War Room: Recruiting heating up, NCAA talk, spring ball, hoops transfer chatter, 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.
The Tennessee football team has the weekend off before returning to Knoxville for the final week of spring next week. The Vols will wrap up spring ball next week with practice on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday before Saturday’s Orange and White game.
Thursday’s scrimmage saw youth on display. With youth you get some good and some growing pains. Defensively there was some growing pains with the young linebackers as they got all the reps with no Aaron Beasley or Keenan Pili scrimmaging. There’s not concern with them, but both have been a big banged up and there was no reason to take any chances with them. Same for Cooper Mays who was held out. Ollie Lane didn’t scrimmage either due to injury. He should be back for the final week of spring. So at linebacker youth was served and the same at center and left guard. At receiver, Dont’e Thornton was limited again as well.
The center reps the last two scrimmages have been huge for Addison Nichols as they seek a back up center to Mays. Don’t be surprised if Nichols is not in a battle for the left guard spot in fall camp. For now, the priority is finding a back up center to Mays and Nichols is the prime candidate so the focus is there, but come fall when it’s about getting the best five on the field, don’t be surprised if Nichols is not in the thick of the competition at left guard.
One of the questions going into the spring was the physicality of the tight ends. Through two scrimmages that group has shown themselves to be solid in the run game especially. It’s a learning curve for both transfer McCallan Castles and Ethan Davis. Neither are finished products but they have been willing and have improved in the run game as in-line tight ends and lead blockers.
The running back room showed itself well on Thursday. Tennessee is not getting Jaylen Wright beat up and Jabari Small is out after shoulder surgery in January. The result has been more reps for Dylan Sampson and newcomers Cam Seldon and Desean Bishop. Seldon got his first scrimmage work on Thursday and flashed his skills and Bishop has been a surprise all spring. Bishop is quiet and very reserved off the field. Much to our surprise his recruitment really never took off last summer that many thought resulting in him being a late add to the class. Bishop’s transition to college on and off the field has gone well and he’s shown himself well in the run game playing with good pad level and being tough to tackle.
When asked about Bishop and Seldon helping this fall, Josh Heupel gave the standard answer.
“We’re going to need them all. There are times where you stay really healthy for a really long period of time. You never know when your opportunity is going to come. We’re going to need all these guys throughout the course of the season. Competition. Iron sharpens iron. We’re going to need that, absolutely. Everybody on this roster better believe they have the opportunity to play next fall and continue to sharpen their skills. It’s fundamentals, it’s technique, it’s understanding what we do — offensively, defensively, special teams. It’s being able to be a mature competitor and handle everything that comes at you.”
How much any of the young guys get reps wise beyond Wright, Small and Sampson is an unknown but both Bishop and Seldon should leave spring practice with a lot of confidences and the staff should have more confidence in them.
At the end of March, strength coach Kurt Schmidt agreed to his new deal. According to Tennessee records, Schmidt’s deal runs through Jan. 2025 and he will make $475,000 which is a $75k raise from last year.
While things are rolling along in football, the countdown is on to Tennessee’s trip to Cincinnati for their hearing with the NCAA. As it stands now, the two sides will meet April 19-21. It’s important to note that no ruling will be made immediately following the hearing. It will be weeks to months before any final verdict is made.
So what’s the deal? That’s the question we have gotten all week.
We know Tennessee was hoping for a resolution over the last seversl months but that didn’t come. We also know that Tennessee contested one of the charges against them, the level one failure to monitor charge.
And that’s where things are in the case right now. It’s the failure to monitor charge. Tennessee’s obvious contention is once they learned of the transgression they took swift action, the NCAA is implying Tennessee should have known earlier and here’s where we stand — a hotel in Cincinnati April 19-21, where former head coach Jeremy Pruitt, former AD Phillip Fulmer and UT officials will meet with the NCAA as a part of the hearing. Former assistant coach Derrick Ansley is supposed to be there but he may not show as he’s ignored anything from the NCAA.
What is going to be in result? That’s anyone’s guess right now. Clearly, the NCAA committee wants to hear from all parties as a part of their procedure before closing the case.
Recruiting
It feels like Tennessee is starting to get some momentum on the recruiting trail. Colorado offensive lineman Gage Ginther was in town last weekend and he hit it off big with the staff. He and the staff connected really well and it’s hard to seeing it getting out of this weekend without him coming off the board.
After Ginther, who might be next?
The Vols are also in a tremendous spot with Jesse Perry who tweeted out Thursday that he will commit Friday afternoon. Perry is uber long and is super talented as a run blocker but is also raw in pass pro because of the style of offense at MTCS.
Page offensive lineman Ronan O’Connell picked up a Clemson offer this week and we feel like Tennessee remains in the best spot after this most recent round of visits.
Edrees Farooq was back in town last weekend with his teammate Ify Obidegwu. Farooq left campus in January with the Vols in front and we believe that is still the case. He has always maintained making a decision in April and we still believe that to be the case.
As for Obidegwu, we feel like the Vols are in a good spot heading into the summer. Oregon feels like Tennessee’s biggest competition with some around him preferring Eugene while others prefer Knoxville based off people we spoke with.
5-star linebacker Sammy Brown is in town today and tomorrow as he continues his tour of campuses. He is insistent he will take all five officials in June and we believe the Vols are in line to get one. Tennessee will have to play catch up in our mind as Clemson and Georgia seem to have more momentum as of now.
Boo Carter is planning his summer officials and then will announce his decision after that. Tennessee remains the team to beat in this one as he has a certain level of comfort in Knoxville.
So what will Max LeBlanc do? Ohio State is the biggest competition for Tennessee as he spent the last two weekends on both campuses. As of now, we feel like the Buckeyes may have the momentum.
