3. Wide receiver
A perceived strength for Tennessee in 2015 could pretty quickly be a weakness in the next couple of years if it’s not well-addressed in the 2016 recruiting class. With Vic Wharton’s tenuous status right now, there are only eight scholarship receivers firmly on the roster. Five-star Preston Williams will join the roster this summer and blueshirt candidate Vincent Perry is expected to start out playing in the slot. So again, the cupboard is far from bare, but recruiting is about looking down the line a bit and making sure both quality and quantity are good.
There’s the potential for some good future quality with players such as Williams, Josh Malone and Josh Smith still possessing several years of eligibility. But quantity is a concern. Of the eight firm scholarship players now, three (Pig Howard, Johnathon Johnson, Von Pearson) will be seniors in 2015 and three (Marquez North, Cody Blanc, Jason Croom) are scheduled to be seniors in 2016. North, in particular, could be a potential early NFL Draft entry if he has a strong junior campaign. So Zach Azzanni’s group needs to be reloaded for the coming years. The Vols like to rotate several receivers into their up-tempo attack, so just having three or four decent guys won’t cut it. Look for the Vols to look for at least 3-4 solid options in this class.
Some 2016 WR names to know:
• Javon McKinley
• Donnie Corley
• Diondre Overton
• Grant Holloway
• Keyshawn Young
