I’m not normally a proponent of double-dipping. But, when it comes to adding not one, but two five-star defensive tackle commitments for the home team, I’ll allow it.
Butch Jones and his staff completed such a feat this afternoon when Lexington, North Carolina’s Shy Tuttle committed to the Vols over North Carolina and North Carolina State. Tuttle held offers from nearly every major football program in the country including Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Florida State and Notre Dame, but narrowed his list down to UNC, NC State and Tennessee before choosing the Vols on Friday.
Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie now give the Vols two five-star defensive tackles committed to the 2015 class – something never before seen at Tennessee in the modern era of recruiting. (For more on that, check out Daniel Lewis’ piece on the rebuilding of the defensive line at Tennessee.)
Tuttle has now added his name to an impressive list of commitments for Tennessee along the defensive side of the trenches. He joins Kahlil McKenzie and Quay Picou as defensive tackle commits, with Andrew Butcher, Marques Ford and Dylan Jackson rounding out the group of defensive ends.
In talking with a few of those guys this week, it is clear that they are very excited to play alongside a guy like Shy Tuttle. Much like last year’s class, the 2015 guys have really formed a strong bond long before they’ll ever play together – something that Butch Jones and his staff encourage and cultivate based on who they pursue each year.
When asked for a few words on Shy and if he was excited to add another elite defensive tackle to this class, Kahlil McKenzie offered this, “Yeah,” McKenzie told RTI. “Shy is not just a great defensive linemen, but also a great guy. I have gotten to know him very well over the past couple months.”
And if Vol fans were wondering what type of skill sets these two players will be bringing to the middle of the defensive line, McKenzie said he sees a lot of himself in how Shy plays the game, “We are twins, pretty much.”
Andrew Butcher also chimed in on what a player like Tuttle can do to an already strong defensive line haul for the Vols.
“He’s a great guy from what I know and will be a great fit with the program we are building,” Butcher said. And just how good does he think the Vol defensive line can be in the future?
“The sky is the limit with all of these defensive tackles we are bringing in.”
News worth sharing for Vol fans.
