War Room: Spring recruiting travels, pending visits, hoops, baseball 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.
Let’s kick things off on the recruiting front as things are slow on the football side of things.
Tennessee picked up a late addition for the 2023 class with Emmanuel Okoye on Wednesday. The Nigerian born athlete could play either side of the ball and just fell in love with Tennessee on his official visit last month.
He is raw but has picked up the game pretty well. It’s hard to imagine him factoring this fall, but if he continues to build on what he has done then he is someone that will help this program in time.
There was lots of buzz around running back Peyton Lewis this week after he informed South Carolina he wouldn’t be taking his official there next month. The truth is, Tennessee has had the momentum there for a couple of months now and he always planned on making a decision in late May. This one is trending hard toward Rocky Top.
Elsewhere at running back, Daniel Hill is slated to be here next weekend and has confirmed his pending visit to. Getting him here and potentially back for an official in June would be big.
Arkansas tailback Braylen Russell will official in June and then announce his decision in July. He currently doesn’t have an OV set up for Arkansas which doesn’t mean he can’t pick them but it’s interesting none the less. We feel like Tennessee has some momentum here heading into June.
Joey Halzle and Alec Abeln were in Savannah early this week to see Jake Merklinger and his teammate, tight end Michael Smith. Tennessee continues to look at different options at tight end to go along with Jonathan Echols.
From there the duo went to see tight end Jaden Reddell. The Kansas City product will be in Athens this weekend and then to Tennessee next weekend. The Bulldogs are hoping to ride the momentum of the Dylan Raiola commitment with Reddell. We still believe this one is too close to call with Reddell slated to visit Tennessee officially in late June.
Halzle also checked in on Mike Matthews on Wednesday as the five-star gets ready for an important slate of official visits in June. One change is Alabama is now off the scheduled visit list and Clemson is back on. This isn’t nearly as surprising as when he previously said the Tigers were not for sure getting one. In checking with multiple folks this week, the same belief still seems to hold true—Tennessee and USC are pacing the way heading into officials. We still like where Tennessee stands right now in this big-time battle. The Vols are also set to get the final official visit during the month which shouldn’t be overlooked.
A name that has popped up more this week is highly rated 2024 WR Bryant Wesco. Kelsey Pope did stop by to check on him, and Wesco confirmed to Volquest he will take an official visit to Tennessee the weekend of June 23rd. In checking with multiple people in the Midwest, Wesco wants to go somewhere he is going to catch the football frequently. Hence, the interest in Tennessee. The official visit in June will be vital in maintaining staying power here. It feels like a long shot early on, but so have others before they made it to campus.
Pope was also in the Carolinas, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana this week.
Glen Elarbee was in California early in the week to see Brandon Baker as the Vols look to lock in an official visit. Tennessee is swinging big there with offensive tackle being near or at the top for key positions of need. Elarbee was also in Florida and Georgia.
While he was in Florida, he went by to see Jordan Seaton at IMG as Tennessee looks to get in play there.
Illinois offensive lineman Marques Easley is one we are also watching. He will visit officially next month and we look for Tennessee to swing pretty hard here as well.
Mike Ekeler and Tim Banks were in Missouri on Thursday to see Kellen Lindstrom and Williams Nwaneri. Nwaneri continues to really like the Vols and their staff. Rodney Garner was by there earlier this spring.
Speaking of Garner, he was in California and Ohio early in the week before heading to Georgia to watch Kameryn Fountain in a spring scrimmage late this week.
Banks was in Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana and then by Vestavia Hills in Alabama to see Jordan Ross.
While he was in Louisiana, he was by to see Tylen Singleton with Brian Jean Mary. We continue to feel like the Vols could pull him out of the boot like they did Dylan Sampson and Jordan Matthews in the last two classes.
Willie Martinez spent his week in Georgia seeing several 2025 and 2026 prospects. He did swing by and check on Chase Tyler at Hiram on Wednesday.
One name in 2025 that keeps coming up is defensive back Jontae Gilbert. The top-50 prospect committed to Ohio State early, but other schools haven’t quit recruiting him. He will be back to town on May 31st, and while it is early, there is reason to believe the Vols are a threat for him right now. He has reiterated that he feels like a priority to Willie Martinez and Josh Heupel.
Players who we believe could make their way to Knoxville next weekend:
Team
No surprise here that things are really slow for the next 10 days or so. Final exams concluded on Wednesday and unless you are going to spring mini-term, then this is a chance at 10 days of being off campus and away from football.
Now, some guys remain in town and will do some things on their own while others will take a trip or go home and see family. Aside from a couple days off around July 4th, when players return to campus on Memorial Day to start the summer workout plan, they are pretty much in town and in football until they go home for Christmas for a couple of days.
For coaches there’s a little bit of down time as well as they come off the road today and Saturday wrapping up spring evaluations and of course they jump right into visits the end of the month and throughout June so it’s a very small window of “down time”.
Just over a week from now, Josh Heupel, Danny White and others will head to Destin for the SEC Spring Meetings where there could be real news. It depends on where things end up with the scheduling. There seems to be a little bit of chatter that maybe nine conference games is not a given. That’s hard to see being the case, and the Power Five provision for a non-conference game is a debate as well. There are some wondering if anything is going to get finalized schedule wise. It’s hard to believe that it won’t. Seems like football scheduling for the upcoming expanded conference is as big of an item to address as anything on the docket would be.