Also at tight end, Jaden Reddell will be back in June for an official visit and as of this writing, we like where the Vols are at here. Reddell was close to a decision back in November when he came for a game but backed off. Other teams have come on like Alabama and Georgia but the Vols have been there and last weekend helped cement them with Reddell and his family.
Fellow Missouri native Williams Nwaneri also felt validated last weekend in his thoughts on the Vols. He will be back in June for an official and while this one will be a tough pull, the Vols have done all they can do to this point to have a legit chance.
Marques Easley was excited to get his first last at Tennessee last weekend, and it didn’t disappoint the big-time offensive tackle. He liked the Vols a lot coming in and the visit only solidified that. He plans to return to Knoxville in mid-June for an official visit. Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma are all key players in this one right now. A decision in the fall seems most likely here.
Atlanta EDGE Kameryn Fountain continues to report only positive things about Tennessee. The Vols have been out in front in this one for a while now, in our opinion, but South Carolina is working to make things difficult. He checked out Columbia again this week and is scheduled to be back in Knoxville next weekend. A decision at some point over the summer is seeming more likely here.
After Mike Matthews saw Tennessee earlier this week, he checked out several other schools before returning home. He has remained high on the Vols for sometime, and nothing appears to be changing on this front. In talking with multiple people this week, there is some belief that Clemson is Tennessee’s biggest competitor at this point, but it would also be unwise to rule out nearby Georgia. Matthews has been non-committal on which programs will get an OV, but there is reason to believe today the Vols are in line to get one of his five officials.
South Georgia ATH Kamron Mikell got his first look at Tennessee this week, and he liked what he saw, as well as spending time talking to both offensive and defensive coaches. Mikell had the Vols high on his list coming in and Tennessee solidified their position with the latest visit. Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and several others are among the programs keeping close tabs on the fast-rising prospect.
Alabama defensive back Travaris Banks continues to make his way back to Knoxville. He has built a strong connection with multiple coaches at Tennessee to this point, including defensive coordinator Tim Banks. The standout prospect plans to take a mid-June official visit. In-state Auburn is showing him he is a priority, but today, this feels more like a Tennessee-Florida State battle. Tennessee is set to get the last visit before his planned June 18th commitment date.
Coming up around noon today, 2025 defensive back Shamar Arnoux will announce his commitment. Tennessee has all the momentum in this one as he is very comfortable with Willie Martinez and the entire staff.
2025 quarterback George MacIntyre was in town on Thursday. It’s a who’s who recruiting the Brentwood Academy product but in our talks with people, it’s clear that Tennessee has done a good job early on. Clemson, Alabama and LSU would be considered Tennessee’s biggest competition as of now.
Hoops
On the team front, the Tennessee coaching staff is still waiting on a decision from Santiago Vescovi on what he plans to do next season. Either going pro or returning to the Vols are the options on the table and Tennessee obviously needs an answer as soon as possible as roster construction for next season is underway.
Josiah-Jordan James is also still undecided on next season. The senior wing will go through the NBA Draft process, but his next step after that could depend on the feedback he gets from his pre-draft workouts and interviews with NBA personnel.
Tennessee is targeting offensive production in the portal as the coaching staff looks to add to a roster that will get guard Freddie Dilione and DJ Jefferson in the rotation next season. The Vols are also eager to get four-star wing Cam Carr on campus after Carr played well in the GEICO Nationals in Florida last week. Carr helped lead Link Academy, where he’s teammates with Tennessee power forward signee Cade Phillips, to a national championship, scoring 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting in a semifinal win over Sunrise Christian.
In terms of portal recruiting, Tennessee will host Harvard forward Chris Ledlum on a visit next weekend and the Vols are working to get Florida State transfer Caleb Mills on a visit alongside Ledlum for the Orange & White Game weekend in Knoxville.
Mills and Northern Colorado’s Dalton Knecht are two more recent names Tennessee has been involved with. The Vols will have a Zoom meeting with Knecht next week as well.
North Texas senior guard Tylor Perry is another priority and a player the Tennessee staff is working with to set up a visit. The Vols have also been in contact with Iowa State guard Caleb Grill.
Perry, the 5-foot-11, 182-pound Conference USA Player of the Year, averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.1 minutes per game this season, starting all 36 games for North Texas while leading his team to the NIT title.
He shot 43.7 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from the 3-point line. He has a connection to Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark, with both being products of the MOKAN Elite AAU program. Perry started his college career at Coffeyville Community College before averaging averaging 15.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals over two seasons at North Texas. Arkansas, Florida and Texas Tech are also involved with Perry, among others.
Knecht is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound senior out of Northern Colorado. He averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 games this season, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line. The Thornton, Colorado, native, has Oregon, Washington, Gonzaga and Arkansas also in pursuit, but distance from home isn’t thought to be a problem for Knecht, who is looking for a springboard to the NBA with his next stop in college basketball.
Knecht averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.4 minutes per game over two seasons at Northern Colorado, after transferring from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado.
Mills, the 6-foot-5, 180-pound Florida State junior guard, averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game this season for the Seminoles. He shot 41.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from the 3-point line. He’s visiting Memphis while the Vols are working to get him on campus next week.
Grill, a 6-foot-3, 196-pound senior at Iowa State, averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 31.3 minutes per game for the Cyclones, starting 22 of the 25 games this season. He shot 39.3 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from the 3-point line.
He started his career at Iowa State in 2019-20, initially committing to then-Iowa State assistant coach TJ Otzelberger. He followed Otzelberger to UNLV in 2020-21 and transferred back to Iowa State in 2021-22, after Otzelberger was hired as the new head coach at Iowa State.
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