2017 Recruiting Class

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for the second time in the past three weekends, deangelo gibbs is back at tennessee.

The five-star junior defensive back from grayson high school in loganville, ga., who's the nephew of former tennessee star dale carter, posted on his twitter account saturday morning that he had arrived in knoxville for another visit with the vols after previously traveling there just two weeks earlier.

"went to sleep in atlanta woke up in knoxville #govols," gibbs tweeted.

Gibbs, who's a cousin of tennessee defensive back signee nigel warrior, is ranked the nation's no. 10 overall prospect and no. 2 cornerback in the 247sports composite for the 2017 class.

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“actually, tennessee was my favorite team in middle school, and i’ve always loved them since,” he said. “my favorite player to come out was (former tennessee safety) eric berry, and i met him one time back in seventh or eighth grade, i believe, at the eastbay all-american (bowl), and i really liked him.

“and i went to school with a guy that his dad, he graduated from tennessee, and he was a big tennessee fan. I’m close with them, so i started liking tennessee, too. And just the tradition and the program is great and awesome. I just fell in love with it.”
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“tennessee is definitely one of the top campuses,” blount said. “it’s beautiful. The facilities are top-of-the-line, a1. And then the coaches, i feel like they were straightforward and they were honest men. I know i’ve been talking to (wide receivers) coach (zach) azzanni now, and i feel like, if i attend tennessee, i would be developed well as a receiver, and he could get me to the next level, which is the nfl.”

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Rivals

 

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capehart, a top247 prospect, has visited tennessee three times since july, most recently having attended the vols’ games against oklahoma on sept. 12 and against south carolina on nov. 7. He claims offers from at least 15 teams, including virginia, virginia tech, tennessee, north carolina, n.c. State, georgia, miami, ohio state and penn state.

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2018 recruit:

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Talented offensive lineman Kanan Ray has been piling up the offers in the last week and has now hit double digits. While all offers are big, Ray's offer from Tennessee had special meaning to him.

"Tennessee is my dream school," Ray said. "I have a ton of family there and I've been a fan since day 1. My mom and I were born in California but my dad and sister were born in Tennessee so I grew up rooting for the Vols.

"My first outfit was a Tennessee onezie and we used to go back and visit every two or three years. I'm definitely going to visit the campus and check things out. I don't have a date set or anything but I'm really looking forward to getting out there."

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Rivals

 

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"One obvious focus will be on the defensive line and while we've talked about guys like Eric Crosby (who the Vols are in good shape with right now and will be on campus in March and he's scheduled to make a decision in April), Jordan Williams, and Elijah Conliffe more names continue to pop up."

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“I have been talking to coach Sheridan for a little over a month, just kind of casual conversation like them trying to get me to out there and them trying to get out here to see me throw,” Sears said. “Talking to the coaching staff they have been nothing but great to me and have had nothing but kind words. During this process, I got on the phone with coach DeBord. We talked for a while and he let me know that I had a scholarship offer from Tennessee. That was huge. SEC is big time football. It's a big time opportunity.”

“Distance isn't a big deal to me at all. If it's the right school for me then distance doesn't matter,” Sears said. “I'm a big time college football fan. I love watching any big time football game. I think the SEC is more televised and you get to see them more. I enjoy watching any game that's on.

“I'm scheduled to graduate in December and be an early enrollee. I am planning on making a decision before the season starts.”

“You have to create time in your schedule,” Sears said of managing the process. “I have a lot of school work and practice and film stuff. You have to just not become overwhelmed with how much coaches want to talk to you. You have set aside a certain amount of time to talk to college coaches and when that time is up you have to shut it down and focus on school.

“Football wise, I'm working on improving the mental side of the game as far as improving my reads. Just the whole mental aspect of being a quarterback and also working on speed, agility and hitting the weights.”

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Rivals

 

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just spoke with five-star db deangelo gibbs, who visited tennessee again this weekend. It was his second visit with the vols in the past three weekends, and he said it was a bit of an impromptu trip that wasn't planned until late in the week.

Gibbs said he went with just his mother this time - he wasn't accompanied by his cousin, tennessee db signee nigel warrior - but he once again spent plenty of time with the vols' coaches and current players, including safety todd kelly jr., cornerback cam sutton and running back alvin kamara. Gibbs said he once again enjoyed himself, as he always does in knoxville.

He said the fact that warrior signed with the vols might give them a little bit of an edge, but that won't necessarily be a major factor in his decision. He always has been interested in attending the same school as warrior, and he said warrior has made it clear that he would like to have them play together again at tennessee. But that's not a requirement in gibbs' mind, and he said he's definitely open to other schools.

Gibbs said he's not sure when he might make it back to tennessee, but he's planning to visit georgia next weekend, and he's hoping to make it to florida, auburn and lsu soon. Right now, he's not planning to make a decision until signing day next year.
We'll have a full story on gibbs in the morning.

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In the past, Fagan has not been shy about naming Florida State his leader. When asked for a leader on Saturday, he gave four teams at the top early.

“Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Tennessee and that’s probably it right now, but people are going to start talking and I’m not really rushing the process.”

The earliest Fagan plans to commit currently is at the start of the fall, but indicated he could take it to National Signing Day as well. The 247Sports Composite, an industry generated average, currently ranks Fagan as the nation’s No. 92 overall prospect in the 2017 class."

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three-star junior running back michael carter of navarre (fla.) high school told 247sports' chris nee on monday that he's planning to attend tennessee's junior day march 5.

The 5-foot-8, 185-pound carter claims scholarship offers from tennessee and at least a handful of other teams, including florida, mississippi state, south florida, west virginia and florida atlantic.

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“I like Tennessee a lot,” Eze said after a pause and a smile. “That’s the first college I’ve ever been to in America. The reception from Butch Jones…it was good, man, trust me. Tennessee felt like home.”

The junior blocker has already made his way to Tennessee’s campus twice and has a positive vibe toward the Big Orange.

“I like Tennessee, I like Tennessee,” Eze told InsideTennessee. “Like I visited the game against Oklahoma. I like it.”

“Man, I’ve got to tell you,” Eze said, “Tennessee probably ranks top 3 of giving me chills of American college football. It’s unbelievable, man. The first day I went there, it wasn’t on a gameday. I just looked at it and said, ‘OK, I’ve never seen anything like it before.’”

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“I’ve been to UT a lot,” Rozar told InsideTennessee. “I know a lot of players like Josh Malone, Jalen Reeves-Maybin — I went to his high school. I know Jack Jones, Kyle Phillips, Vincent Perry…I could keep going, I know a lot of them. I’ve just been to the campus a lot. They’ve got crazy fans. You don’t see nothin’ like it when I go to other SEC schools.”

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2018 recruit:

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