War Room: Tennessee prepped for major recruiting weekend, summer work, hoops and construction
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 football team is into the grind of summer as they work towards the start of camp on July 31st.
For the newcomers the acclimation period is over and it’s right into the the frying pan of summer workouts which means plenty of soreness for all.
We talked about Caleb Herring and his growth this offseason as he is over 250 pounds. It’s pretty remarkable considering he arrived at 206 a year and a half ago. To put that in context, Jordan Ross arrived at 235 and is up to 238.
Edwin Spillman looks like a grown man as he is pushing 230 pounds which says so much about him since he didn’t arrive until March.
Speaking of linebackers, Arion Carter is another guy who’s changing his body. Carter was a good looking freshman, but now that he’s cleared for the weight room following the shoulder surgery last November, he is stronger but also leaner.
Defensive tackle Daevin Hobbs is another guy who seems to be making good use of the the last six months are so with his strength and conditioning.
Tennessee is trying to get Tony Vitello’s new deal finalized, but obviously that’s not been his focus the last few weeks and it’s not his focus now as the Vols start their College World Series run tonight.
By the way Vitello gets 28% of his base pay of $350,000 (his base pay) for making the CWS. He gets 32% if they make it to the championship series and 40% if they win the CWS.
One of the recent rule changes says that you can have a logo on your field of play during the regular season. It’s a given that every school is going to take advantage of that rule because it’s revenue that’s not coming out of the fans’ pocket. Now it’s important to note and remind everyone that no naming changes are coming to Neyland Stadium, but it wouldn’t be a shock if there was a logo on the field.
Construction or prep work for construction and demolition is underway at Lindsey Nelson Stadium after a final meeting with contractors on Monday on how to stage the work so that the stadium is fully functional come next March if the second phase of work is not done.
It is a tight time frame and there is always unexpected snags like a utility line or water line being in a different place than it was tabled on the University master map, etc. They are getting 2.5 extra months for this phase compared to last off-season as there won’t be any summer games or tournaments for recruiting like there was a year ago.
Dirt moving started this week as they are working to move some utilities things before they get into demolition and construction at LNS.
At Neyland Stadium, structural work has started on the Founders Suites. The steel has been painted on the structure covering up the scissor ramp on the southwest corner. The elevator shaft/tower (which will not be functional this fall) is almost complete. By the way, the General Neyland statue will be in a different location for this fall and likely in the fall of 2025. Here are a few pictures of what things look like.
Recruiting
The biggest recruiting weekend during the Josh Heupel era is upon us with 26 prospects arriving on Thursday night for official visits. They will make their way to campus Friday morning and begin their visits. It’s the most talent Tennessee has hosted on campus in a single weekend in a long time.
It all starts with five-star offensive tackle David Sanders who rolls into town off visits to Clemson and Georgia. He will be at Ohio State next weekend with an Alabama visit stuffed between as of now.
Georgia is in the mix but based off people we have spoken to, we believe they are still positioned behind the Vols. Will Sanders head up north? Ohio State will have a legit chance to show well next weekend but there is excitement for Sanders and his family coming to town. His comfort level here is off the charts and his family loves everything about Tennessee. The Vols are right where they want to be heading into this weekend.
Jefferson County offensive lineman Nic Moore was set to commit on Wednesday night but after talking to several people, he backed off a decision that wasn’t going to be Tennessee. He has bumped up his visit to this weekend and will start working towards making a decision after his visit.
West Virginia has been telling him he can play defensive line which has his attention. Would they move him after he arrived? Deep down, the hesitation could be related to some of that. Picking Tennessee obviously makes a ton of sense for his family with Morgantown being a seven hour trip for home games and away games in the Big 12 being long plane rides.
Baylor running back Shekai Mills-Knight is on his pilgrimage through June. He is on visit after visit. Miami set the bar high and then he went to Alabama. Tennessee would love to add a big back for this class to pair with Justin Baker.
