2016 Recruiting Class

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ESPN JUCO Signing Day Winners:

2. Tennessee also had a big Wednesday, signing No. 1 juco defensive tackle Alexis Johnson of Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College, No. 6 cornerback Desmond Henderson of Dodge City (Kansas) Community College and No. 7 receiver Jeff George of Dodge City Community College. Johnson is the biggest name in the group as the No. 14 player overall, but one SEC recruiter told me Wednesday that even though George ranks as the No. 27 player in the country, “he’s still one of the most underrated juco prospects overall.”

 

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Three-star senior defensive end JaQuan Bailey of Raines High School in Jacksonville, Fla., received a scholarship offer from Tennessee on Wednesday, just hours after he decommitted from Florida.

JaQuan Bailey - Yahoo! Sports

 

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a former florida state commitment, thomas took an official visit to tennessee the weekend of nov. 28, and he still appears to be one of their top remaining defensive-end targets. He also has visited auburn and arkansas, but two other schools — south carolina and miami — have emerged as contenders. South carolina in particular could be worth watching. New gamecocks coach will muschamp and defensive coordinator travaris robinson were among the main reasons he previously was high on auburn.

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Keir Thomas - Yahoo! Sports

 

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Chances are highest if he EEs IMO. The OSU best visit comment was interesting because I know he loved his visit to Tennessee. I know he has strong feelings for Tennessee and has for a long time. The question is, are they the strongest of any team in his recruitment? My gut feel is that Tennessee is close, but probably not the top team right now so I don't think they would be the pick. That's just my feel, though, not based on anything specific I have been told. If he does pick Tennessee I would not be shocked because they are definitely in that top three right now and have been a favorite for a long time.

Josh Helmholdt -Rivals

Donnie Corley - Yahoo! Sports

 

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“Arkeem is a big, athletic kid and he has a frame that can hold 215-220 pounds,” Jenkins head coach Tim Adams said. “Some see him as a defensive back, and others like him as a running back. We’re getting four to six calls a day about Arkeem, and I joked with him that I’ve become his event scheduler. But that’s a good problem to have."

Arkeem Byrd - Yahoo! Sports

 

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Rico Dowdle - Yahoo! Sports

 

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The three-star senior cornerback from Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Fla., said he’s currently planning to use his three remaining visits to travel to Florida State the weekend of Jan. 16, Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 23 and Ole Miss the weekend of Jan. 30. But Tennessee recently has moved back into the picture and is hoping to get one of his final visits.

“I was coming back from Kentucky, driving down. I was like, ‘We’re in Tennessee. Might as well swing by Tennessee to see what they’ve got.’ I fell in love with it when I went over there,” he said.

“We were just driving through, and I could see a bridge going over some water. I was like, ‘Man, it’s beautiful.’ Then, we went to the indoor facility, went to all the coaches’ offices, and (I liked) just how everything was set up. Everything that I went to there and looked at was just shocking.”

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Carlos Becker - Yahoo! Sports

 

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The trademark of Butch Jones' Tennessee program to this point has been recruiting. The Vols have finished with consecutive top five classes and while the class of 2016 won't reach those heights with limited numbers, the current ranking outside the top 25, a great finish a surprise or two could propel them towards a top 10 finish.

So, who would be considered a surprise? The Vols still continue to pursue five-star defensive end Terrell Halland are hoping for a visit from him. Alabama is the team to beat and Florida and Florida State are heavily in the mix as well. This is definitely a long shot. Is Tennessee pursuing players committed to other schools that we won't know about until they show up on campus for a visit? That seems to happen every few years. And, Tennessee could seemingly be able to get someone like Jaleel Laguins as the Georgia commitment is scheduled to be in the last weekend of January.

There will certainly be plenty of twists and turns between now and signing day with more new names popping up, but if the Vols are to close strong they are going to have to pull off a few upsets and maybe even a few surprises.

-VQ

 

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Talked to Nathan Niehaus briefly tonight to catch up on a few things. First off, he will take his Tennessee official visit the weekend of Jan. 15.

But, as of now, that won't be the only official he takes. He is scheduled to see West Virginia the weekend of Jan. 22 and then Ohio State the weekend of Jan. 29.

Ohio State has yet to offer, but that's a situation we are going to monitor as it seems the Buckeye's interest is very real at this point.

Takeaways? My thoughts are two-fold. With Niehaus and his family being life-long Tennessee fans, they could come down that weekend, be blown away and shut the thing down.

Or, Niehaus wants to wait it out and see if OSU offers. That's just my take on the situation.

And then there's WVU, where he's been committed to for over half a year now.

-Fortenberry


Nathan Niehaus - Yahoo! Sports

 

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