In its quest to become 5-star Defensive Line U, the Vols hosted another top-ranked D-lineman in 6-5, 300-pound prospect and Buford, Ga., native Derrick Brown on Wednesday. Brown confirmed that he made it into town for his scheduled visit Wednesday morning via Twitter.
Brown listed Tennessee in his top five in February, and the Vols seem to be gaining some momentum in his recruitment.
The Vols signed five-star DT Kahlil McKenzie and five-star DE Kyle Phillips in 2015 in addition to Shy Tuttle, who was ranked by some recruiting services as a five-star prospect before being demoted to a high four-star before signing day. The Vols hope to also host five-star defensive lineman Rashan Gary later this summer and are working on getting a visit from five-star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence as well.
Tennessee added four-star junior college defensive tackle Alexis Johnson for the 2016 class last night and four-star 2017 defensive lineman Jordon Riley a couple days earlier as well.
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Here’s the full RTI profile for Derrick Brown:
Defensive Tackle – 2016 Class
6-5, 300 pounds
Buford, Ga. (Lanier)
Other top offers
Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Florida
Status
Brown named Tennessee in his top eight schools in early spring, but there’s been little doubt that Georgia is the team on top with everybody else trying to play catch-up to the in-state Bulldogs. Brown did visit Knoxville in April and indicated that it was a great visit via Twitter. Will that be enough to make the Vols serious contenders? Hard to say, but he did like Tennessee enough to return in June, keeping the Vols very much in the picture.
Ratings
247Sports: ★★★★★
ESPN.com: ★★★★
Rivals.com: ★★★★★
Scout.com: ★★★★★
RTI average: 4.75-stars
How He Fits
Simply put – Brown would be the ideal compliment to Tennessee’s current talent at defensive tackle such as Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle in the coming years. While he’s plenty big, playing in the 300-pound neighborhood in high school, Brown also has freak athleticism for his size.
He runs down skill players in space in his high school film and can even be seen recording a pick-6, showing very good speed for his 300-pound frame in the process. It’s a dream scenario for UT at this point, but adding him to the talent UT already has at defensive line would be a nightmare scenario for future opponents.
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