Kelsey Pope will host a trio of wide receivers this weekend as Dejerrian Miller joins Caleb Cunningham and Jaime Ffrench on campus. Tennessee seems like they are down the list for Cunningham. Meanwhile Ffrench has been all over the map recently so we wouldn’t totally rule out the Vols even if they are perceived to be behind LSU and Texas with Ohio State still lingering.
Miller is one we are watching but we don’t think anything would happen this weekend. He still has a visit to take next week and then will work towards a decision.
Tight end Da’Saahn Brame is closing in on a decision. Oklahoma made a big move for him last week as they joined Oregon and Tennessee at the top. Most people still have him pegged for Oregon, but Tennessee has always been intriguing to him which is why the Vols have a puncher’s chance this weekend.
Georgia’s Jadon Perlotte will visit Rocky Top with his family this weekend, and it is clear the Vols are one of the contenders to flip him away from the Bulldogs. He told us earlier this week that Tennessee is recruiting him harder than any school, so this visit will be important for the Vols to gain momentum heading into the dead period, as he will look to make a final decision before August.
The more we talk to folks, the more it remains true that Tennessee is the biggest threat to pull Juan Gaston out of the state of Georgia. He did not commit to the Bulldogs earlier in the month while on a visit, and he has remained coy since and has dodged a couple of different Georgia reporters looking for updates. He and his family have certainly built strong relationships in Knoxville, and Tennessee will look to capitalize on that this weekend.
Running back Ousmane Kromah will visit officially this week, and he has been one that De’Rail Sims has paid close attention to since taking over Tennessee’s running back room. Kromah has not said much publicly about his recruitment, but the folks we have spoken with believe that Tennessee’s usage of their running backs has caught his attention. Auburn has made a strong impression in the last couple of months, and Georgia remains one to watch for the in-state product.
Charles House returns to campus this weekend, and while his official visits have seemingly caused some shift at the top of his leaderboard for now, we believe there is a good chance for Tennessee to be able to regain the lead they held for months if all goes well this weekend, just days before House makes a decision on June 22nd.
Auburn has been the perceived leader for some time for Jacobe Ward, but he made it off The Plains last weekend not committed to the Tigers. This remains a three-team race with Tennessee and LSU very much in the thick of it. The offense and his fit on the interior have him intrigued about Tennessee. The Vols will have a chance to make a move here this weekend before Ward heads to LSU next weekend.
Below is a list of the expected visitors for the weekend:
Hoops
First off a small housekeeping note. We mentioned on the podcast this week that 2024 wing Kanon Catchings, who just received his release from Purdue, might be someone to keep an eye on.
While there was some dialogue between Catchings, the No. 39 overall player in the nation, and Tennessee last week we don’t believe anything is going to materialize there.
Catchings had expressed some interest in making an official visit to Knoxville. However, based on what we’ve heard, it just didn’t seem like a good fit after what Tennessee added in the transfer portal.
The buzz we’ve picked up is that Catchings is ideally looking for a program where he could showcase himself with the hopes of being ‘one-and-done’. With the veterans that Tennessee added on the perimeter in Chaz Lanier and Darlinstone Dubar Knoxville didn’t feel like that kind of place.
Elsewhere on the recruiting front the staff was on the road this week for the always loaded NBAPA Top-100 Camp in Orlando. 2025 commitment Dewayne Brown was an invited participant at the camp and was someone the staff kept tabs on.
Other 2025 prospects who received some attention from the Tennessee staff in Orlando this week were point guard Isaiah Denis from Concord, N.C., power forward Tylis Jordan from Snellville, Ga., shooting guard Simon Walker from Huntsville, Ala. and big man Chris Cenac from New Orleans.
Five-star forward Caleb Wilson from Atlanta, the No. 4 overall player in 2025, sits on top of Tennessee’s wish list in the upcoming class, but he didn’t participate in the Orlando event.
The current team (minus Igor Milicic who is with his national team) is now assembled and summer workouts began in earnest this week.
Offseason workouts are always important, but that’s become even more true in the age of the transfer portal. Incorporating new guys into the program is always pivotal, but when those new guys are expected to be instant contributors, building continuity and chemistry in the summer becomes even more crucial.
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