Another topic could be about in-game coverage. Both the Big 12 and the Pac-10 have released that they are enhancing their coverage with in-game interviews with coaches, more locker room access and ‘miced up’ players in pre-game warm ups. So what will the SEC allow and not allow? Do they add more to their broadcast with football? We have seen some changes over the last couple of years, so how much more access are they comfortable with?
The other chatter from 30A (sorry no restaurant recommendations here) is where would the SEC be on further expansion with the ACC potentially being at a crossroads. Who would the SEC have legitimate interest in if the ACC fell apart? The league has been very calculating in expansion and you know Greg Sankey would be that way with any potential opportunity out there.
So who knows right now if anything develops, but there will be rumblings for sure. Bottom line is that the SEC is in a very different place than the ACC and as a result their spring meetings will be one of celebrating the conference’s riches and not as much complaining about each other.
On the facilities front, many are asking about baseball and when some work is going to start on Lindsey Nelson Stadium. We will believe the likely place they will start will be the right field line, but nothing has been announced. We have been told that nothing will start immediately because of summer tournaments scheduled in July. So it’s most likely going to be August before anything gets started. We will see what they end up doing.
Concrete continues to be poured and progress is being made slowly on the expansion to the Anderson Training Center.
Wednesday, Tennessee announced their in-depth study to the area between Neyland Stadium and Thompson Boling Arena which would include a hotel, shops, restaurants, etc. The project with no details aside from a hotel was discussed/mention at the winter Board of Trustees meetings with a target plan of being done in the next five years. We will see where things go with that following all the research being done that was announced on Wednesday.
With athletic facilities, housing and likely a pedestrian bridge going across the river to South Knoxville, it appears there are going to be a lot of cranes on campus the next 5+ years.
Hoops
The middle of May is a slow time on the hoops front. Tennessee’s three incoming transfers; Jordan Gainey, Chris Ledlum and Dalton Knecht are all on campus at the moment taking mini-term classes but the rest of the team won’t return until just after Memorial Day.
It goes without saying that it’s a big summer for a lot of guys. In this day and age of the transfer portal the offseason is probably more important than ever in light of the fact that you’re kind of under pressure to integrate new veterans into your program and style as quickly possible.
That integration process should get a jump start when the team heads to Europe to play some exhibition games at the end of July. It’s a good time to be taking an overseas trip with so many new guys to blend in among the transfers and incoming freshmen.
On the recruiting front in 2024 the Vols don’t appear to be heading into the summer with a huge board of targets.
Point guard Ahmad Nowell is a definite priority in the class. He’s also a realistic target as the only 2024 prospect who has made an official visit to Tennessee in this cycle.
Charlotte area shooting guard Austin Swartz has also sat firmly on the board now for several months after making an unofficial visit during this past season.
Two somewhat new names to add to the board that we expect the staff to turn up the heat on this summer are wings Darrion Reed from Georgia and Marcus Allen out of Miami.
Baseball
Tennessee and South Carolina got off to a rough start with a rainout Thursday. This means the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, with game one beginning at 3pm ET. Game two will come approximately an hour after the conclusion of game one. Both those games will be nine innings as SEC rules stipulate doubleheaders be nine innings unless it’s get-away day. In that case, they would be seven inning games (remember at Missouri earlier this year).
There are two big questions entering the weekend. Will Jared Dickey play and what will Tennessee do about pitching in game three? First, we’ll start with the best hitter on the team. He’s still dealing with soreness right now in that right shoulder and if he plays, expect it to be at DH or as a pinch hitter instead of in the field. At least to start, that can always change as the weekend goes on. He is close, but Tennessee will not rush him. Two weekends from now is way more important than this weekend or anything in Hoover, though hosting is still in reach. He remains day-to-day, but could see action this weekend.
Drew Beam is struggling right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s benched. On the contrary. Tennessee could be playing a ton of games over the next 10 days. That means there’s a ton of innings that need to be eaten. If Beam doesn’t start game three at South Carolina, he’s an excellent candidate to start Tuesday in Hoover. This would give him more rest and his style plays better in the bigger ballpark.
The Vols could start AJ Russell in game three (or Tuesday for that matter). He’s been a bright spot all year as a true freshman and he has a bright future. Tennessee could go straight bullpen, but if you plan on starting Seth Halvorsen, Camden Sewell or Chase Burns – that means they won’t be able to give extended help in games one or two when you need them. If Tennessee takes both games tomorrow and wins the series, Zander Sechrist or Hollis Fanning could even be options to open game three, but I have a hard time seeing that be the plan of action.
Bottom line, games one and two will likely dictate how game three is played. If Tennessee wins the series, it has a good shot at hosting a regional. Winning some in Hoover would further help that case. South Carolina is also playing for the right to host a regional this weekend as it sits at 15-11 in conference play. The rain washing play out Thursday doesn’t do either team any favors with the SEC Tournament just days away. Such is baseball this time of the year.
Tennessee feels good and is ready to play. Some wins this weekend will further enhance that resume´ regardless of what happens in Hoover. But right now, you’re planning and strategizing for not only this weekend but next week as well. You have to, even if it’s not admitted on camera. South Carolina is struggling big time, losers of seven out of its last nine SEC games. But it won’t be easy and Tennessee is still just 2-11 on the road this year.
Should be an interesting weekend.
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