carolina game.
As for Ross, it’s a bit harder in our opinion because you will have to find a way to sustain the momentum you gained last weekend with him continuing to say he plans on taking it deep into the fall.
Another prospect that we feel like is trending to Tennessee is Cai Bates. The Vols seemed to have survived LSU swinging big last weekend on his official visit, but the Tigers are continuing to push here so Tennessee has to stay diligent as he works towards a decision.
Speaking of LSU, they are pushing to get Tylen Singleton on campus after the dead period ends. Look for him to be in Knoxville and Baton Rouge in late July. The LSU visit would be one he didn’t have on the books originally, which definitely causes pause.
Linebacker Chris Cole tells us he will be in town for the picnic at the end of next month to take another look at Tennessee. Miami thought they had it done last weekend, but he remains open to more visits.
We also feel like there is a good chance that Mater Dei big men Aydin Breland and Brandon Baker make it to town in late July for the picnic that Tennessee is hosting. We will continue to monitor the traction there to see if they make it in.
It’s felt like Kamarion Franklin was getting close to a decision and we think overall that he is. With that said, we think a trip to Auburn in July is a real possibility and that would only muddy the waters even more.
We are not going to slam the door on Tennessee and Elijah Rushing as things can change quickly, but it feels like Oregon or someone else may have some momentum there. Tennessee will continue to swing there in our opinion.
Baseball
The biggest news of the week regarding Tennessee baseball – and maybe nationally in the sport as well – was obviously Chase Burns going into the transfer portal. This situation should stand as the perfect example of how things can change in a hurry.
Though the talented right-hander was pretty much dead set on leaving the program following the move to the bullpen early in the season, the Vols thought they were in a realistic position as late as last week to hold on to him. Ultimately, it didn’t pan out and Burns didn’t want to be here.
Credit him for sticking around and competing like crazy for his teammates, as he was elite in the bullpen role, but welcome to the current era in college athletics.
It’s been a busy week for Tennessee in terms of additions via the transfer portal with three commits since our last War Room entry.
Right-handed pitcher AJ Causey has a different type of delivery with side arm action and could be a top candidate for relief innings in 2024. He could also start in a pinch as he was Jacksonville State’s Friday night guy this past season.
Fellow righty from Wichita State – Nate Snead – throws gas out of the bullpen and clocked 100 mph several times as a true freshman. No one can replace the talent of Chase Burns, but as far as a hard throwing righty out of the bullpen, Snead is the guy.
Former NC State freshman Cannon Peebles might have been the Vols’ top-target of the cycle. The staff will work with him to refine his defensive skills behind the plate, as he wanted an opportunity to catch and there wasn’t one with an established backstop in front of him who was just one year older. The switch-hitting bat will play, though, and could be a massive offensive upgrade at the position.
At current standing, the Vols are still in a great spot with former Wofford corner infielder Ryan Galanie. That is trending and has been for days. To our understanding, former Clemson slugger Billy Amick is still on campus for a visit and will leave Friday. We will work to get updates on that one. Florida and South Carolina are the biggest competition.
As noted in the GQ today, Luke Holman has great interest in Tennessee but won’t be in a hurry to make a decision. He’s made the Team USA roster and has other programs like Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Auburn in the mix as well. As of right now, we believe Tennessee is one of the favorites but a decision isn’t likely to come in the next few days. Drew Beam has been working hard on Holman this week as well.
It’s also been a big week for Beam and Christian Moore who have been competing with USA Baseball. On Thursday, it was announced the duo made the national team cut. Moore appeared in the ‘Stars’ lineup twice this week in exhibition play, highlighted by a 3-for-4 effort with a home run, a pair of runs driven in and two runs scored in Tuesday’s 12-0 win over the ‘Stripes.’ Beam started that game and pitched three innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit with two strikeouts across 10 batters.
The final 31-man roster will compete in a pair of five-game series against Chinese Taipei and Japan, with games taking place across the Carolinas from June 30-July 12.
As for the rest of the current Vols’ roster, many are off playing summer ball as we speak. Here’s who we know of for sure is playing and this is where they are playing:
Drew Beam: USA Baseball Training Camp
Christian Moore: USA Baseball Training Camp
Zach Joyce: Cape Cod League (Cotuit Kettleers)
JJ Garcia: Coastal Plain League (Forest City Owls)
Austin Hunley: Coastal Plain League (Forest City Owls)
Ryan Miller: Appalachian League (Kingsport Axmen)
Kavares Tears: Appalachian League (Kingsport Axmen)
Austen Jaslove: Appalachian League (Elizabethton River Riders)
Colby Backus: Appalachian League (Johnson City Doughboys)
A final note, Tennessee had three players enter the transfer portal this week: Chase Burns, Hollis Fanning and Logan Chambers. Look for NC State to be a player for Fanning.
Hoops
Tennessee’s coaching staff was on the road in Orlando this week in attendance at the prestigious NBAPA Top-100 Camp. The staff was there evaluating a ton of prospects, but two guys in attendance who were of particular importance were 2024 prospects Ahmad Nowell, a top-50 national prospect at point guard and Austin Swartz, the No. 28 overall prospect in the current class.
Notably, those are the only two 2024 prospects that the staff has brought in for an official visit in this cycle. With Swartz on campus just last week.
Unfortunately for Swartz, he injured his ankle last week and is simply in attendance at the NBAPA camp and is not taking part in competition. Nowell has reportedly had a good couple of days with Tennessee’s staff in attendance to watch him play.
It’s still early, but things seem to be trending up with Swartz at the moment but not so much with Nowell based on the buzz we’re hearing.
Florida wing Marcus Allen is another prospect in Orlando this week that the staff has expressed some interest in coming out of the spring evaluation period. Allen has had a good week at the camp reportedly but that one feels like a tough pull for Tennessee at the moment.
As for the current team, we’re don’t want to go to overboard, but we’ve heard a lot of positives concerning summer workouts. Yes, that’s typical, no one ever has a ‘bad summer.’
However, specifically, a few things we’re hearing. The three transfers, according to some we’ve spoken to, have been better than expected. In particular someone told us that the ‘skill set’ of all three was a pleasant surprise and that they had no problem meeting the program’s standards for effort and work ethic.
Another thing that was described to us was a big positive was the impact that Josiah James and Santiago Vescovi have had on workouts with their attitude and maturity. Everyone in the program assumed that those two guys would take on the leadership role for this team, but early signs are that both veterans have really leaned into their roles as elder statesmen on a team with a lot of new parts to integrate into one whole.
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